Obstructed view

legal updates

Six points and fines between £200 or a court appearance and up to £2500 fine if you’re driving a lorry.

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Surrey Police reminded us in a tweet this week that anything bigger that 4cm obstructing the front windscreen is an offence because of the obstruction to view. 

More and more of us are using map apps to navigate us from A to B if we don’t have inbuilt satnav or a satnav, but if you are tempted to fix an I-pad to the dash or windscreen, as Surrey Police have brought to our attention, this can lead to a fine.  

It is an offence under regulation 30 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 if a driver’s vision is obscured whilst driving, the rules applying to 10mm of obstruction in zone A of the windscreen and 40mm in zone B.  

s41 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 provides that a person is guilty of an offence who does not give proper control or a full view of the road and traffic ahead, and this applies also to the use of mobile phones or other devices whilst driving.  

The penalties went up in March – six points and fines between £200 or a court appearance and up to £2500 fine if you’re driving a lorry.  Take care over how you use your technology when driving and don’t let it distract you.  

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