It's the law - motoring do's and don'ts

This may include a ban on smoking in cars for the five million people who use their own private cars for work (source: www.telegraph.co.uk), or even a total ban on smoking and driving for everyone. Smoking at the wheel was deemed a distraction in the updated Highway Code, and so there is already a case for prosecuting offenders for driving without due care and attention.

Whatever the result, a number of other restrictions are already in place governing in-car behaviour, and it pays to know the rules in order to avoid a fine or a ticking-off from a friendly traffic police officer.

Seatbelts, for example, must be worn both in the front and the back, if your car has them. New legislation came into force in September 2006 covering the use of 'child restraints' - which basically means a child seat or a booster seat.

Child safety

Any child under the age of three must use an appropriate child seat, while children over three must now also use an appropriate child restraint until they either reach their 12th birthday or grow to over 4 ft 5in (1.35 metres) tall.

The only exceptions to this, for children over three, is in a licensed taxi or private hire vehicle, if the right child restraint is not available; or for unexpected necessity over a short distance, if the right child restraint is not available; or where two occupied child seats in the rear mean there is no room for a third child seat.

Children under three years may travel in the rear of a taxi unrestrained if no child restraint is available, but never in a private vehicle.

In addition, a rear-facing baby seat must not be fitted into a seat protected by an active frontal airbag.

Another well-publicised driving restriction was the law passed in 2003 banning driving and talking on a hand-held mobile phone.

The new regulations apply to the drivers of all motor vehicles on the road, including motorcycles, goods vehicles, buses and taxis. They also apply to anyone supervising a learner driver, while the learner driver is driving.

Must be hands-free

The law still allows you to talk on a phone as long as it can be operated without holding it, using hands-free equipment, for example. Pushing buttons on a phone while it is in a cradle or on the steering wheel is permitted, although you still risk prosecution for failing to have proper control of a vehicle under Regulation 104 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations. If there is an incident, the use of any type of phone could potentially be used to justify charges of careless or dangerous driving.

The law also requires you to be able to see clearly, either with or without glasses. Drivers are legally required to be able to read a number plate from a distance of 20.5 metres and to wear any necessary glasses or contact lenses at all times.

Other in-car activities - such as tuning your radio, reading a map on your knees while driving, or even talking to and looking at another passenger - while not specifically banned can be deemed an offence under regulations requiring you to drive at all times with due care and attention.

The best advice is to concentrate on your driving and not do anything else. If you do this, as well as complying with the law, you're less likely to have an accident.

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