A retired judge made the point to me that the law is not perfectly black and white and much of it is open to different interpretations. He said "the law is what the judges say is". There is no clear statement on the legality of coasting, so it would probably depend on the judge's opinion, the conditions at the time and any accident or injury resulting from the driver coasting.
In my view, coasting is not illegal if the road conditions allow it, but some road conditions might make it illegal.
The offence of not being in proper control of a vehicle appears to be more about the position of the driver and whether they are deliberately distracted.
The Road Traffic Act 1988 (section 41D) states:
Breach of requirements as to control of vehicle, mobile telephones etc.
A person who contravenes or fails to comply with a construction and use requirement -
(a) as to not driving a motor vehicle in a position which does not give proper control or a full view of the road and traffic ahead, or not causing or permitting the driving of a motor vehicle by another person in such a position, or
(b) as to not driving or supervising the driving of a motor vehicle while using a hand-held mobile telephone or other hand-held interactive communication device, or not causing or permitting the driving of a motor vehicle by another person using such a telephone or other device, is guilty of an offence.
So there is no clear legal definition of not being in proper control, but typical instances might be (
reference):
- Drinking something whilst at the wheel. Maybe a soft drink, coffee, tea etc.
- Eating at the wheel. Maybe sweets, crisps or a banana etc.
- Putting on that last minute makeup you didn’t have time to do at home before you left.
- Map reading – this could be from a paper map or on an electronic sat nav system.
- Using a mobile phone other than for making or receiving calls, e.g. looking at the sat nav system or choosing music to play whilst driving.
Coasting does not seem to fit under this.
The Highway Code refers to (and defines) coasting and how it
can reduce driver control, but does not use the terms 'must not', 'should not' or 'do not'.
So it is not made illegal by the Highway Code.
There are a broad range of driving offences which mainly fall under two categories: dangerous driving, and careless or inconsiderate driving.
Police advice is that (
reference) :
The offence of dangerous driving is when driving falls far below the minimum standard expected of a competent and careful driver, and includes behaviour that could potentially endanger yourself or other drivers.
Careless driving is committed when your driving falls below the minimum standard expected of a competent and careful driver, and includes driving without reasonable consideration for other road users.
Some examples of careless or inconsiderate driving are:
- overtaking on the inside
- driving too close to another vehicle
- driving through a red light by mistake
- turning into the path of another vehicle
- the driver being avoidably distracted by tuning the radio, lighting a cigarette etc
- flashing lights to force other drivers to give way
- misusing lanes to gain advantage over other drivers
- unnecessarily staying in an overtaking lane
- unnecessarily slow driving or braking
- dazzling other drivers with un-dipped headlights
It could be argued that coasting comes under this category, dependent on the road conditions, but in the example I gave in post #12 I do not think there is any increased risk of endangerment.
