On the road CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR LAW

CHECK YOUR ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR LAW

On the road

Complete the sentences and definitions below with words and expressions related to driving, and write your answers in the appropriate space in the table at the bottom of the page. The first and last letters of each word are already in the table. If you do this correctly, you will reveal a word in the shaded vertical strip that means 'a note on a driving licence to show that the holder has been convicted of a traffic offence'. 1 Driving a vehicle in such a way that it may cause damage to property or injure people, where the driver is unaware of causing a risk to other people, is called ________ driving. 2 The breaking of a rule or regulation is called a ________. 3 An offence committed when driving faster than the speed limit is called ________. 4 ________ (2 words) is the offence of taking a vehicle without the owner's permission, and using it to drive about (usually in a dangerous manner). 5 The minimum type of insurance required when driving a motorised vehicle is called ________ (2 words) insurance. 6 A person who is ________ from driving has been legally banned from driving a motorised vehicle for a certain period of time. 7 If you are stopped by the police while driving because you have done something wrong, they may offer you a ________ (2 words), which means that they fine you a certain amount of money and give you automatic penalty points 'on the spot'. 8 ________ is a verb which has a similar meaning to obey, and is often used in connection with obeying the rules of the road. 9 It is an offence to drive with ________ brakes, steering, tyres or eyesight (in other words, anything that doesn't work properly). 10 ________ (2 words), also called driving with excess alcohol, is considered to be one of the more serious road traffic offences. 11 It is an offence not to wear a ________ when driving or riding in a car.

 

ANSWER KEY

1. reckless (for example, tailgating, speeding, etc. A driver who causes death through reckless or dangerous driving is guilty of a notifiable offence and may be charged with manslaughter or culpable homicide) 2. contravention (for example, a driver may be charged with a contravention of speed limits, a contravention of parking regulations, etc. The word contravention can be applied to any situation where a rule or regulation is broken) 3. speeding (we also say exceeding the speed limit) 4. joy riding (sometimes written as one word, joyriding. If someone breaks into a vehicle to steal it, this may be referred to as aggravated theft) 5. third party (third party insurance pays compensation if someone who is not the insured party incurs loss or injury. If the insured person is also covered, this is called comprehensive or fully-comprehensive insurance. In Britain, driving without third party insurance is an offence which can carry a fine of up to £5,000, and a possible ban from driving. The adjective is uninsured) 6. disqualified (if a driver in Britain commits a motoring offence, he / she receives points on his / her driving licence. If 12 or more points are accumulated over a three-year period, the driver is disqualified. Some offences carry more points than others) 7. fixed penalty (a set of fines and penalties established in advance, usually for minor motoring offences) 8. comply (for example, drivers should comply with traffic lights and signs, they should comply with the direction of a traffic warden, they should comply with pedestrian crossing regulations, etc) 9. defective 10. drink driving (in Britain, this automatically carries a ban from driving of at least one year, unless the driver has mitigating circumstances, or if a ban from driving would cause the driver exceptional hardship – for example, the loss of his / her job) 11. seatbelt (this rule includes front- and back-seat passengers) Other driving offences in Britain include: driving while disqualified; driving without road tax; using a hand-held mobile phone while driving; failing to stop after an accident; failing to report an accident within 24 hours; driving with too many people in a vehicle, or with an otherwise overloaded vehicle; failing to supply police with an alcohol, blood or urine specimen when asked; driving while unfit through drugs; driving while failing to notify a disability; leaving a vehicle in a dangerous place, etc. There are, in fact, at least 60 offences you may commit by driving a motorised vehicle in Britain! The word in the shaded vertical strip is endorsement (from the verb to endorse, definition 3 in the A & C Black Dictionary of Law)