Pedestrians Splashed By Puddles

A Freedom of Information request has shown that there have been 63 reported incidents of motorists driving through a puddle causing pedestrians to be splashed during a five-year period from January 2009. South Wales Police said there were 38 cases of splashing reported, with victims as young as 10.

Last year a 22-year-old motorist received a fine and 6 points on his licence for splashing a family by deliberately driving into a puddle. Since he had had his licence for less than 2 years, this led to his licence being revoked.

Recklessly driving into a puddle which leads to splashing pedestrians falls under Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and can often be punished through a fixed penalty notice. However, most drivers are not punished; the motorists who were tracked down after complaints by police, were only given driving advice. The 22 year-old motorist wasn’t as lucky as his actions were witnessed by a traffic policeman. However, calls have been made to take this offence much more seriously whilst pedestrians are being reminded that they can report incidents if they are splashed.

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