Posted: Friday, 22 December 2017
Winter has arrived with colder temperatures and the season's first snow. That's not necessarily a bad thing, unless the winter weather results in you being fined and given penalty points for not clearing snow from your car. Yes indeed, the winter months offer yet more opportunities to gain driver licence points.
As a business owner, you could run a driver licence check on one of your employees only to discover three penalty points that were not there before. You would have no way of knowing that the points were a result of not sufficiently clearing snow – a relatively minor offence that doesn't necessarily compromise your employee's ability to drive safely for work. And yet the law is the law. It is found in Rule 229 of the Highway Code, according to a report by the Independent.
The Independent reports that the AA has started its annual campaign to warn drivers to clear their cars of snow and ice. The law requires car drivers to clear windows, lights, and number plates prior to heading out. Failure to do so could result in a £60 fine and three penalty points added to a driver's licence. If the failure to clear snow results in an accident, the consequences could be even worse: a £100 fine and nine penalty points.
Drivers of high profile vehicles have an added responsibility. Since the law also requires drivers to remove any snow that could fly off their vehicles en route, drivers of vans and trucks have to go the extra mile to clear the tops of their vehicles. Failing to do so could mean a big problem.
Both Rule 229 and the penalties associated with violating it are about one thing: safety. Snow obstructing windows and lights make it difficult to see and be seen. Snow covering number plates makes it difficult for first responders to identify a vehicle in the event of emergency. And, of course, snow flying off a vehicle poses a danger to other vehicles behind it.
Now that winter is here, you have an even greater need to keep track of what your driving employees are doing. We recommend a routine driver licence check for each of your drivers on a regular schedule. Regular checks keep you in the know should any of them ever get into trouble.
Source: Independent