So, I've been reported for driving through a puddle which splashed someone

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Don't worry about it. If she does report you or start proceedings against you, then it's easy to argue against. It's only a crime if it can be proved that you deliberately splashed someone. All you have to do is say that it would have been unsafe for you to slow down so much that pedestrians wouldn't be splashed, or swerve to avoid the puddle. The safety of drivers and pedestrians is more important than people staying dry. Unless there is video or CCTV showing you driving faster than the speed limit or fast enough in the conditions to be dangerous (or of course speeding up to splash her deliberately) you should be fine.

Reply 81

Joinedup

Original post by Enigmatic Spirit

Seriously? A £2,500 fine for a little splash? The law is utterly ridiculous at times!

yeah who needs that? if there's no witnesses around you'd be better off backing up and running them over.
This is in your economic best interest and is therefore moral
/libertarian

Reply 82

ROG.

This comes under - inconsiderate driving - and is likely to be 3 points and £60 if memory serves me right

Reply 83

Enigmatic Spirit

Original post by Joinedup

yeah who needs that? if there's no witnesses around you'd be better off backing up and running them over.
This is in your economic best interest and is therefore moral
/libertarian

I never suggested anything of the sort. :confused:

Reply 84

Good bloke

Original post by Feefifofum

It's only a crime if it can be proved that you deliberately splashed someone.

Er, no. Inconsiderate driving isn't about being whether you were deliberate, though it isn't a crime anyway; it is a driving offence.

All you have to do is say that it would have been unsafe for you to slow down so much that pedestrians wouldn't be splashed, or swerve to avoid the puddle.

No again. If you were going too fast to avoid the incident you weren't driving sensibly for the prevailing conditions.

Unless there is video or CCTV showing you driving faster than the speed limit or fast enough in the conditions to be dangerous (or of course speeding up to splash her deliberately) you should be fine.

Wrong again. Inconsiderate driving has nothing to do with speed and speed limits.

Reply 85

alex5455

Original post by MagicNMedicine

This shows the shocking lack of respect which Labour and the leftists have created in the UK, where people don't have the common courtesy not to drive through puddles and soak a pedestrian especially an older woman in business attire.

Mrs Thatcher tried to leave us a society where people respected each other especially older people who were dressed up trying to make their journey to their lawful place of work and then you get idiots behaving like this chav.

No doubt he will just get a ticking off or a warning because you can't punish anybody in our PC leftist society, they might get offended.

so many people did not get this post.pos rep

Reply 86

alex5455

Original post by Iron Lady

Thank you to everyone who has responded. No news yet, will probably find out on Monday. I have learned my lesson, though.

It wasn't intentional.

learn to drive better then.

Reply 87

Joinedup

Original post by Enigmatic Spirit

I never suggested anything of the sort. :confused:

sorry, I quoted you but I didn't mean to imply that's what you were saying. I'M just skitting on some of the crazy views expressed on the forum in general.

Reply 88

kunoichi

stupid woman was lucky you stopped apologised and offered a lift, most drivers wouldnt even do that sometimes!

Reply 89

Iron Lady

Original post by alex5455

learn to drive better then.

Do you have a vendetta against drivers as well as right-wingers?

Reply 90

aspirinpharmacist

Original post by whyumadtho

There is information here.

The CPS website considers "driving through a puddle causing pedestrians to be splashed" to be a breach of this Act.

Seriously? Oh how I wish I had the registration number of a d***head driver who completely soaked me and my friend on the way home one night. She was having a crap day as well and the road was virtually empty, we were completely drenched by them though.

However, you apologised and since you tried to avoid splashing her surely they won't penalise you too harshly for it?

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 91

Katie_p

Original post by Good bloke

I did read what you said, though I suspect you haven't thought carefully about what I wrote. I suggested you treat puddles as obstacles in the road. This means driving at a speed and in a manner which allows you to either avoid them or to stop before you hit them if come across one that is next to a pedestrian, that is deep or that you fear may conceal a pothole.

Why is it any more difficult to do this for puddles than it would be to avoid a parked car? They represent a very similar hazard to avoid as you must either go round them safely or stop if you can't in both cases. Would you hit the parked car and then claim they are incredibly difficult to avoid? I don't think so.

You can see a parked car from much further away than a puddle, also they tend to be parked considerately whilst puddles aren't! A car parked on a narrow road with a 50 limit might actually be pretty difficult to avoid, which is why you wouldn't expect one to be parked there.

Reply 92

alex5455

Original post by Iron Lady

Do you have a vendetta against drivers as well as right-wingers?

only bad drivers

Reply 93

smudge_moon

What some people are also failing to see is that sometimes there is puddles at the side of roads and also in the middle if its an old road or one that needs some work. So we're facing either possibly splashing someone or spraying water onto another cars windscreen, which may startle them and cause them to lose control momentarily thus causing damage if they mount the pavement where people are walking. Even if you go through a puddle slowly it can still spray up quite a way, you can't avoid it.

I applaud the OP for not just driving off, noticing that they had sprayed the woman and apologising and offering a lift, which she declined and I don't think much will come of it. The woman probably said it In the heat of the moment in anger.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 94

Iron Lady

Original post by alex5455

only bad drivers

You may not find me very tolerable, but I don't find you very tolerant.

I'm not a bad driver.

Reply 95

A Cat

Original post by Good bloke

Why? It is what any reasonable person, and the law, would expect. Driving off after without stopping would get the driver into a lot more trouble. The OP did broadly the right thing.

it does not pay to be entirely truthful when being dealt with by authorities. Better advice is to strictly deny everything that can be denied. i.e. I was not there, the plaintiff was not there, there was no puddle, etc etc etc. Being a good bloke will lead to you being screwed over.

Reply 96

Good bloke

Original post by A Cat

Not in my experience. Being a cat, though, leads to making a lot of screeching sounds in the dark and lurking around waiting to be fed.

Reply 97

Michaelj

Original post by Good bloke

Not in my experience. Being a cat, though, leads to making a lot of screeching sounds in the dark and lurking around waiting to be fed.

Sometimes doing the good thing will get you more trouble. Hence "good people finish last". If you deny everything and there's no evidence then you can't really be done. That's why insurance companies advice you to not admit liability if involved in a crash.

Reply 98

Iron Lady

Original post by Good bloke

Not in my experience. Being a cat, though, leads to making a lot of screeching sounds in the dark and lurking around waiting to be fed.

There is so much more to cats than meet the eye:

They're trustworthy. Whenever I feel down, instead of opening up to my mum, I can turn straight to my cat, who I know won't judge me. He'll sit there, listen, purr for a while, nudge me to let me know that I am not alone. Speaking to my cat lifts a huge weight off my shoulders. When you look into his eyes you know that he will protect you.

He is easy to plan your life around. He may wake you up in the morning at 6 looking for food, but those minutes whilst you watch him finish his food are wonderful. I then carry him to the front door and watch him walk away as the sun rises in the distance. I call his name, he turns around and he winks to let me know that he will be back. When he is back after 10, we have a ten minute cuddle before he dreams at 5. After 5, it's time for his dinner. My cat usually has a chicken jelly sachet every other day. We then say our goodbyes as he goes to relieve himself and may go on rodent control.

So he may sleep a lot, eat a lot, kill a few mice now and again, but don't you dare say cats don't do anything other than screech or sleep. You can tell a cat anything and they will not object or persuade you otherwise. Meeting eyes warms my heart, these last 8 years I have had a friend I never thought I would have. So please, take back what you said, as cats are a man's best friend.

Reply 99

rattusratus

im sorry so its illegal to break suddenly or swerve for a living thing like an animal (because you may cause a hazzard to other drivers) but you should for a puddle incase someone gets damp.... WTF :confused:

by the way nothing will happen, the other week a snow plow barred on through spaying the whole bus stop and everyone waiting with slush, including the clearly heavily pregnant woman next to me, now baring in mind she works for the council running road clean up crews and has had people fired for recklessness in the past (ironicly she was telling that story when it happened) im sure she would of done something but being sprayed with slush/water during bad conditions in not something that can be pinned on the driver