Driving laws are constantly being changed and updated. Here are seven new and upcoming rules and regulations van drivers should know about in 2020.
The rules of the road will often get updated or altered in aid of improving safety and some of these regulations can result in fines if not followed, making it's even more important to understand what’s changed and what will be changing in the future.
1 - Low Emission Zones
In April 2019, London gained its first (ULEZ) Ultra Low Emissions Zone which covers the same area as the Congestion Charge Zone. This means you will need to pay £12.50 daily to drive in the zone if your vehicle doesn’t meet the ULEZ emissions standards. In 2021 this zone will be expanding to most of inner London with other cities set to follow suit with schemes of their own.
Birmingham City Council is expecting their Clean Air Zone to start on July the 1st of 2020 which would come with a daily £8 charge on vehicles not meeting the requirements.
2. New Driving Technology
It was reported last year that mandatory safety feature for cars for 2022 onwards will be introduced by the EU.
This includes something dubbed as ‘speed-limiting technology’ which is a piece of intelligent speed assistance software. This technology is getting closure, in late 2019 Bosch started to develop an AI ‘Internal Monitoring System’ for vehicles. The concept is to have cameras to be built into internal components like rear-view mirrors and steering wheels allowing the car to alert drivers or even slow the vehicle down if the driver is detected to be distracted or drowsy.
3 - The Law on Using Mobiles will be Updated
Because the original law came in back in 2003 when the ‘Smart’ phone didn’t exist in the same way it does today. Because of this, there is a slight loophole in the original law, the current law in effect only stipulates not using the device when driving if using It for communication (Calling or texting) but nothing else and back then this was ok but phones are capable of letting us do more things now than ever.
From spring 2020 the law will be updated to include driving while browsing the internet, filming/taking pictures, scrolling through any content such as playlists, newsreels etc.
At the moment there’s a loophole in the law on using your mobile phone at the wheel. The legislation says you can’t use your mobile phone to call or text while driving. But these laws were first introduced in 2003 when Nokia still dominated the market. Times have changed and you can now do much more with your device.
4 - Driving Licences after Brexit
Depending on how Brexit goes you might need to apply for an international driving permit (IDP) to drive abroad depending on the country you’re driving in.
Some countries such as Belgium won’t require an IDP if your only planning on a short visit, in Belgium’s case this is 185 days. Other countries though will require you to have an IDP, France for example. An IDP will cost you £5.550 from a Post Office.
You would also need to have a motor insurance green card from your vehicle insurance provider.
5 - The ‘Dutch Reach’
In 2018 it was announced there would be a review of the highway code to aid keep cyclist and pedestrians safer on the roads. It was proposed that the highway code be updated to include the ‘Dutch Reach’ method, a technique of opening the car door using the hand furthest away forcing people to look over their shoulder but there have been no further updates on this.
In November 2019 though it was reported that the AA Driving School and the British School of Motoring will be adopting the method into their lessons in the future and we should expect the Highway Code to be updated officially somewhere in 2020.
6 - Graduated Driving Licences Could Be Introduced
A certain number of people have been campaigning for something called a graduated driving licence, this would be a driving licence that carries restrictions. The idea is that beginner drivers would have this licence for 2 years after passing and restrictions that come with it would be not being allowed to drive between 11 pm and 6 am, not allowed to drive on motorways and not allowed to carry passengers under the age of 25 without supervision.
These licenses are already in effect in countries like New Zealand but the UK government has concerns that this type of scheme could hurt young people and potentially become a restriction to their progress and has stated that more research needs to be done before introducing this type of licence.
7 - MOT and smart motorway rules
Harsher new categories mean the way vehicles are classified after an MOT test will change. Failing your MOT could now result in your vehicle being considered dangerous and you will not be allowed to drive it until repairs have been made.
As well as this, there are new things that will be checked for such as tyres that are underinflated and brake fluid that has been contaminated. Your MOT centre will have more information on this if you require.