If you want to keep your driving licence, avoid doing these things

Kang & Co Solicitors

If you want to keep your driving licence, avoid doing these things...

Speeding

A very common sight on the roads, speeding is a temptation that too many drivers give in to.

It’s common knowledge that vehicle speed has a direct correlation to the severity of an accident and the injury sustained.

If everyone drove at similar speeds and within the speed limit prescribed on the road, predicting the movement of other vehicles would be far easier, but the high speeds make it much harder to predict and the time in which to react is drastically reduced.

It should come as no surprise that speeding is the second highest cause of fatalities on the road behind drunk driving.

There are easy steps you can take to lower your speed such as utilizing the cruise control on your car (if it possesses it).

Cruise control will maintain your current speed which can take away that temptation to increase the speed.

Another way is to consider the number of fines you would have to pay if you were to be caught and the points you would gain on your license.

Using a mobile phone while driving

The law surrounding the use of mobile phones in vehicles has been a key concern in recent years.

This is due to a spate of fatal accidents which have involved drivers being distracted due to using their mobile phones when driving.

The families of the victims have pushed for harsher punishment for drivers using their phones, thus this offence now attracts 6 penalty points being endorsed upon the driver’s licence and driver training courses are no longer available for using a mobile phone whilst driving.

The statistics of drivers using mobile phones has risen alarmingly from 8% in 2014 to 31% in 2016 and those are only the drivers openly admitting to it. Police believe more accidents are caused by mobile phones than are shown in official reports since it can be difficult for them to discover if a mobile phone was being used.

Drunk Driving

The issues associated with being drunk and driving a vehicle are very clear and obvious.

Drink driving is the number one cause of fatalities on the roads, though some drivers continue to take the risk of driving under the influence.

Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways leading to difficulty when coordinating and resulting in a slower response time to potential hazards whilst driving.

Therefore, it is clear why being intoxicated when behind the wheel of a car is incredibly dangerous.

Due to the serious nature of drunk driving, the sentence is equally severe and can include a custodial sentence (prison), a driving ban along with Court fines and prosecution costs.

Tiredness

Being tired whilst driving can turn normal driving into Careless Driving or even Dangerous Driving which can in certain circumstances result in death of an individual following a collision.

When a driver is tired, their reaction timing is severely affected along with a reduced awareness of their surroundings.

In certain circumstances this is like the reaction time of an alcohol affected driver who is unable to respond to an oncoming hazard.

There is a straightforward way of avoiding death by careless/dangerous driving due to sleep deprivation and though it may seem obvious, many drivers simply do not take the time to pull over and get some rest.

If you are feeling tired whilst driving, you should always pull over and rest or avoid driving completely when feeling tired.

Tailgating

Tailgating is likely to be considered as dangerous driving by the Magistrates’/Crown Court.

Tailgating will not give you enough time to react if the car in front was to suddenly brake and therefore it can place road users at risk of harm or injury unnecessarily.

There are precautions to take when following behind another vehicle, the main one being that you should keep one car length behind for every 10mph travelling speed.

Careless Driving

Careless driving can take many forms and contributes various road traffic accidents each year.

Carelessly over-taking other vehicles, swerving in and out between vehicles and road rage are all unpredictable things to do on the road and unpredictability causes accidents.

Keeping control of emotions is important whilst driving as many collisions occur because of heated temper.

An overly confident driver believes he/she is good enough that they can get away with such manoeuvres without crashing, however, other drivers may not be as confident and seeing a speeding car over-take them may cause problems.

Therefore, it is important to be aware of other drivers but also to be considerate because you may be a confident driver but others may not.

Not wearing a seat belt Seats belts are a simple pay to keep you and your passengers safe whilst driving a motor vehicle.

It’s quite clear that wearing a seat belts save lives and it is incredibly effortless to wear them but some people do not strap in if they are traveling a short distance.

However, there are many accidents that happen near homes or on short drives so it is just best to wear them just in case.

Furthermore, just relying on airbags will not work because they are designed to function with seat belts.

Driving in accordance with weather conditions

A careful and competent driver will consider the weather conditions on the road.

When the weather becomes colder with ice and snow becoming factors on the road, the most effective thing you can do to avoid an accident is to simply slow down.

When driving on a slippery surface such as rain water or snow, the weight of a car will force it to skid if you apply the brakes in a hurry.

Furthermore, your breaking distance is significantly increased when driving in adverse weather.

Driving fast in poor weather conditions is not a risk any driver should take and once the car is out of your control, your life and the life of other road users is in danger so to the easy and safe thing and slow down.

If everyone drove slower when the roads were icy the odds of crashing would be severely reduced.

If you do find yourself facing prosecution for a Motoring Law or Driving Offence, then it’s crucial that you instruct an expert Driving Offence Solicitor to ensure you have the best chance at keeping your licence.

Our team of Motoring & Driving Offence Solicitors can help you with your case.

Please contact us on 0345 222 9955 or send us a message to info@kangandco.co.uk