People who regularly offer their mates a lift might see themselves given a whopping £2,500 fine.
This might happen if you're offering friends a lift in return for money.
A driver is forbidden from making a profit from a lift, unless they have a possession of a valid taxi or private hire licence.
Motorists are legally allowed to accept money to cover the cost of petrol charges regarding the journey, but they cannot make any other profit on top, reports The Express.
This means it's impossible to accept a donation from a friend or a neighbour, without potentially running into trouble.
Police officers could brand your vehicle as an illegitimate taxi service, which in turn could seen them hand the driver a fine of up to £2,500.
The rule is tough to enforce around friends and family, although charging neighbours for lifts could cause an issue. This is down to some road users having profited from becoming an undercover taxi service, by using social media to offer lifts to popular hotspots for cash .
This happened in another area of the UK, with the Bournemouth Echo reporting that Facebook groups were created to offer illegal lifts around town.
More than 7,000 members were part of the closed group and experts have warned the rise in illegal lift sharing sites are rising.
A spokesperson for Dorset Police told the paper: "We are aware of several Facebook groups which have been created in order to share lifts in the Bournemouth and Poole area.
"When getting into a vehicle with an unlicensed and unvetted stranger, you have no knowledge of their background and risk your own personal safety.
"Before offering a lift in exchange for money, you should speak to your insurance company as this could invalidate your insurance and may result in your vehicle being seized by police, a fixed penalty or prosecution resulting in a fine, points on your licence or disqualification from driving.”
The dangers of this sites and accepting lifts is that the drivers are not vetted and thoroughly checked beforehand, increasing the risk for passengers.
Journeys will not be covered by insurance as policyholders will invalidate motorists cover if they are involved in an accident.
Illegal drivers are also causing difficulty for many local taxi businesses who have seen the loss of customers due to the competition.
