If Your Licence Plate Is Dirty You Can Be Fined £1000

Did you know that if your licence plate is too dirty to be read, you could get a fine of £1,000 as it's considered a driving offence.

A DVLA spokesman told The Sun: "There is a specific offence under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 of obscuring or allowing a registration mark to be not easily distinguishable."

All registration numbers must be displayed clearly and correctly on the number plate - this helps enforcement agencies and members of the public to correctly identify a vehicle to assist road safety and traffic enforcement.

If police person spots a car with an obscured licence plate you could be hit with a £50 fine immediately and then taken to court and further fined another £1,000. Quite a bit more than a car wash or taking the effort to get the bucket out at home!

Other things that are illegal but you might not realise!

using an Apple Watch while you're driving is the same as using a mobile phone (because you can make calls and check messages). It could put you in prison for up to two years! (same penalties as for using a hand-held mobile phone).

Everyone of course knows that if they want to answer a call on their phone and don't have hands-free then they have to pull over. However did you know if you don't turn off the engine while on the phone, you can still get charged!

Also other things that you need your hands for that you might be tempted to do whilst stuck in traffic including the following carry a fine of £100 and three points! this is because potentially they cause a distraction to the driver, and could be categorised as "careless driving".

• Putting on lipstick in the mirror 
• Eating
• Drinking water (or similar)
• Taking a hand off the wheel to pet your dog
• Handing something to a child in the back

Sources

Lad Bible
The Sun

Delays after dog crashes tractor on motorway

Image credit thewebawards.com/dogs-driving

A dog caused long tailbacks after it took "control of a tractor" and crashed it through a fence onto a busy motorway.

The bizarre incident was reported by Traffic Scotland at junction 13 of the M74 near Abington in South Lanarkshire.

#The dog had apparently leaned on the controls of the tractor, taking it from a field on to the road before crashing into the central reservation having gone through a fence at around 8.15am.
The dog was uninjured in the incident.

#M74 (N) J13-RTC due to dog taking control of tractor... nope, not joking. Farmer&police at scene,vehicle in central res. #maycausetailbacks
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) April 22, 2015

#M74 (N) at J13 - Route is CLEAR from earlier incident & dog is fine. Has to be the weirdest thing we have ever reported! No delays in area
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) April 22, 2015

The incident led to plenty of dog puns as people responded to Traffic Scotland's tweets.
Tony T wrote: "Police investigating, so far no leads," while Beverley Friend added: "This is barking."
Michelle Muirhead asked: "Will the dog have points on his licence? Was he breathalysed? Did police arrest him?"

Driver Who Blamed Dog For Speeding Is Jailed

A man who blamed his dog for sitting on the pedals when he was caught driving at nearly 100mph in a 30mph zone has been jailed for 13 months.

Jordan Winn told police his Staffordshire bull terrier was in the footwell of his Volvo S60 sitting on the accelerator pedal last October.

Winn was spotted by a police officer in Chester-le-Street who then set off in pursuit.

Footage played in court showed the police car reached 88mph in an attempt to catch up with Winn over a mile stretch. The officer estimated Winn must have been driving at close to 100mph.

His Volvo could then be seen braking hard and turning right, just missing an oncoming car which had two adults and two children in it.

Winn admitted dangerous driving at a previous hearing, During sentencing at Durham Crown Court, the judge said "You advanced an utterly ludicrous account on which you were to insist for over a year. You told the police officer the reason you drove in that manner is because the dog that was in your vehicle was jumping around and became trapped beneath your foot."

That claim was dismissed at the previous hearing, known as a trial of issue.

Sentencing the 23-year-old, the judge said he would be failing the public if he did not immediately jail him.

"Your driving was extremely dangerous and it is just a matter of pure good fortune that nobody was seriously injured or killed during what was I am quite sure a police pursuit."

The judge said he was not being punished for the "ludicrous defence" he put forward, but for the potential harm he caused to others.