An article posted in both Cambridge News and The Chronicle comes hurdling off the press to declare that “Letting someone vape inside your car could cost 'up to £5,000.’” While it's ostensibly a helpful public service announcement, when as much as 75% of news is shared on social media without clicking on the actual article, this article stands to do more harm than good.
What’s actually going on here?
The article
The link between the article and the headline is, at best, tenuous. Read the title, and you’d presume that if the police see a friend vaping in your passenger seat, you’ll be subject to a mid-four-figure fine. And while the UK government has indeed introduced some frankly bafflingly zealous vaping laws over the last few years, its descent hasn't been quite that deep.
The basic premise here is that the law states that if a driver is not deemed in control of their vehicle or that their vision is somehow impaired, that could result in a charge of driving without due care and attention. In theory, this rule would apply if someone, even a passenger, was vaping so heavily that thick clouds of vapour obscured the driver's view of the road.
The article states that this offence could fall under current careless driving laws.
However, on 12 March 2015, the government removed that cap for relevant offences in magistrates’ courts in England and Wales. So, if the author’s premise is to be believed, the fine could be even greater than £5,000.
What are the current sentencing guidelines for careless driving
The current Careless Driving (driving without due care and attention) Sentencing Council guidelines took effect in July 2025 and were updated in October this year. The offence falls under section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
The law splits careless driving into three rough categories:
Driving just below the threshold for dangerous driving.
Avoidable distractions, inappropriate speed, unsafe manoeuvres, driving with visibility or controls obstructed, etc.
Lapse in concentration.
It’s clear that the article refers to category B.
There are two harm categories, which distinguish between causing injury or not. Both can be an offence, although causing injury to someone else, or damage to vehicles or property, is a higher category.
What sentences are possible?
From there, sentences are split into bands A through D. Typically, they are based on the offender's relevant weekly income, and are some variant of:
Band A = 50%
Band B = 100%
Band C = 150%
Band D = 200%.
The exact percentage is based on culpability, with the highest amount relating to the severity of the offence.
Does the driver get points?
Careless driving does lead to points on a driving licence. Again, this is split into categories, which are:
A: 7-9 points, plus possible disqualification.
B: 5–6 points, or possible disqualification of up to 56 days
C: 3-4 points.
Adjustment for circumstances
Of course, these are just guidelines. Judges can adjust based on personal circumstances, such as:
Increased severity
Previous convictions.
Nearby vulnerable road users.
Additional simultaneous driving offences.
Passengers in the vehicle.
Reduced severity
Good driving records.
Remorse.
Genuine emergency.
Actions of other drivers.
Will you really get a £5,000 fine for vaping in your car?
The best way to visualise this is with an illustrative scenario.
For example, someone is driving down a street within the 30mph limit. They are vaping to such an excessive and near-impossible extent that the interior of their car resembles a vape shop during the “cloud chasing” of the mid-2010s.
Their vision is so impaired that they drift into the centre lane and are pulled over by police who are just barely able to tell someone is actually driving the car because of the aforementioned thick clouds of vapour.
In court, the offence is classed as Culpability B with a harm category of 2. This results in a fine of 100% of the offender's weekly wage, 5-6 points on the licence, and a possible 56-day ban.
Pretty far-fetched.
Final thoughts
Vaping while driving isn’t an explicit offence. However, if it causes the driver to lose control, obscure their vision, or drive unacceptably, it could lead to a charge. So it’s not really something we could condone. But neither is the hysterical headline posted in the Cambridge News and The Chronicle.
Unsuspecting readers will get the impression that £5k fines if someone vapes in your car are probable. That news is based on outdated information, and a scenario so fantastical that it would be impossible to produce without industrial machinery or a packed people carrier of the heaviest vapers ever on the way to the 2014 Sub-ohm Box Mod Fest.
