You can get fined £5,000 for singing too loudly in your car, experts warn

4 December 2019, 10:53 | Updated: 4 December 2019, 11:03

Singing too loudly in the car can land you a fine. Picture: Getty Images

Drivers could be given a dangerous driving charge for singing too loudly in the car.

If you like to blast music out of your car stereo, you might think twice on your next drive to work.

In fact, drivers are now being warned they could be slapped with a £5,000 bill and points on their license if they end up in an accident.

Loud singing can be classed as 'careless driving’, with perpetrators at risk of being charged with ‘driving without due care and attention’ or even ‘dangerous driving.’

Drivers are being warned about their car habits. Picture: Getty Images

‘Careless’ driving is defined by the Road Traffic Act 1988 as when “a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road”.

The penalty can be up to a £5,000 fine and nine license points in the most serious of cases.

Speaking to the Mirror, Mark Tongue, director of hire firm Select Car Leasing, said: “If you're singing loudly, dancing in your seat and generally getting into the groove, then you're at risk of being distracted from the job at hand - which is keeping your eyes on the road.

"If there's evidence - either dashcam footage or testimony from a police officer - that you were dancing and singing prior to an accident, you could ultimately be prosecuted for dangerous driving or driving without due care and attention.”

Principal solicitor at motoring law specialist Patterson Law, Emma Patterson also explained if motorists are dancing while driving, then they aren’t considered in proper control of their vehicle.

"If there was a catastrophic impact on the standard of your driving, such as a significant control loss or crash, then that would be considered dangerous driving,” she said.

This comes after police warned that listening to music too loud can lead drivers to miss emergency vehicles or the warning horns of other drivers.

Rebecca Ashton, IAM RoadSmart head of driver behaviour, told The Sun earlier this year: “Listening to loud music in your car can be incredibly distracting and some need to turn it off when concentrating on a manoeuvre such as parking.

"The main thing to remember is a human brain can only truly concentrate on one thing at a time, and listening to very loud music can be distracting.

“If the music is too loud, it may stop you hearing other things."