Drivers risking huge fines and points for going to the toilet on the motorway

Millions of British motorists are risking a heavy fine and points on their licence by stopping to go to the toilet at the roadside.

The hard shoulder on a motorway is there as a last resort in case of emergencies but as many as 2.5m drivers have admitted to using it as an impromptu loo.

Stopping on the hard shoulder of a motorway or dual carriageway is, in fact, illegal unless it’s an emergency, a breakdown or you’re told to do so by police. And being caught short doesn’t count as an emergency.

Breaking the rule carries a standard fine of £100 and three penalty points on your licence but depending on the consequences of your actions it can be even more costly.

If by stopping on a hard shoulder you cause an accident you could be charged with careless driving, hit with a £5,000 fine, up to nine penalty points and even a lengthy driving ban.

100 deaths a year

Highways England figures show that around 100 people are killed on motorway hard shoulders each year, highlighting the danger of using them for non-emergency purposes.

Yet, a recent study by Select Car Leasing found that nine per cent of men and four per cent women said they’d been so desperate for the toilet that they had stopped on a motorway hard shoulder to urinate.

James O’Malley, company director of Select Car Leasing, said: “Motorway hard shoulders are not a safe place to be, with countless accidents occurring there each year, many of them proving fatal.