As people rush to dress trees with festive decorations just in time for the Christmas season, a common mistake may land you with a hefty fine.
Trees vary in size and style, with some settling for a popup plastic tree easily stored in the months between, and others hang red and gold baubles from house plants sprayed silver.
But many people opt for traditional evergreens, with around eight million of them sold in the UK every year, according the British Christmas Tree Growers Association.
READ MORE: £5,000 fine for drivers wearing boots, winter coats, Christmas jumpers and sparkles
Driving your haul home after picking one out from a row of fresh Christmas trees could land you with points on your licence and a £5,000 fine.
Transporting your tree incorrectly could fall under "careless and inconsiderate driving", which brings a maximum penalty of a £5,000 fine and nine points on your licence, or a disqualification from driving altogether.
The motoring offence you’re most likely to commit while transporting a Christmas tree is CU50: "Causing or likely to cause danger by reason of load or passengers."
Cars-for-cash company Goodbye Car are coming to the rescue with some top tips to help stop you from falling foul of the highway code.
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 six top tips for the safe delivery of Christmas trees:
Buy a netted tree
Most Christmas tree sellers know how to wrap a tree in a net. If they don't come ready-packed, you should be able to ask for this service.
A netted tree is a much more manageable package to transport.
Face the tree stump to the front
You likely won't be able to fit your Christmas tree in your car, unless you buy a small tree or have an exceptionally large car.
Placing the tree lengthways on your car, with the stump to the front, is the best way to position your tree as the angle of the branches reduces wind resistance.
Use a roof rack
Roof racks are a great way to safely transport items too big and bulky to fit inside your car.
You’ll need bungee cords or ropes to tightly secure your tree to the roof, and then tie the ropes to the roof rack.
Make sure the whole tree is tightly secured, right from the bottom branches up to the tree top.
No roof rack? Use your car doors
Many of us don't have a roof rack ready to use for Christmas tree transportation, but every car has doors (hopefully)!
Using your car doors is another way to keep your Christmas tree safely secured within the law.
Open your car doors and tie the ropes inside the car. The ropes should be even more secure once the car doors are closed.
Attach reflective tags to an overhanging tree
Your car roof might not be long enough to fit your Christmas tree if it's particularly big one.
If the tip of your tree hands over the back of your car, be sure to attach reflective tags to the tree so other drivers and road users can see how much room they need to give you.
Drive more cautiously than usual
Heavy cargo like a Christmas tree affects how your drive.
Be particularly careful when taking corners, and keep extra distance from the vehicles ahead of you so you can avoid braking sharply.
Sharp and sudden movements could dislodge your tree from the car roof and bring you into dangerous driving territory.
