Indigo Car Hire > Blog > Motoring Law News

What happens if you get a parking ticket in a rental car?

August 19, 2021 Motoring Law News, News, UK Comments Off on What happens if you get a parking ticket in a rental car?
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET A PARKING TICKET IN A RENTAL CAR

One of the most frequently asked questions that we get is What happens if you get a parking ticket in a rental car? It’s a relatively common issue, usually accidental, but thankfully the process is a lot more straightforward than it sounds.

What’s the process?

So as soon as you spot the parking notice on your windscreen, the authorities issue the fine to the actual rental company rather than yourself, such as Avis, Enterprise or Hertz etc. The supplier then sends you the parking fine directly to arrange payment. They will usually add an administration fee on top, this varies based on the exact supplier. This does sound a bit excessive at first glance, but the suppliers often have to employ entire teams dedicated to chasing up fines with customers, so it does make sense they would need a way to finance it.

How can I avoid / resolve the situation?

The only real way to avoid it is by paying close attention to where you park, but mistakes can and do happen and it’s easy to make a slip up without realising. The best way to resolve is to just pay the fine as soon as you get it to avoid any further issues. In most cases the fine is also reduced by 50% if you pay within 14 days. It’s a fairly similar situation with road toll charges too, though at least you can often rent a toll device to offset the admin fees.

If you have any further questions at all feel free to get in touch, you can chat with us online, call us on +44 (0)113 880 0748, or email us at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk.

Read more

Noise Cameras – What Are They & How Will They Work?

June 14, 2019 Motoring Law News, News, UK Comments Off on Noise Cameras – What Are They & How Will They Work?
Noise cameras in the UK

Noise Cameras could fine drivers for having loud exhausts

Cars with loud exhausts, we have all heard it before whether it is in the middle of the day or the middle of the night. I’m sure most people can agree that it is a nuisance, but you can’t do anything about it. Well that is until now…

The government is trialling a prototype noise camera in several locations across the UK over the next seven months to cut down on motorists with extremely loud cars or motorbikes. If these trials are successful there is a good chance these cameras will be rolled out across the whole country. The man behind this is the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, who described the noise pollution of cars as an “absolute misery”. He also went on to say noise pollution has “very serious health impacts”.

What Is the Legal Noise Limit For Cars And Bikes?

The current law across Europe is that it is illegal for your car to be louder than 74 decibels. The Police have suggested that to be considered a nuisance it would have to be 90 decibels. This does raise some questions as some high-end supercars or older cars are in excess of the 74-decibel limit, so it will be interesting to see what happens with them if the camera was to be successful.

How Will the Cameras Work?

The trial will consist of noise detectors been placed on ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras in this phase the ANPR cameras will not be used to issue fines. If the trial is deemed successful, they will operate in a similar way to speed cameras. The noise detector will be triggered if the microphone detects sound levels that are louder than the legal limit. Once the noise detector has been triggered the camera will take a picture of the offending vehicles number plate. With this information the police will then issue a fine of £50 to the offender’s address.

What is your opinion on this, is it a good idea or do you think there is a better way? Be sure to let us know.

Read more

10 Driving Laws You Might Not Know You Are Breaking

May 9, 2019 Car Hire Tips, Motoring Law News Comments Off on 10 Driving Laws You Might Not Know You Are Breaking
10 DRIVING LAWS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW YOU ARE BREAKING

Have you ever broken the law while driving? Maybe one or two of you have been fined for speeding or parking somewhere you shouldn’t have. If you haven’t and you believe you have never broken any laws while driving think again! Here are 10 UK driving laws you could be breaking without knowing it.

No money at the parking meter

It happens to us all, you are paying at the parking meter and you fall slightly short. Some people will ask others passing by if they have a spare bit of change. Although this may seem harmless, it is actually breaking the law. This is because it could be classed as begging and is classed as a crime under the Vagrancy Act.

Driving with Pets

Do you take your dog with you everywhere? Make sure if you take them in the car they are properly restrained, failure to do so can result in a fine of up to £5000! So as long as the dog is restrained so it can’t distract you, injure itself or others in the event of a sudden stop you will avoid any fines.

Loud Music

At some point, everyone loves listening to music, some people listen to it louder than others. If you are caught with it too loud it is against the law as it as seen to be distracting to the driver meaning they are driving without due care and attention. Get caught with your music too loud and this could result in a fine or points on your licence.

Driving with interior lights on

There is no specific law that says you can’t drive with lights on inside your car, however a police officer could consider this as a distraction. As a result, they could ask you to turn them
off or charge you with careless driving.

Being ill in a taxi

Although sometimes unavoidable if you are suffering from a disease or illness and you use a taxi, it is the taxi driver’s decision if they want to take their fare. With that been said if you are ill and you don’t let the driver know, you are breaking the law.

Drinking in a motorhome

If you own a motorhome this one applies to you. If you happen to get caught drinking inside your motorhome when it is parked in a public space, you could be fined or even banned from driving. This applies even if you don’t have any intention of driving.

Arguing while driving

Everyone argues sometimes and especially if you are stuck in a car for long periods of time it doesn’t take long for arguments to start. If you’re the driver next time maybe you should think twice before arguing back as this is classed as a distraction from driving. As a result of this if you are pulled over for arguing in a car you could get points on your licence or a fine.

We decided to do a little poll on social media for a few of the lesser known laws.

driving-in-flip-flopsDriving with flip flops

Last summer the weather in the UK was amazing, for once and I’m sure many of you put your flip flops on to allow your feet to get some fresh air. It can be very easy just to get in your car and go to the shop without changing your footwear. While the law does not say it is illegal to drive in flip flops, it is illegal to drive while wearing unsuitable footwear.

This is because unsuitable footwear does not offer enough grip on the pedal that can lead to your foot slipping off. Other types of footwear in this category include Ugg boots, wellies and some high heels. So choose your footwear wisely next time you drive. If caught you could end up with points on your licence or a fine.

A quick poll on social media shows, 67% of those who answered admit to driving in Flip-Flops or other unsuitable footwear.

Splashing Pedestrians

If there has been a lot of rain and there is a lot of standing water, make sure you look around to make sure there are no pedestrians about. If there is and you splash them, you could be fined £100 for driving without reasonable consideration for other persons under the Road Traffic Act 1998.

45% of our followers who answered said they would purposely splash a pedestrian. Well done to the other 55%.

Paying at a drive-thru

Do you use cash, card or your mobile phone to pay at the drive-thru? If you use your mobile phone you are breaking the law as you are using a handheld device behind the wheel. This applies even if you are stopped at lights, in traffic or waiting for your food at the drive-thru. The law is that you shouldn’t have a phone in your hand if the engine is on and that includes if the engine turns off when the car is not moving to save fuel.

50% of those who completed our poll admitted to using their phone for contact-less payments at a drive-thru. That’s half!

We say be a little more careful out there, regardless of whether you think you know the law or not. If you are seen to be doing any of the above, you could attract un-necessary attention from the boys and girls in blue.

Read more

Driving Licence In Your Maiden Name?

April 1, 2014 Car Hire Tips, Motoring Law News Comments Off on Driving Licence In Your Maiden Name?

As you can imagaine identification is needed to prove that you have a full licence and for various other details such as your age when you come to renting a car, another thing that is checked is that the name on the identification matches the name on the payment card. This can throw up one very specific issue if you have recently been married and your surname has changed.

When you get married there are tons of changes that you need to make and often one of the things that is left to last is changing the name on your driving licence, passport, credit or debit card. This can cause a bit of an issue when you come to hiring a car as one may not match the other and because of that you can be rejected.

There are solutions to this however; using other forms of ID can verify that you are in fact the owner of the card. Some suppliers however are stricter than others so you need to make sure that you book with a supplier that will allow you to use other forms of identification like a marriage certificate to prove your maiden name, it can be quite confusing for some and its always best to ensure that your identification is present and correct before arriving to pick up the car.

The marriage certificate must be written in Roman script meaning it can be read and understood by the supplier. This is similar to hiring a car with an international driving permit, this acts as a translation tool for the supplier.

To make sure that you don’t get stranded without a car you need to make sure that you get everything right before hand, to do this simply call us here at Indigo Car Hire. Each situation is different as to what identification they will accept so for more information contact our experienced reservation agents on +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email us at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk and we will be happy to answer any questions that you may have about car hire and find you a solution.

Read more

Renewing Your Licence At 75

March 27, 2014 Car Hire Tips, Motoring Law News Comments Off on Renewing Your Licence At 75

We had a customer ask us recently if they were able to hire a car after renewing your licence at 75. The potential customer was 78 years of age and had just passed a test which meant that they could renew their licence for five more years, the problem with this was is that they didn’t know if they were able to hire due to the strict car hire restrictions.

There are two possible restrictions that could catch this specific customer out; one is that a large percentage of companies who offer car hire have an upper age limit of between 70-75. There was no need to worry in regards to this however as we have deals around the world with several multi national suppliers who will allow us to hire up until the age of 99 so this wasn’t an issue.

The other potential issue was that you need to have at least 12 months driving experience in order to be able to get a car. As the customer had renewed their licence they where unsure if their previous experience counted, you can rest assured however that your previous experience does count as the renewed licence still shows your original test pass date so there is no issue here and you can hire a car without any issues.

If you are interested in getting a car and you are a senior driver then we need to make sure that we get a supplier who will allow for drivers over the age of 70 to hire without charging them an extra daily rate. Getting the best rate is easy, just simply call our experienced reservation agents on +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email them at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk and they will be happy to help assist you and answer any questions that you may have about the car hire process.

Read more

Stay Safe For New Years

December 29, 2013 Motoring Law News Comments Off on Stay Safe For New Years

The Christmas period is one of the most dangerous to be on the road, not just because of the conditions. Stay safe when you drive, due to the festivities driving between the Christmas and New Year period can be dangerous. In 2012 there where 280 people killed by motorists who were over the drink driving limit with also 1,210 people injured. Many people like to have a drink as a celebration which is perfectly fine, but please take either public transport or a taxi back home, stay at a hotel if you have to, it is not worth the risk of driving! (more…)

Read more

Do You Carry An Outdated Licence?

September 17, 2013 Motoring Law News Comments Off on Do You Carry An Outdated Licence?

Your licence is very important to keep updated, outdated licences can land you in a lot of trouble with the law. It’s revealed however that over two million motorists in the UK are believed to have out of date driving licences and are still regularly driving on the road. When drivers get their licence it’s a very common misconception that this is for life however it does have to in fact be renewed, possibly the reason drivers think this is because of the renewal period being a long ten years. (more…)

Read more

Lower Payouts For Crash Victims

September 12, 2013 Motoring Law News Comments Off on Lower Payouts For Crash Victims

Information has been revealed from confused.com that motorists who have old or damaged cars may not receive an extremely low amount of money from their insurers pay out. This comes because of a new set of guidelines which basically which emphasises that an insurer might be fully within its rights to not pay the total full cost of the repair. If you have a new car with no previous damage or issues you should be in the clear from these new guidelines however if you don’t then you may want to keep your car in as best nick as possible. (more…)

Read more

Insurance Premiums Drop

August 30, 2013 Motoring Law News Comments Off on Insurance Premiums Drop

The largest decrease in insurance premiums since 1994, figures released by AA have highlighted this massive drop. Comprehensive car insurance has been dropped by 9.8% from on average £594.86 to £659.53, a welcomed drop for what seemed to be an endless increase of insurance premiums. Other types of insurance have also dropped however not as significantly, third party fire and theft saw a 4.8% decrease down to an average of £820.58. The insurance decreases couldn’t come at a more perfect time, with fuel prices increasing, the cost of repairs increasing and everything else just increasing in general this will be a well-deserved saving.

The main reason insurance premium prices where raising in cost was due almost solely to the amount of whiplash injury claims which were extremely costly and hard to challenge as the diagnosis is often subjective. Down to these claims approximately on average around £50 was added to yearly insurance premiums as it cost them more than £1 billion to settle these claims. The reason they can now lower this again is down to the newly improved fraud detection used by the insurance industry added with the tightening of the law to do with new whiplash claims.

Britain is the whiplash claim capital of Europe which is a truly shameful reputation. Further factors that are contributing to the fall is the brand new gender equality laws in regards to car insurance.

“The main insurance products are motor insurance, life insurance and retirement products such as annuities. The change will affect new insurance policies and renewals but existing annuities should not be affected.”

“Women, who tend to benefit from cheaper car insurance premiums than men due to lower accident rates, may see their costs go up, while men could see a slight decrease.” – The Telegraph

Due to this the drop in price will see men’s insurance decrease significantly more on top of the already decreasing price. The reason whiplash claims are going to decrease is down to the no win no fee lawyers now taking payment which now makes claims much more expensive to pursue which will hopefully see a huge decrease in claims resulting in an even further decrease in insurance and perhaps most importantly it will repair Britain’s reputation within the EU as the whiplash claim capital.

Read more

Call For Minimum Driving Age Raise

August 26, 2013 Motoring Law News Comments Off on Call For Minimum Driving Age Raise

Should the minimum driving age be raised? Currently in the UK the minimum driving age is 17, you can pass your test and legally drive by this age. Many experienced drivers feel that this is too young to be let loose on the British roads in fact 35% of motorists claim that the minimum age for driving should be raised and quite significantly so, even a large percentage of youngsters agree with 40% of them saying that they should be excluded from driving until they reach the age of 21. (more…)

Read more
Get a quote

An duo lorem altera gloriatur. No imperdiet adver sarium pro. No sit sumo lorem. Mei ea eius elitr consequ unturimperdiet.

Get Quote

Archives