12 mo. ago • 82%

Driver caught drinking mug of tea on motorway - BBC News

www.bbc.co.uk 'Put your cup of tea down' - driver scolded by police

A tea-drinking motorist is fined £100 after being caught on camera driving on the M6 in Cheshire last year.

28 comments

I think this is actually very common.

How is it news?

Also the po po giving you driving tips at highway speed seems kinda distracting.

34
- What, in a proper mug? In a takeaway cup with a lid, yeah. But a full mug of scorching hot tea with no lid? Probably not that common.
  
  14
  
  I guess the term "common" is going to be problematic because it's subjective.
  
  Lets just say I've personally observed maybe a half dozen people drinking from regular mugs like that over the years - and it's not like I spend my life trying to see what mugs people are using. I simply meant that it's not really news worthy.
  
  13
  
  I literally do this every week, I'm in the wild west though where we don't recognize tea as a distraction from driving unless it has rum in it :P
  
  3
  
  Also gets cold super fast, so what's the point
  
  2
  
  I've seen a few people drinking from 'normal' mugs whilst driving.
  
  1
"News"

6
Lol wut? Is there a law against drinking tea and driving? Is it different because he's driving a truck? Are you not allowed to let go of the steering wheel for a second? Why did they say something to him?? Was his driving dangerous in any way? So many questions.

5
- Is there a law against drinking tea and driving?
  
  Yes there is. If you're a driver and didn't know this, you need to hand your licence back.
  
  -7
  
  Hmmmm I don't think there is, not in my state at least. It's the drivers responsibility to decide what is reasonable when driving, if you lose control of your vehicle or break some other traffic law, doing something like drinking (non-alcoholic) tea or coffee could contribute to your charges but isn't illegal by itself.
  
  Idk if the sun is considered authoritative, but they come to a similar conclusion for the UK https://www.the-sun.com/motors/4486811/is-it-illegal-to-eat-and-drink-while-driving/
  
  2
  
  As far as I can see it's somewhat open to interpretation as to if you were "distracted" or "not in control of your vehicle"
  
  https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/know-how/driving-myths-your-questions-answered/
  
  2
The cupholder in my car has a cutout for mug handles...

3
- That doesn't mean to say that it's legal to use one as you're driving. My car has handsfree phone capability - I could still get nicked for making a call or even using the built in sat nav whilst driving.
  
  Remember - this post is about UK driving laws. It may be different in other countries.
  
  2
He must have an iron grip

1
So what?

1
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1
Jesus, drivers these days. Come on guys, it's unsafe to be drinking tea like that - you could burn yourself, and then get distracted and crash! Think of the other road users. Be better. It's much safer to drink something cool and refreshing, like an ice-cold Stella or a Carling.

1
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0
- We had the police in at work doing a talk and they mentioned this, apparently the HGVs are fully marked up and super obviously police vehicles, and they”re trying to catch people on their mobiles.
  
  I’ve never actually seen one of these HGVs though so I don’t know the copaganda-free truth.
  
  5
  
  From a quick search it looks like the old HGVs were marked up, but the new ones patrolling the M25 from 2020 are unmarked.
  
  4
  
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  -7

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