Customise with care

Throughout the Young Driver of the Year campaign, professional drivers take turns in the driver’s seat to offer specialist advice on subjects Grampian Police consider to be major contributors to road traffic collisions. This week, Constable Jim Gill explores the minefield of vehicle customisation

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WHAT image does your mind conjure up when you think about custom or modified cars?

Is it a brightly coloured 1930s American roadster with some subtle body modifications, shiny wheels and a burbling V8 engine or a five-year-old Vauxhall Corsa with an ill-fitting body kit, partly finished paint job and a stereo system attempting to compete with Rock Ness?

Truth be told, we all like to customise or modify our own “wheels” in some way, whether it’s just a set of furry dice or a complete “Pimp My Ride” makeover.

After all, there’s no point in driving around in the same car as everyone else.

But the amount and way in which we change how our vehicle looks is dependent on a number of basic issues. For some, it’s all about image – the car is another part of their personality or is a fashion statement. For others, it’s about improving their vehicle’s performance, handling or even safety.

How much these modifications will cost rarely comes into the equation, as you will see when you look about on north-east roads – it’s far easier to play “spot the standard car”.

Just remember, whatever modifications or alterations you make, please make sure they are legal. Advise your insurance company of the modifications to prevent potentially invalid claims, and finally – and most importantly – remember that the more personal and memorable you make your “dream machine”, that fact also applies to other road users.

So if your driving isn’t up to scratch, you and your car could easily be remembered, and possibly reported, for all the wrong reasons.