A survey of 2,192 British drivers found over half of respondents were not aware of six key driving laws which could see motorists fined today. Breaking driving legislation could see your car insurnace invalidated as companies could blame you for not following the rules correctly.
A massive 55 percent revealed they had fitted their sat nav to the wrong part of the windscreen even though just 15 percent were aware of the legislation.
Just 13 percent of motorists said there were aware it was illegal to sleep in a car while they were drunk as only 18 percent knew they couldn’t splash pedestrians.
Driving through a puddle aggressively and chucking water onto a pedestrian can land motorists with a £5,000 fine for driving without due care and consideration for others.
However, it must be proven that the action was deliberate or the road user had acted carelessly to issue the fine.
Motorists can be hit with a £60 fine if police officers deem a windscreen to not be fully clear of ice and snow or could issue points on a driving licence if the offence is serious enough to be dangerous.
AA Head of roads policy, Jack Cousens said: “Drivers should avoid becoming tank-commanders and cleat the whole of the windscreen and windows before setting off.
“Thoroughly de-icing the car doesn’t take long at all. Getting up 10 minutes early and scraping the car will prevent drivers from picking up a fine and points.”
The click4reg survey also revealed motorists were generally unaware that eating or drinking behind the wheel or allowing a baby to be cradled was against the law.
Other road driving rules often forgotten include leaving a car while stopped on a single yellow line and driving with unrestrained pets.
A quarter of road users admitted to using a mobile phone as a sat nav when it was not fixed onto a windscreen.
Phones can be used for navigation as long as they are fitted to a hands-free device and is not deemed to be obstructive to an overall view of the road.