£5k fine for being in the wrong gear
GOING to a party this festive season and thinking of taking the car?
Well it’s not just the drink-driving laws you have to worry about. Wearing fancy dress gear or the wrong footwear at the wheel can also land you in big trouble.
This is a year-round problem, with one reader telling me he ended up with a £5,000 fine.
Others have run into trouble with their insurance due to what they were wearing in the driving seat. Here’s a selection of your stories:
Santa suits
Terrence agreed to be Father Christmas for his son’s cub group do in the West Midlands.
To avoid the children seeing him dress up, he put on the whole outfit (except the beard) at home and got in his car to drive the 10-minute journey. On the way Terrence was involved in an accident.
He felt comfortable that it wasn’t his fault but the other driver claimed he was not in control of his car due to being restricted by the suit. His insurance company agreed and admitted liability, causing his premiums to skyrocket.
Flip flops
Wendy in Newcastle nearly had an accident while driving in flip flops last year, caused by one of the shoes getting caught under the brake pedal. The whole scene was witnessed by police in a patrol car so the officers decided to pull her over and investigate.
Wendy received an on-the-spot £100 fine and was lucky to escape with three points on her licence.
Snow boots
Richard in Banbury was stopped by the police for driving through a red light. The police suspected he had been drink-driving (which he hadn’t) so they asked him to get out of the car.
The officer then found he was wearing big snow boots so fined him for wearing dangerous footwear while in charge of a vehicle. Richard refused to pay the fine so the matter went to court. He was found guilty and fined £5,000.
While technically there is no law that states what you can and cannot wear behind the wheel, Rule 97 of the Highway Code states you must have footwear and clothing which “does not prevent you using the controls in the correct manner” and this paves the way for fines and penalty points.