While going to pick up a Christmas tree ahead of the festive season can be exciting, it's important that drivers know how to properly take theirs home.
Motorists risk a major fine and points added to their licence if their tree is not safely transported, as they could be found to be committing a CU50 offence.
This motoring conviction code refers to incidents in which drivers are "causing or likely to cause danger by reason of load or passengers", and is punishable by three points on your licence.
READ MORE - DVLA issues urgent scam warning as drivers receive fake emails and texts
According to experts at Goodbye Car, drivers are also likely to be found guilty of “careless and inconsiderate driving” - which comes with a £5000 fine.
As long as drivers take appropriate precautions, they are unlikely to find themselves in trouble with the law.
Goodbye Car’s Operations Manager Mark Royal said: “Driving your Christmas tree home is an important one to get right for the safety of yourself and others, but with the right knowledge, it shouldn’t be a difficult job.
"Fines can easily be avoided if you properly secure the tree to the roof of your car.”
Here are Goodbye Car’s top tips for the safe delivery of Christmas trees:
1. Buy a netted tree
Most places that sell Christmas trees know to provide the tree wrapped in a net. If they’re not already netted, this is a service you should be able to ask for. Netting the tree makes sure that it’s a much more manageable package to transport!
2. Face the tree stump to the front
It’s unlikely, unless you buy a really small tree, that you’ll be able to fit your Christmas tree in your car. The best way to position the tree on top of your car is lengthways, with the stump facing the front of the car. This limits wind resistance due to the angle of the branches.
3. Use a roof rack
A roof rack is one of the safest ways to attach your Christmas tree to the roof of your car. You’ll need to use bungee cords or ropes to secure the tree tightly to the roof, then tie the ropes to the roof rack. Make sure the tree is secured right from the bottom branches to the tip of the tree.
4. No roof rack? Use your car doors
It’s not the end of the world if you don’t have a roof rack – car doors can be used as another way to safely secure your Christmas tree within the law. Instead of attaching the ropes to a roof rack, open the car doors and tie the ropes inside the car. Once the car doors are closed, it should secure the ropes even further.
5. Attach reflective tags to an overhanging tree
Depending on the size of the tree, your car roof may not be long enough to accommodate it. If this is the case, and the tip of your Christmas tree is hanging over the back of your car, make sure that you attach reflective tags so that other motorists and road users can see how much room to give you.
6. Drive more cautiously than usual
Transporting heavy cargo like a Christmas tree should have an impact on how you drive. Be careful in particular when taking corners and keep well back from other vehicles to avoid braking sharply – both of which could dislodge the tree from your car roof and be classed as driving dangerously.
