Playing music while driving could land you a £5,000 fine, with over half of UK adults unaware of the little-known driving law.

Two thirds (64%) of us always listen to music whilst out on the road, however new research from insurance experts, Carole Nash, has revealed that the majority of drivers don’t know the rules around playing music while driving.

Under rule 148 of the Highway Code, playing loud music that is deemed a distraction could land you with an £100 fine and three points on your license.

Carole Nash found that the majority of UK adults (58%) were unaware of this Highway Code guidance.

In extreme cases where your music is so loud that you cannot hear potential hazards around you, drivers could be seen putting others at risk and may be charged with dangerous driving. This charge could land you with a £5,000 fine from your Local Authority and possible driving ban.

Motorists were clueless about if they can or cannot blast out their favourite tunes while riding or driving. One in five (21%) said they think it is illegal to listen to music while driving or riding a motorcycle and one in ten (9.4%) also thought it was illegal to sing along to music whilst driving or riding.

35-44 year olds were found to be the most clueless, as a third (33%) said they believed the Highway Code stated listing to music while driving was illegal, and one in five (20%) also said singing along to music was illegal.

Nearly two thirds (62%) also weren’t aware that the Highway Code recommends you find a safe place to stop if you want to put music, the radio or a podcast on.

According to AskThePolice: “It is not an offence in itself to listen to music on a mobile device whilst driving, riding or cycling. However, listening to music can be distracting.

“You need to be able to bring to bear all the senses you can and being able to hear is important in enabling you to be in proper control of your vehicle in traffic.

“A person using a device playing loud music, may, therefore, be deemed not to have proper control of their vehicle or to be driving without reasonable consideration for others, both of which are relatively serious offences.”

Mark Copper, Head of Product at Carole Nash, said: “Listening to music can really elevate the experience of being out of the road, particularly if it’s somewhere really beautiful and you’ve been stuck inside for months!

"I think we’re all ready for a trip out and a change of scenery.

“However, it’s really important to make sure that your music isn’t distracting you and that you’re following the Highway Code guidelines by not playing it too loud and also that you always pull over to switch playlists or tracks.”