Disruption from snow has caused travel chaos in the past few days, but many drivers probably didn’t know that driving with snow on your car could cost you.
Motorists could be fined £60 and receive up to three points on their license for failing to clear snow from windows, number plates and lights. This can be increased to £100 for driving without reasonable consideration for other road users – in other words, not clearing all the snow off your car.
In the Highway Code it states under section 229 that drivers “must be able to see [when driving], so clear all snow and ice from all your windows.”
It adds: “You must ensure that lights are clean and number plates are clearly visible and legible … and remove all snow that might fall off into the path of other road users”.
AA spokesman Luke Bosdet told The Independent: “When you are driving around with 12 inches of snow on your roof, there is the possibility it will fly off at some stage.
“You are driving around with a car that is going to pose a danger to other road users – if snow blows off the roof it can blind another driver, it can get serious for you if it causes an accident.
“If it comes off while you’re driving it is the same as throwing snowballs at other drivers, which anyone would think is dangerous.”
However, the AA also warned that drivers could be fined even more with the charge of “careless driving” if an accident was caused by snow obstructing vision.
Snow caused disruption across the UK at the weekend, with black ice causing treacherous conditions for motorists this morning, with temperatures plummeting down to as much as minus 13o C in Shropshire.
