Tomorrow marks 12th night and some traditions believe misfortune will befall anyone who keeps their Christmas decorations up beyond this date. The fact that it also falls on a Saturday means that many of us will be making the trip to the local tip to get rid of the tree and other festive waste that has accumulated over the last 2 weeks.

It’s important that when transporting any load in a vehicle to do so in a safe and secure way. Many potential offences can be committed by people when transporting loads that are insecure. 

It’s the Christmas season once again and as night follows day, this time also coincides with a national police initiative concerning drink and drug driving, as forces across the country prepare for a spike in the numbers of those tested and arrested for drink and drug driving offences.

The Office of the Traffic Commissioner has today (4 December 2018) confirmed the levels against which applications and continuations will be processed from the start of 2019.

If you are suspected of driving with excess alcohol in your body, you may be asked to provide a breath sample at the roadside. If that sample is positive, you are likely to be arrested and taken to the police station.

What are your plans for the match this Saturday?  Down the pub with some friends?  At the house with a barbecue?  When big sporting occasions like the World Cup are on the temptation to have a few drinks is always there.  The police are aware of this as well and will be taking steps to combat those who take to the road after consuming alcohol.

Request For Driver Information

It may be an offence to fail to provide information as the identity of a driver when you receive a written request to do so from (or on behalf of) the police. If convicted, you face a hefty fine and 6 penalty points.

We have previously written about Dangerous Driving in relation to adverse weather conditions.  This article looks in more detail at the offence of dangerous driving and how we may be able to assist those being accused of it.

When Driving Becomes Dangerous

There is a specific offence of dangerous driving, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 2 years.

If that driving is a cause of someone's death, the maximum sentence rises to one of 14 years.

In each case there are minimum disqualification periods, very lengthy actual disqualifications and insurance premiums which will be significant for many years to come; some drivers may not even be able to secure insurance at all, at any price.

Winter has hit us again with the inevitable problems on the road that winter weather brings.  We have previously written about keeping legal on the roads in winter however it is clear that not everyone is prepared for the latest snowy conditions.  The morning news reports have been full of details of road traffic collisions causing delays on the run to work.

But how have the collisions been caused and what view would the police take of them?  If a collision is caused by a driver’s inability to cope with the road conditions it could still lead to a prosecution for a road traffic offence including dangerous driving.

A recent survey carried out by the AA found that up to 65% of drivers feel that they can get away with some motoring offences such as careless driving. 

The Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain are calling on truck, bus and coach operators to prioritise their approach to compliance – and make sure that they are getting the basics right.