Visibility from the driver's seat
| What the rule requires | Where it goes wrong | |
|---|---|---|
| Mirrors | Cars first used after 25 January 2010: left and right exterior mirrors and an interior mirror. If the interior mirror shows nothing useful — a van without a rear window — it is not required (paragraph 2). | Thinking three mirrors are always required. The date of first use decides, and the interior mirror has an exception. |
| Windscreen wipers | A properly working wiper installation giving the driver SUFFICIENT VIEW. At inspection one working setting suffices, the intermittent one excluded. | Looking at the wipers instead of the result. The requirement is not “they move” but “they give sufficient view” — a worn blade fails. |
| Windscreen washer | Required for cars first used after 30 September 1971. A separate requirement alongside the wipers, not the same thing. | Driving with an empty washer bottle. Without water the wiper makes the screen blinder — exactly the situation where you can no longer see. |
| Demisting and defrosting | Cars first used after 30 September 1971 must have a working installation for DEFROSTING and DEMISTING the windscreen. Two functions in one requirement. | Driving with a small hole cleared in the ice or mist. The requirement covers the whole windscreen; a peephole is not vision. |
| Windscreen and side windows | The windscreen and the side windows BESIDE THE DRIVER'S SEAT may show no damage or discolouration. The rear windows fall outside this requirement. | Thinking a stone chip “somewhere in the glass” is always acceptable. In the driver's field of view the strictest rules of annex VIII apply. |
The law itself
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