Cengolio · Fines · Codes · CU50
CU50 : causing or likely to cause danger by reason of load or passengers
Checked 22 July 2026 · How we check our figures
What it means
CU50 is the code for a sound vehicle carrying an unsound idea: danger by reason of the load or the passengers, s. 40A RTA 1988, the unsecured furniture, the overloaded roof rack, the passenger where no passenger belongs. Like CU20 it needs danger on the facts, not a weighbridge figure, which separates it from the paperwork overloading offences that carry no points. It is also the family's employer code: the same facts often support a using charge against the driver and a permitting one against the firm.
Points and how long it stays
3 points.
On the licence for 4 years from the date of the offence.
The CU codes are the vehicle's own offences: brakes, tyres and steering under s. 41A RTA 1988 (CU10, CU30, CU40), dangerous condition and dangerous loads under s. 40A (CU20, CU50), and the control-of-vehicle code CU80 alongside. All carry 3 points on the 4-year offence clock, CU80 alone ranging to 6. The arithmetic multiplies before it settles: each defective item is its own offence, so four worn tyres are four charges, though for offences from the same occasion the court normally endorses only the highest points, s. 28 RTOA 1988, unless it decides otherwise. An MOT certificate does not answer any of it, it speaks to the test day, not the roadside. And where a defect is minor, the stop can end in a vehicle defect rectification notice, proof of repair in place of a penalty (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-22). The points arithmetic sits in the penalty points calculator at /fines/penalty-points.
The usual route
The officer's menu runs from the endorsable fixed penalty of 100 pounds and 3 points to a summons where the danger is not arguable (gov.uk, checked 2026-07-22).
If it goes to court
In court the fine is income-banded at the lower bands, with a higher ceiling for goods vehicles; mechanics in the fine bands guide.
Read next
Guide: Single justice procedure →
Calculator: the code decoder, every code on the official list →
Authority
gov.uk, Penalty points (endorsements), checked 2026-07-22