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PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 13:07 
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:gatso2: From Yahoo News.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/revealed-driv ... 56659.html


Hanging up items such as furry dice and air fresheners could cost drivers £100 or even invalidate their insurance if they put them on the rear-view mirror.
The Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act warns that a driver is not allowed to use a car if their view of the road is obstructed in any way.
The rule has always been there, but authorities are now ensuring it is being enforced.

Rebecca Ashton, IAM RoadSmart head of driver behaviour, told Mirror Online: “Anything hanging from the rear-view mirror or anything placed on the windscreen could restrict the drivers view, things people use tend to vary from air fresheners and dice hanging from the mirror to fans, large sat-navs and even using the navigation on an iPad.
“Missing something because you had something obscuring your view could potentially be extremely dangerous, good driving involves exceptional observation skills, seeing things early allows you to anticipate and plan how you deal with hazards.
“We would suggest it is placed low on the windscreen, on the right hand side and if possible within the area where the windscreen wipers don’t clear. The main thing to remember is you should always try to avoid the drivers field of vision.”

Although it is not illegal to drive with items such as air fresheners, drivers could have to pay a £100-on-the-spot fine.
The items can block the view of the driver making it a safety hazard and they can even damage the rearview mirror.
Drivers who try to challenge the penalty in court could be given an even higher fine of up to £1,000.
The Mirror Online has also reported that placing a sticker on their windscreen could also get motorists into trouble with the police.
Rules have been tightened after a taxi driver involved in a fatal crash with a pedestrian in 2008 was fined for having a fluffy dice and two air fresheners hanging in front of his eyes.

The Road Traffic Act states: “No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a road if he is in such a position that he cannot … have a full view of the road and traffic ahead.
“Windscreens and windows must be kept clean and free from obstructions to vision.”
The hanging items or even using stickers could affect your insurer paying out if there is an accident.
Drivers can also fail their MOT if they have items hanging from their rear-vision mirror as service centres say they won’t approve the car until they are taken down.

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 17:58 
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The Mirror Online has also reported that placing a sticker on their windscreen could also get motorists into trouble with the police.

So ,we now find evidence that the legal requirement for a VED disc in the front window was flawed for all of the years it was in force :?

Mean tine, head off to a supermart near you and try reversing out of a parking space. I did to day to hear a bloke warning his wife of a car reversing close to where they were walking. It was ma. Her answer- "It's up to them to look out".

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 10:26 
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:gatso2: "Drivers who try to challenge the penalty in court could be given a higher fine of up to £1000".


Great. Thanks a lot. Could I ask if dashcams are illegal then? Most if not all are windscreen mounted. Fair enough, I'll remove mine. But the next time there's a serious accident and "police are appealing for witnesses and anyone who has dashcam video evidence to come forward". Don't come crying to me.

"I saw a horse wearing a dress running across the road. It was being followed by a tin man who was wearing a kaftan...a tabard...a poncho".

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 16:38 
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Location: Treacletown ( just north of M6 J3),A MILE OR TWO PAST BEDROCK
Time that the court option of higher penalties was removed. That is a rod to stop any challenge of poorer motorists to the system of fines without a lot of proof in many cases. :gatso1:
On dashcams, I wait for some moneyed person, possibly a footballer to employ Loophoole ,and have the positioning of video kits in police vehicles challenged.
The insurance ad is by AVIVA, who offer an app to act as a dashcam on a smart phone, but that's IMHO, just another way to get folks to drive aka the Brake way .
I note that Nextbase are also promoting cheaper premiums with their dashcams.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 10:34 
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Quote:
"I saw a horse wearing a dress running across the road. It was being followed by a tin man who was wearing a kaftan...a tabard...a poncho".


If you are so thick not to know a guy is wearing a suit of armour, should you really be driving? :-)

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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