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Volvos, airbags and four wheel drives

Disclaimer: This blog is filled with black humour involving car safety and accidents. Please don’t read on if this is likely to upset.

OK, releasing unsupported scientific argument isn’t the best. But a quick google on airbags and driving patterns quickly brought up this which I thought was interesting because it’s an old article talking about old research.

But if you do the search yourself you will find a long list of articles that point out that the improvement in safety was far less than was expected by air-bags because people’s behaviour changed at the same time.

Which brings me onto 4-wheel drives. Why are 4-wheel drives so popular in the city? It’s not because of the rugged terrain in the ‘burbs. Most of them would be lucky to stray more than 3 km from home and the concept of an unsealed road damaging the duco would give the owners a mild coronary.

So despite the great outdoor ads for these vehicles, the truth of the matter is simple “if I’m going head first into an on-coming car, I’m going to be twice as big as the sucker coming the other way”. Being slightly more diplomatic, I’ve heard men say “I want to know my wife and kids are safe”.

The only problem is that we now have drivers in weapons of mass destruction who feel safe.

The solution?

How about every car be installed with a 1 foot long blade mounted just in front of the driver?

Let’s get rid of the perception of safety, and make the (not so passive) hint that an accident right now could be really, really bad for you.

Or maybe we should all just convert to hydrogen fuelled cars with big tanks of hydrogen in the back. Insurance premiums may even go down because the risk of permanent disability would be decreased.

In summary, the perception of safety undermines safety. In my next blog I actually make this relevant to OnSolution.

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What is covered with our shipping insurance?

Our normal terms and conditions (like most businesses) is that you take possession the moment an order ships. If the order is lost or damaged in transit then, in theory, it’s your problem. In reality we will have a conversation and try to work out a good way to resolve the issue where we are both happy (or not too upset).

Shipping insurance is there to remove the drama. If an order is lost or damaged in transit, we will simply send out a replacement, and we will then deal with the courier directly to resolve the original problem.

Our shipping insurance also means that if an order is delayed beyond what is normal and reasonable then we will send you another shipment (stock levels permitting). Then you should receive one of them sooner, and when the second one arrives you simply Return To Sender.

How much is shipping insurance?

Shipping insurance is 5% of the cost of the goods.

Is it worth it? Practically we have had far less than 5% of shipments have problems. It is, however, what Australia Post and other couriers charge. Ultimately insurance is about peace of mind and less hassle when something does go wrong.

Shipping insurance as an option

Shipping insurance is offered as an option on all our web sites. You can select it at the checkout.

For large orders our staff may also ask if you would like shipping insurance.

If you would like shipping insurance on an order you are placing with us, just ask.

Mandatory shipping insurance

Unfortunately we have had a couple of large orders not make it and then the customer refused to pay. A friend suggested that the easy way to avoid the dispute is to insure any shipments where we have a significant risk.

If you would like an immediate line of credit (30 days to pay) and have the goods ship immediately (no credit check delays) and are purchasing over $500 then we will add shipping insurance to your order.

The shipping insurance can be waived if the order is between $500 and $2,000 and you provide us with a formal confirmation that you accept responsibility of the goods once they ship.

Alternatively you can prepay by direct deposit or credit card.

What is not covered?

If there is a clear proof of delivery to the shipping address provided then we class that as delivered. Unfortunately there are cases where it is lost somewhere between the loading dock or receptionist and ending up in your hands. But we also know that a photo of the bag against a generic grey background is not proof of delivery, it is just proof of existence! It needs to be a reasonable proof of delivery.

It also doesn’t cover the expectation of overnight delivery. For example, if we were to ship to Melbourne (we are in Sydney) then we would expect it to be delivered within about 3 days. Most of the time it is overnight, but there are enough floods and other issues that regularly cause minor delays. Sending a second order the next day tends to not fix the problem. If it is super urgent, talk to us about how we can minimise the risk.

For damage claims we ask that you contact us immediately and we will probably ask for photos or some proof. The shipping insurance doesn’t cover claims weeks later. We do have warranty covering our items, but it excludes physical damage (e.g. being dropped). If the goods are damaged in transit then please let us know ASAP so we can cover it under the shipping insurance.