Did you see BBC Watchdog - Spare Tyres?

Watchdog have at last brought to the public's attention the problem of no spare wheel in vehicles.  I did moan about this back in July (see "List Vehicles with a full sized spare") - The Caravan Club Technical Dept kindly e-mailed to give advice, as did the RAC, AA, Green Flag, Vauxhall and Ford.

The advice the caravan club gave was that BS159 clearly states that most tyres don't have a "helpful" puncture on the tyre tread, they mostly have sidewall damage or something else which is hopeless to use a sealant. It is still a grey area with insurance companies however, my company stated that in the event of an accident, with a space saver and towing a caravan I would need to show that I had not been negligent and had only driven at the stipulated speed for the maximum distance recommended i.e 50mph and no further than 50 miles distance!  Great if you experience a blow-out on a Sunday on a motorway!

Most new cars don't have the space to accommodate a full sized spare so caravaners are left with carrying the wheel either in the luggage or in the caravan!  Not ideal.  Please can we all lobby our car suppliers to reconsider the lack of a spare - after all, its in our interests to keep the weight on the towing vehicles, otherwise the caravans will be too heavy for the cars if they carry on reducing the weight!