5 Important Road Rules Most Drivers Ignore

You may think you’re a careful and considerate driver, but chances are you occasionally flout the rules of the road. In fact, research suggests that the vast majority of motorists break a whole bunch of road rules pretty much on a daily basis.

Albeit unknowingly in many instances, but still - you’re probably as guilty as everyone else!

Of course, some road rules and driving laws are more important than others. But nevertheless, all rules of the road are there for a reason and should therefore be heeded.

So it’s worth asking yourself - how many of the following have you broken (knowingly or otherwise) as of late?

Driving With Pets

First up, driving with pets isn’t illegal. However, driving with pets in a manner that could prove distracting is. If you have your pets safely fenced-in at the back of your car or in some kind of transportations crate, you’re golden. If you allow your pet to roam freely around your car or sit on your lap while you’re driving, you’re not. It’s rare for police to pull-over and penalise motorists for driving unsafely with pets, but it does happen - so be careful!

Failure To Give Bicyclists Space

It’s a legal requirement to give cyclists a safe amount of space at all times. This means how closely you’re permitted to drive behind them and the amount of space you should allow when passing them. As a rule of thumb, you should ensure that cyclists are given at least 3 feet of space when you intend to overtake them. Anything less could cause an accident, which will ultimately be your fault for failing to give them sufficient space.

Leaving Your Engine Running Unattended

If you leave your car running on your drive while popping back into the house to pick up something you forgot, you’re hardly going to have the book thrown at you. Nevertheless, leaving your car running unattended for a longer period of time could see you landed with a fine. Even if you’re leaving the car running to remove the fog from your windscreen, you could still end up with a sizeable penalty. It’s dangerous, it’s polluting and it heightens the risk of having your car stolen, so don’t do it.

Driving With A Cracked Windscreen

The dangers of driving with a cracked windscreen don’t take a genius to figure out. Nevertheless, most motorists don’t know where to draw the line between a superficial chip and dangerous damage. Hence, you should always ensure you have any damage to your windscreen examined by a professional, and/or repaired if necessary.

Illegal U-Turns

Last but not least, u-turns are restricted to certain roads for a good reason. Nevertheless, motorists by the million ignore such restrictions on a daily basis and perform u-turns wherever they feel like. Once again, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that if you’re caught doing a u-turn where you shouldn’t be, you could be headed for bother. More so, cause an accident while performing an illegal u-turn and you’ll probably be in more trouble than you can handle.