View to the front and windscreen obscuration
General requirements
Regulation 30 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (SI 1986 No. 1078 as amended) requires that:
(1) Every motor vehicle shall be so designed and constructed that the driver thereof while controlling the vehicle can at all times have a full view of the road and traffic ahead of the motor vehicle.
(2) Instead of complying with the requirement of paragraph (1) a vehicle may comply with Community Directive 77/649, 81/643, 88/366, 90/630 or, in the case of an agricultural motor vehicle, 79/1073.
(3) All glass or other transparent material fitted to a motor vehicle shall be maintained in such condition that it does not obscure the vision of the driver while the vehicle is being driven on a road.
In practice, the annual test will check that items placed in or stuck to the windscreen or surface damage, cracks or discolouration in the windscreen do not seriously obscure the vision of the driver. In order to better define what maybe permissible the windscreen is divided into zones:
- Zone A is a vertical area 290mm wide, centred on the steering wheel and contained within the swept area of the windscreen (this area is 350mm wide on vehicles over 3.5 tonnes);
- Zone B is the remainder of the swept area of the windscreen
For simplicity, surface damage, cracks or discolouration, are simply referred to as damage.
In Zone A, a single damaged area shall be contained within a 10mm diameter circle. A combination of minor damage areas shall not seriously restrict the drivers view. Windscreen stickers, or other obstructions, shall not encroach more than 10mm.
In Zone B, a single damaged area shall be contained within a 40mm diameter circle. Windscreen stickers, or other obstructions, shall not encroach more than 40mm.
Windscreen repairs shall be assessed the same as unrepaired damage and shall not restrict the driver’s vision.
Cracks passing through the swept area of the windscreen and reaching two points at the edge shall be deemed to render the windscreen insecure.
Items placed in, or stuck to, the windscreen could be stickers, pennants, satellite navigation monitors or decorations.
Original vehicle design features and drivers aids, such as sun visors, are allowed.
Vehicles that do not comply with the above could be construed to be in contravention of the legislation.