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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Ashlie Blakey

The driving habits we all think are illegal - but are actually myths

We all like to think we know the rules of the road.

But there are plenty of myths many of us believe when it comes to driving.

Can you drive in flip flops? Can you put on your car's interior light while you're driving? Can you drive in high heels?

A recent survey of 2,000 UK drivers revealed the majority of us don't actually know legal fact from fiction when it comes to the Highway Code.

Here, we sift through some of the most common myths and separate the fact from the fiction.

There are some driving habits many of us think are illegal - but aren't (STEVE ALLEN)

Driving in flip flops

Nearly half (46pc) of people surveyed thought it was illegal to drive in flip flops, but this isn't the case.

As long as you can use the car's controls in a 'correct manner', it's not illegal to drive in flip flops.

Driving barefoot

Over 75pc of people thought driving barefoot was illegal.

It's not - providing you can control the car safely.

Putting on your car's interior light while driving

The Highway Code does not say that drivers must not turn their car's interior light on while behind the wheel.

But 46pc of people thought this was illegal.

Driving in high heels

From a legal viewpoint, driving in high heels is fine.

Though again, only as long as the driver has full control of the car.

Only 22pc of people in the survey correctly identified that all of these things are in fact legal in the UK.

While it might be a weight off people’s minds to get these misconceptions debunked, there is also confusion elsewhere too, with drivers not being able to identify the following habits as illegal:

  • Moving into a bus lane to let an ambulance through (72pc)

  • Paying on your phone by Apple Pay at a drive-thru (63pc)

  • Flashing your lights to give way to someone (52pc)

  • Going 42mph in a 40mph zone and not getting caught on a speed camera (36pc)

  • Pulling over to check a map or your phone with the engine running (31pc)

  • Using the middle lane of the motorway for normal driving (28pc)

  • Beeping your horn at someone in anger (27pc)

  • Using the left-hand lane of the motorway for slow driving (22pc)

  • Driving with snow on the roof of your car (20pc)

  • Sleeping in your car while drunk (14pc)

  • Letting your dog out for a wee on the hard shoulder even if broken down (11pc)

Though these are all only minor offences, they could lead to drivers receiving Fixed Penalty Notices, and in some cases, points on their licences.

But this doesn't stop us doing them.

The survey showed 95pc of us flash our lights to give way, while 79pc of drivers beep their horn in anger, which is also illegal.

Phil Morgan, head of findandfundmycar.com, which commissioned the survey, said: “Nobody wants to have to pay a hefty fine for something that they didn’t know was going to cost them, so it’s best to know these sooner rather than later."

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