See MOT history, valuations, detailed specs and more… AND upgrade to see if any vehicle has been stolen, has finance or has been written off from just £3.99
There are a significant number of driving offences ranging from the more serious such as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving dangerously or without due attention to the more common speeding. A short lapse of concentration can lead to an incident that might result in points on your license.
In this article, we will be looking at the most common driving offences, the punishment you will receive for it, and how this will affect you going forward.
Essentially, any conviction that happens as a result of being caught breaking any driving law is classed as a motoring conviction. There are many different levels of severity, with punishments reflecting the nature of the offence committed. Speeding, driving under the influence, or ignoring road rules can all result in points on your licence, a driving ban, or even jail time.
It’s not just the way you drive that can result in a conviction but the safety of the vehicle as well. If your vehicle has defective parts or is unroadworthy, or if you drive without insurance, you will also likely face a conviction if caught. For any of these offences that result in a conviction, you will normally be given a Fixed Penalty Notice or be summoned to the Magistrates Court.
A non-endorsable offence will be punished with a fine, usually from £50 upwards, but you will not receive any points on your license. The fine will reflect the seriousness of the offence and offences such as driving without an MOT, failing to wear a seatbelt, and breaking certain parking rules all fall under the non-endorsable category.
SP codes refer to speeding offences/convictions. SP30 is the code for exceeding the statutory speed limit on a public road and it is one of the most common offences seen by police. An increase in speed cameras and traffic police is aimed at reducing this type of offence.
The penalty for speeding is a minimum fine of £100 and between 3 and 6 points added to your license, depending on the nature of the offence. If it is your first speeding offence, you might be given an option to attend a speed awareness course. If the level of speeding is excessive you may also be faced with a driving ban.
The drink driving laws throughout the UK state that the alcohol limit for drivers is 80mg of alcohol per 100mg of blood, 35μg (micrograms) per 100ml of breath, or 107mg per 100ml of urine. This might seem confusing, which is why it is recommended that you do not drink at all if you intend on driving. Due to the unpredictable nature of the effects of alcohol, there are many factors that could have an effect on your driving.
Although it is incredibly dangerous, drink driving is still a prevalent problem on UK roads. Being caught driving under the influence of alcohol is an incredibly severe offence and is punishable as such. You could face a 12-month ban, an unlimited fine, and a prison sentence.
You could face a ban depending on the severity of your dangerous driving. Dangerous driving is more severe than careless driving, which could be down to a lapse of concentration or not considering road or weather conditions. Dangerous driving is something a competent driver should not do and you could be hit with a driving ban.
Driving aggressively, taking part in road races, or overtaking in an unsafe way in a bad location could all result in a dangerous driving conviction.
What is the effect on my insurance?
Insurers will ask for disclosure of any current motoring convictions at the time you apply for insurance and again when your policy falls due for renewal. Typically policy premiums will be increased based on the number and severity of any motoring convictions received by any of the drivers named on the policy. Failure to disclose any relevant information could lead to any claims being turned down.
It is simply not worth driving dangerously or under the influence, but there are some offences you might not be aware you are committing. If you have bought a used car with defective parts, you might be liable if you are caught by police. Discover the past of your used car with a vehicle check from mycarcheck to avoid any nasty surprises.
If you are having trouble signing in with email, you can resolve this problem by setting a password using the button below.
Enter your email and press send. We will send you a password reset email that should resolve your trouble signing in.
You only need to complete this process once.
Instructions on how to set your password have been emailed to you, this is necessary to prove you own that address.
Once you complete the process you should use the red "Sign in with email" link in the mycarcheck menu.
