driving on the emergency spare tire and legal responsibility?

A donut is almost the same size as my regular tire as far as height. If you tried to use on a truck THEN you'd have an argument about what was wrong with you. The one with my car is actually said to be safe up to 50 or 55 I can't remember. Either way that would get you down most roads at a safe speed. Yeah they aren't meant for every day driving, but why would you use them for it? No one can prove how long your tire was on either. So no that tire won't get you blamed. The garage won't give you a new donut, so if it still looked good you keep it. So yeah it looks more worn, but you really could have just put it on.

I agree. Driving on a "donut" spare tire DOES adversely effect the handling of a car, and while I don't have a vehicle with that sort of tire to check, I believe that they are placarded by the manufacturer and restricted to a lower speed and for use only for short distances. Anyone who ignores these warnings SHOULD be penalized for driving an unsafe vehicle. The problem is how to enforce it...

I understand what you are saying but for someone to be able to get out of liability of a accident for that reason is just plan crazy. It is up to the police officer to issues tickets and the courts to settle claims but it is not up to you or anyone to denied coverage for lose in a accident. How about if some one in the donut car died should the killer go free?

I disagree. I don't see how anyone can PROVE you were driving on the spare too long. If a car is unacceptably dangerous with a compact spare, how can these cars be certified by the government to be sold with a compact spare onboard? I agree that safety is reduced with a compact spare, but I don't see it changing the legal liability equation at all.

They don't have to "believe" you. They can look at the tire and see how much it has been worn.