Keep up-to-date and legal on the road with a guide to new rules and legislation that affect motorists.
1. Driving licences when hiring a car
When you need to hire a car, or otherwise confirm whether or not you have penalty points on your licence, you have to obtain a ‘check code’ from the DVLA, which lets a third-party inspect your licence online. Following consultation, the length of time the check code is now valid for has been extended to 21 days.
2. Paying for your VED
Not everyone knows that you can now pay for your VED (or vehicle excise duty) in monthly instalments via Direct Debit, making it easier to budget for.
3. Selling a secondhand car
The refund is automatically issued when the DVLA receives the completed V5 (vehicle registration document) telling it that you have sold, scrapped, exported or declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) on your car.
4. Middle lane hog fine
At last justice for the people having to avoid the middle lane hoggers. The £1,000 ‘middle lane hog’ fine levied on a motorist in Yorkshire was a result of a tweak to existing laws that enable the police to issue a fixed penalty notice (or FPN) to drivers it believes are driving inconsiderately by committing offences such as ‘tailgating’, ‘undertaking’, or refusing to move from an overtaking lane when the road ahead is clear.
5. Drug driving
It has been an offence since March 2015 to drive under the influence of illegal drugs, such as cannabis, LSD and cocaine – a common-sense move that few would argue against
However, the legislation, which affects drivers in England and Wales, also includes some prescribed drugs such as diazepam, methadone and morphine.
They could do with testing drivers from Portsdown hill, it stinks of all sorts of drugs up there and people still drive.
6. Smoking
It will be an offence in England to smoke in a car containing anyone under the age of 18 from 1 October 2015. Anyone flouting the law could face a fine of up to £50.
Should be illegal to smoke in the car anyway, what's the different between holding a fag or a phone in your hand?
7. Speed limits
The speed limit for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in England and Wales has recently been raised from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageways and from 50mph to 60mph on dual carriageways.
8. Drink Driving laws in Scotland
The blood alcohol limit for drink driving in Scotland was lowered to 50mg per 100ml of blood in December 2014. The rest of the UK stayed at 80mg per 100ml.
Source of info from:- Eight new laws that affect motorists - Saga
1. Driving licences when hiring a car
When you need to hire a car, or otherwise confirm whether or not you have penalty points on your licence, you have to obtain a ‘check code’ from the DVLA, which lets a third-party inspect your licence online. Following consultation, the length of time the check code is now valid for has been extended to 21 days.
2. Paying for your VED
Not everyone knows that you can now pay for your VED (or vehicle excise duty) in monthly instalments via Direct Debit, making it easier to budget for.
3. Selling a secondhand car
The refund is automatically issued when the DVLA receives the completed V5 (vehicle registration document) telling it that you have sold, scrapped, exported or declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) on your car.
4. Middle lane hog fine
At last justice for the people having to avoid the middle lane hoggers. The £1,000 ‘middle lane hog’ fine levied on a motorist in Yorkshire was a result of a tweak to existing laws that enable the police to issue a fixed penalty notice (or FPN) to drivers it believes are driving inconsiderately by committing offences such as ‘tailgating’, ‘undertaking’, or refusing to move from an overtaking lane when the road ahead is clear.
5. Drug driving
It has been an offence since March 2015 to drive under the influence of illegal drugs, such as cannabis, LSD and cocaine – a common-sense move that few would argue against
However, the legislation, which affects drivers in England and Wales, also includes some prescribed drugs such as diazepam, methadone and morphine.
They could do with testing drivers from Portsdown hill, it stinks of all sorts of drugs up there and people still drive.
6. Smoking
It will be an offence in England to smoke in a car containing anyone under the age of 18 from 1 October 2015. Anyone flouting the law could face a fine of up to £50.
Should be illegal to smoke in the car anyway, what's the different between holding a fag or a phone in your hand?
7. Speed limits
The speed limit for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in England and Wales has recently been raised from 40mph to 50mph on single carriageways and from 50mph to 60mph on dual carriageways.
8. Drink Driving laws in Scotland
The blood alcohol limit for drink driving in Scotland was lowered to 50mg per 100ml of blood in December 2014. The rest of the UK stayed at 80mg per 100ml.
Source of info from:- Eight new laws that affect motorists - Saga
