New research has found that thousands of motorists could be regularly breaking the law while driving. A survey of over 2,000 motorists found that many admitted to doing common activities in their car which could see them fined, receive penalty points or see their insurance prices rise.
Ryan Fulthrope, motoring expert at GoCompare, commented on the research, saying he was “shocked” to see how high some of the statistics were.
He said: “We were also surprised to see how many people thought these activities were legal, which suggests that there needs to be more education surrounding these laws, and clearer guidance around what you can and cannot do.
“While activities such as eating and drinking behind the wheel aren’t explicitly against the law, it could land you in trouble if this takes your attention away from the road.
“Drivers need to give the road their full concentration while driving, so if you’re doing anything that means your attention is taken away, and you are considered “distracted”, that’s when you could find yourself with a fine and penalty points on your licence.”
READ MORE: Elderly driver left furious after receiving ‘unfair’ £90 fines
Splashing pedestrians
With the UK braced for thunderstorms and heavy rain in the coming days, many drivers are being warned of fines for splashing pedestrians, with almost one-third of drivers admitting to splashing pedestrians with rainwater.
Under section three of the Road Traffic Act 1988, it’s illegal to splash someone as it’s considered driving “without reasonable consideration for other persons”.
If drivers are caught driving through puddles and splashing pedestrians, they will likely be hit with a £100 fine and three penalty points, but there is a maximum punishment of a £5,000 fine.
Smoking
While it’s not illegal to smoke behind the wheel, The Children and Families Act 2015 made smoking in cars with children an offence.
This law makes it clear that it is illegal to smoke in a private vehicle with someone under the age of 18 and failing to prevent smoking in a vehicle with someone under 18 present.
Failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free private vehicle in England and Wales risks a fixed penalty notice of £50.
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