Speeding, careless driving, using a phone behind the wheel and driving while drunk or on drugs are offences that all drivers are – or at least should be – aware of.
But there are other offences that many of us aren’t familiar with, which could see us falling foul of the law. Here are five driving laws that you could get caught out on…
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Failing to renew your driving licence
Renewing your driving licence is something you have to do every 10 years, primarily to keep your photo ID up to date. It’s much the same as a passport, which also needs to be renewed with the same regularity.
If you’re caught driving with an expired licence, you can be fined up to £1,000. But the good news is that you don’t need to take another test – you can renew it at the Post Office or online up to six months before it expires.
Driving too slowly
Speeding is a well-known offence, but did you know that you can also be fined and given penalty points for driving too slowly?
According to the Department for Transport, at least 140 crashes a year are caused directly by people driving too slowly, especially on motorways where travelling at 40mph can be considered a major hazard in clear traffic.
Penalties can vary from a verbal warning to a fine of up to £1,000 and nine penalty points, as slow drivers can cause other drivers to become frustrated and carry out risky overtaking manoeuvres.
Flashing your headlights at other motorists
We’ve all flashed our lights to let other drivers out into traffic or as a means of saying thank you to other courteous motorists, but the practice is illegal. Flashing your lights at another driver could be misconstrued as an angry gesture, or could lead to another driver thinking you’re letting them through when you’re not.
While fines are rare, if you cause an accident you could get six points and a £500 fine, or double that if you’re caught using your headlights to warn oncoming motorists of a speed trap on the opposite carriageway, which is a practice that traffic police take a very dim view of.
Using your mobile phone at a drive-through restaurant
Drive-through restaurants are still considered highways, and therefore the same laws apply to hand-held mobile phones as they would on a trunk road.
That means you can face a fixed penalty fine of £200 and six points for holding your phone in one, even if its to use an app such as ApplePay to make a contactless payment via your handset.
Letting a pet out of the car if you break down
While the official advice if you break down on a motorway is to get out of the car and away from the carriageway to safety, the same rule doesn’t apply to your pet pooch.
If you have to stop on a motorway hard-shoulder, then you must leave your dog in the car until the rescue services arrive. Letting your pet out, even on a lead, is illegal, as it could break loose and run into the traffic, with horrific consequences.
The authorities are quite strict on it, too, with a £1,000 fine if you break the law.