Air fresheners, football flags or small stuffed toys hanging from your rear-view mirror could land you with a huge fine and three penalty points on your license.
Motorists are being warned that even adding a sticker on windscreen could see them in trouble with cops especially if it blocks their view from the road.
Driving with any kind of distractions on car windscreens or windows can reduce your field of vision. This can reduce your reaction time and may contribute to an accident.
If a driver is involved in a collision that is not his fault, he can get penalized for driving with an obstructed view.
Even though it is not strictly illegal to add stickers or decorations on your windscreen, anything that can prevent you from having a whole view of the road can attract three penalty points on your license and £100. Trying to challenge the penalty court could hit you with a £1000 fine.
The Highway Code states: “windscreens and windows must be kept clean and free from obstructions to vision.”
The Road Traffic Act also states that “no person shall drive a motor vehicle on a road if he is in such a position that he cannot … have a full view of the road and traffic ahead.”
If you are involved in an accident, it can also impact your car insurance. Insurers are not likely to cover injuries or damages sustained in a crash if the driver’s vision is impacted by obstructions.
Motorists can also fail their MOT for having things hanging from their rear-view mirror as most service centers do not approve the vehicle until obstructions are removed.
Rebecca Ashton, IAM RoadSmart head of driver behavior, said: “Anything hanging from the rear-view mirror or anything placed on the windscreen could restrict the drivers view, things people use tend to vary from air fresheners and dice hanging from the mirror to fans, large sat-navs and even using the navigation on an iPad.
“Missing something because you had something obscuring your view could potentially be extremely dangerous, good driving involves exceptional observation skills, seeing things early allows you to anticipate and plan how you deal with hazards.
“We would suggest it is placed low on the windscreen, on the right hand side and if possible within the area where the windscreen wipers don’t clear. The main thing to remember is you should always try to avoid the drivers field of vision.”
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