10 Driving Offences You May Not Know Are Illegal
It’s a jungle out there on the roads and as anyone who has the privilege of driving on them regularly will know, there is so much more to getting from point-A to point-B than simply getting behind the wheel.
Indeed, if your profession means you spend a lot of time driving, you’ll naturally have a good understanding of UK driving laws... even if you probably regularly wonder whether everyone around you is similarly competent.
However, as it turns out there are reams and reams of laws to consider when on the road, some of which you may not even be aware of.
Here are some of the quirkier or lesser-known driving offences that are illegal in the UK and the punishment you could receive if you’re found to be in breach...
1. Breaking Your Specific Van Speed Limit
If you are an experienced van driver, then you should know that your vehicle is subject to alternative speed limits based on its size and weight. However, if you are just starting out, then you would be forgiven for not being aware of this.
There are some intricacies to the laws in the country, so our advice is to check out Vansdirect’s comprehensive guide to van speed limits and also pick-up truck speed limits to ensure you are well informed.
Possible Punishment – Minimum £100 fine, plus penalty points. Could rise to £1000 or more for serious or repeated offences
2. Splashing Pedestrians
We’ve probably all been there - walking along the pavement in rainy conditions and a vehicle hits a puddle in the road and leaves you dripping from head-to-toe. Followed by cursing, a whole lot of cursing.
It’s a very helpless situation as the vehicle drives off into the distance, the driver potentially unaware of the outfit they have just super-soaked and the day they’ve ruined.
Well, the action is illegal, constituting driving ‘without reasonable consideration for other persons’. So, if you do happen to splash a pedestrian and they get your number plate, there is a chance you’d get a fine and penalty points
Possible Punishment - Fine of £100, plus penalty points
3. Using the Horn in Anger
You might remember from your driving lessons that the car horn is designed only to be used as a way to alert to your presence or to warn of an impending dangerous situation.
Contrary to what you may have seen when there is gridlock in some congested countries – particularly in the movies - the horn should not be used to indicate frustration in traffic or be used as an aggressive tool.
As an aside from that, it is also illegal to use your horn in a built-up area between 11.30pm and 7.00am.
Possible Punishment – Fine of around £30
4. Parking Too Close to a Junction
We get it, finding a parking space – especially outside your home in a built-up area – can be very difficult, so there might well be a temptation to risk placing your van in a spot that, while close to your destination, might not be beneficial to other road users.
Specifically, no vehicle should be within ten metres of a junction, for risk of an unsighted vehicle turning and encountering a parked vehicle with little opportunity to take evasive action.
Moreover, for those driving towards a junction, a van parked near a junction could obscure the view for turning vehicles coming in the other direction.
Possible Punishment – Fine of around £50-£100
5. Driving on the Pavement
It perhaps goes without saying that taking a vehicle onto the pavement is a very dangerous action that could risk the lives of those using it, such as pedestrians or cyclists.
However, the law is worth keeping in consideration if you’re looking to park partially on a kerb, as driving too far along to find the right spot for your vehicle might be considered driving on the pavement and risk a fine.
Possible Punishment – Fine of £100, plus penalty points
6. Having Dirty, Unclear Registration Plates
We’ve all seen vans with ‘Clean Me’ written on them (or other less savoury phallic diagrams from unscrupulous passers-by) but there is a legal precedent for keeping your vehicle clear of too much muck and grime.
Indeed, while the placement of registration plates on the vans – usually right above the exhaust – means they might be subject to being shrouded in dirt over time, it is important to ensure they are clean and clear to read when on the road.
Failure to do so means they can’t be easily read by speed cameras or ANPR devices, which is illegal. It means law enforcement might consider a dirty registration plate as being a way to deliberately avoid detection and duly hand down a heavy fine.
Possible Punishment – Fine of £100 on the spot, or up to £1000 for serious cases
7. Driving with Snow on the Roof
Who doesn’t love a bit of snowfall during winter time? Well, though an overnight fresh blanket might look pretty, if you need to drive your van, you need to make sure the powder has been removed from your vehicle, including the roof.
While it goes without saying that snow needs to be entirely removed from the windscreen, rear screen and windows to be considered roadworthy, snow needs to come off the entire roof or risk it slipping down over your windscreen when braking or accelerating.
Possible Punishment – Fine of £60, rising to £5000 for serious offences, plus penalty points
8. Flashing to Give Way to Oncoming Traffic
Here’s a law many drivers have been breaking without realising, not least because they likely thought they were doing a polite gesture.
Flashing to allow oncoming traffic to cross into a junction, or filter into your lane on the motorway is in fact a criminal offence deemed to be a ‘misuse of headlights’
Possible Punishment – Fine of up to £1000
9. Flashing to Warn Oncoming Traffic of a Speed Trap
If flashing to give way to oncoming traffic is illegal, then it’s probably no surprise to learn that flashing to alert oncoming traffic of an impending speed camera is definitely against the law.
It is deemed a way to wilfully obstruct a police officer in the execution of their duty... not that it stops many doing so as their own good deed to assist other drivers.
Possible Punishment – Fine of up to £1000
10. Overloading Your Van Beyond its GVW
If you regularly drive a van, you should know its gross vehicle weight (GVW) so as to ensure you don’t risk overloading and break the law.
Travelling in a van that exceeds its maximum gross vehicle weight - calculated by combining the weight of the payload and the weight of the unladen vehicle itself - is a serious offence that can leave you with a heavily damaged vehicle or, if it is involved in a crash, could cause greater damage or injury than anticipated by a manufacturer during development.
Possible Punishment - Fined or banned from driving
