If you splash a pedestrian this winter you could be fined up to £5000 - the law explained

Drivers who splash pedestrians are not only being inconsiderate but are also breaking the law and could land themselves with a substantial fine.

With the weather turning increasingly wet as we head into winter it can be hard to avoid the puddles gathering on the road and one in three UK drivers admits they have soaked a pedestrian.

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However, doing so - even accidentally - could see you fined anything between £100 and £5,000 and could even affect your insurance costs.

Under section three of the Road Traffic Act 1988, it is illegal to splash someone and as it amounts to driving “without reasonable consideration for other persons.”

It can be hard to avoid puddles as the winter weather worsens (Photo: Shutterstock)

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Most people are likely to face a £100 fixed penalty notice and three penalty points but if police think that your driving “amounts to a clear act of incompetence, selfishness, impatience, and aggressiveness” then the case could go to court where you would face a maximum fine of £5,000.

1 in 3 drivers has splashed a pedestrian

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While a third of people told a USwitch survey they had splashed a pedestrian while driving, one in 18 admitted that they had done it deliberately.

Uswitch car insurance expert, Florence Codjoe, commented: “It’s always important to take extra caution when driving in wet weather and slow down when you see a pedestrian walking by.

“Deliberately splashing a pedestrian with a puddle is a criminal offence and is not acceptable in the eyes of the law. Not only could you face a fine and penalty points, if convicted you’ll likely see your car insurance premiums increase.

“Insurance companies price their car insurance products based on a series of risk calculations, predicting how likely a driver is to make a claim. If you have a motoring conviction, insurers will see you as a greater risk and your insurance premiums will increase.”

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