Three new driving laws coming into force this month
Drivers could be fined £1,000 if they don't comply
Three new driving laws are set to come into force this year which drivers should be aware of.
Some motorists could be fined up to £1,000 if they don't follow some of the new rules that come into force in November, DVLA has warned.
What are the new laws coming into effect?
New Clean Air Zone comes into force
Portsmouth will become only the third city outside London to introduce a Clean Air Zone charge on November 29.
The charge will not affect private cars but will impact private hire vehicles and some businesses.
Hire cars such as taxis will be charged £10 per day to drive in the zone while coaches and lorries will be hit with a £50 fee.
A total of 29 Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras have also been installed to enforce the fee.
Driving licence extensions ending
Due to the pandemic, licences that were due to expire between February and December 2020 were given an automatic 11-month extension.
This means any licences which were due to expire last December will need to be renewed by the end of November.
Drivers who fail to renew their licence could be charged with a £1000 fine for driving with an expired licence.
Towing changes
Changes to towing rules mean anyone who passed their car driving test after January 1 1997 can now tow trailers up to 3,500kg, from November 15.
DVLA will update your driving licence record to show that you’re allowed to tow trailers. You’ll get category BE added to your driving licence when you get a new photocard driving licence.
Other quirky news stories
Whilst their owners have been adapting to life working from home, dogs have been able to increase their understanding of a host of new words through Zoom. Research has found that our furry friends have been able to learn words such as "meeting", "muted" and "boss".
A flying car has flown between two cities for the first time, leading its developers to talk of a "new era" of transport.
Travel company WeThrift has revealed the top 10 most Instagrammed places in the UK, with spots from Glasgow and Edinburgh down to London and Brighton making the list. If you want to give your friends and family travel envy, you need to visit all ten!
Nando's had to temporarily shut 50 of its 400 outlets after running out of chicken. The food chain says supply shortages were widespread across England, Wales and Scotland.
James Bond actor Daniel Craig has been appointed honorary Commander in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.
A Hertfordshire man completed 100 fancy dress work calls a day after raising nearly £10,000 for charity.
Out of the doom and gloom of the pandemic, Cambridge Dictionary editors chose their 2021 Word of the Year. Primarily space travel-related, the word has a meaning that also described the world's efforts to carry on as normal in uncertain times.
In Berkshire, a gardener had a smelly shock when 'human excrement' fell from the sky into their back garden.
His whole garden was splattered by 'toilet sewage' discharged from a plane landing at Heathrow airport.
Two new species of dinosaurs have been discovered, that may have once roamed what is now the Isle of Wight 125 million years ago.
Actor Hugh Jackman is hunting down the owner of a missing hat in London! The star of The Greatest Showman and Wolverine was mistakenly given the item when he picked up his laundry in Chiswick.
There are lots of different camera apps to check on your pets while you are at work, but now it's time for the pets to check up on you! New technology developed at the University of Glasgow means that dogs can call their owners from home. The call is made when the dog plays with a ball that, when movement is sensed, connects pet and owner.
Dartmoor Zoo allowed its visitors to name one of their cockroaches after an un-special (or special) someone in their life for Valentine's Day!