I got cought on my mobile phone in Carlisle 2 years ago. I was going to the food factory c■■? And gray was the place. There is some sort of cop shop there. Anyway a unmarked cop car stopped me n said I was on my phone. I said I wasn’t and he asked for my number. I told him I didn’t have to give him my number n we went back n forth disagreeing. In the end he said he would sent it to court. I went to court and before I went in I asked the Clark for disclosure. (What proof they had I was on my phone) they didn’t have any only that 2 cops aparantly seen me. They said they could see in my mirrors. I told the court how could they both see me as I was in a 40 foot length truck n twice as wide as a car. How on earth could both cops see me. I got found not guilty and I was told I was right you don’t have to 1. Stop for a car with lights who you don’t believe is the police. And 2. I don’t have to give out my phone number without a court order to. I got £160 in fuel, dinner and parking money.
I saw a police car parked on the grass central reservation (two wheels on grass) of the A27 near Warsash this week (we were on holiday down there, too far for work 
). He had just the red part of his flashing lights going. There was another cop parked in a side road so I thought he was doing speed checks. Surely parking part in the road for enforcement is a no no on safety grounds? I suppose the copper could’ve been broken down but I’m sure there’s more chance of a money making plan going on.
What a complete load of ■■■■■■■■.
If what the OP says is true then having anything other than the steering wheel or gearstick in your hand is also illegal.
As the poster above did, you have to go to court and force the Police to prove that you were doing what you’ve been accused of, if you accept any kind of FPN or official recorded warning then you are admitting guilt and haven’t got a leg to stand on.
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newmercman:
What a complete load of ■■■■■■■■.If what the OP says is true then having anything other than the steering wheel or gearstick in your hand is also illegal.
As the poster above did, you have to go to court and force the Police to prove that you were doing what you’ve been accused of, if you accept any kind of FPN or official recorded warning then you are admitting guilt and haven’t got a leg to stand on.
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100% true mate and don’t you fear I will not just be accepting the FPN first port of call is a phone call Monday to see if they will reconsider after which will be court I only passed my class 1 on Monday and this is not the sort of thing I want over me already
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That’s exactly how to deal with it, if more people did that then the Police would stop fleecing us and go out and do the job that our taxes pay them to do, solving crime and protecting the people.
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The way I see it I m not willing to accept and I already have the top penalty so nothing to loose by fighting it
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Stanny_1985:
newmercman:
What a complete load of ■■■■■■■■.If what the OP says is true then having anything other than the steering wheel or gearstick in your hand is also illegal.
As the poster above did, you have to go to court and force the Police to prove that you were doing what you’ve been accused of, if you accept any kind of FPN or official recorded warning then you are admitting guilt and haven’t got a leg to stand on.
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100% true mate and don’t you fear I will not just be accepting the FPN first port of call is a phone call Monday to see if they will reconsider after which will be court I only passed my class 1 on Monday and this is not the sort of thing I want over me already
I would really think about what your doing by taking it to court as you have in there eyes admitted your guilt by signing and taking there ticket / report / invoice. If I accused you of murder you wouldn’t sign anything would you■■? This is the same.
Once you sign it’s always harder to contest it in my experience. In my past I was a bit of a scally n used to do be a bit of a lad. By not signing I have won more cases in court than I’ve lost. I even get to sit on a ■■■■■ chair where a solicitor sits as I say I represent myself and that why should the prosecution get better treatment. You do need to know what you can lose n is it worth it. For me I’d go to court every time but you could lose.
Stanny_1985:
… I picked my phone up… I was stationary at the time…
This is where the law and common sense do not come together
I said the law should be no phone calls at all unless the handbrake is on
ROG:
Stanny_1985:
… I picked my phone up… I was stationary at the time…This is where the law and common sense do not come together
I said the law should be no phone calls at all unless the handbrake is on
As I ve said before I get the fact I m bang to rights the law is the law at the end of the day. My argument is there are lesser penalties I feel that I should of received due to that fact I at least made the effort to be on hands free and as the officer told me at the time had my phone of been in a carrier and I d of slid it across then I would of been fine
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Stanny_1985:
ROG:
Stanny_1985:
… I picked my phone up… I was stationary at the time…This is where the law and common sense do not come together
I said the law should be no phone calls at all unless the handbrake is on
As I ve said before I get the fact I m bang to rights the law is the law at the end of the day. My argument is there are lesser penalties I feel that I should of received due to that fact I at least made the effort to be on hands free and as the officer told me at the time had my phone of been in a carrier and I d of slid it across then I would of been fine
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But by going to court your given the charge of the offence off driving while on a hand held device. Do you plead guilty or not guilty. You can’t say guilty “but” ■■? xyz as the prosecution will eat you alive. Give you a bigger fine as your wasting there time. If it was me I would say not guilty and the reason being was as you had ear plugs/ Bluetooth fitted so you don’t need to touch and hold the phone. Ask for disclosure and get them to prove you otherwise. What ever you do don’t say you was just moving your phone as then your guilty.
Meanwhile - one gets pressure at work to “answer the damned phone” whilst out on the road…
“You can pull over somewhere and answer it” I get told.
FFS It’s a major distraction just having the thing switched on making you think “S…t… Sh…t Need a layby NOW!”
I’d rather just have the thing in my bag for emergencies you see, and otherwise switched off… I can’t legally answer it in transit, so if I’ve left something behind - how does that become my fault if I’ve left, and in communicado…? 
Plod prosecuted a woman driver locally because she was sitting in stationary traffic all queued up and going nowhere and she had the temerity to pick up a banana, peel it and then 
eat it.
All over the local news, that was and it was interesting, nay cringeworthy, to hear plod trying to justify themselves.
Then they whinge that they don’t get the cooperation these days like they used to, to solve crimes etc.
Stanny_1985:
…the police officer then told me I had broken the law by handling my phone regardless of the fact I was stationary at the time…
We’re all professionals here, right? We all know the rules, right?
Don’t get me wrong, I can often be found ■■■■■■■■■ my phone whilst stationary… and sometimes in motion, if absolutely necessary.
I wouldn’t come on here whining like a ■■■■■ if I got caught though.
■■■■ it up buttercup. Pay your fine, take your points and learn your lesson; be more discreet next time.
Stanny_1985:
As I ve said before I get the fact I m bang to rights the law is the law at the end of the day. My argument is there are lesser penalties I feel that I should of received due to that fact I at least made the effort to be on hands free and as the officer told me at the time had my phone of been in a carrier and I d of slid it across then I would of been fine
The whole idea of the FPN is that it’s a one-size-fits-all penalty. I believe you can refuse to pay it and have your day in court, argue for leniency and allow the bench to decide a more appropriate forfeit, you may get lucky and they fine you less but I seriously doubt it. It could very well go the other way, I have been told courts like to send the message out that their time is at a premium and usually multiply the FPN by TEN. I would personally let you off with a ‘don’t do it again’ but it won’t be me casting judgement. Be prepared for a £1,000 out of the end of your nose if you fight it.
Winseer:
I’ve never actually seen plod pull someone over BLATENTLY on their phone, like one-handed, steering around a corner, in heated conversation - all the things that make a driver “seriously distracted”…I don’t understand why the police feel the need to “sneak” these citations upon people in “grey” situations at best.
I really do think the police let themselves down with stuff like this, it is not good policing! I’m all for more traffic police, I want to see them catching the vast amount of idiots that we all see daily, I want the roads to be safer. But they do seem to like easy targets to keep their catch-rate high; I live in a small town and there is one of those pointless 30mph zones extending well out into the countryside, natural NSL territory, but this is exactly where the police like to stand and catch 90% of those they point the speed gun at. Nearly everyone else in town would like them to deal with the idiot boy-racers who chase each other round the town centre at 2 in the morning racing up and down narrow one way streets at 29.99mph - but I guess that would be hard work for few scalps.
Stanny_1985:
The way I see it I m not willing to accept and I already have the top penalty so nothing to loose by fighting it
Erm… I think you may be a little mistaken. £100 is a fixed penalty as an alternative to a prosecution at court, if you go to court you could end up with a disqualification from driving or riding and get a maximum fine of £1,000. Drivers of buses or goods vehicles could get a maximum fine of £2,500.
You would also be looking at court and prosecution costs as well as a victim surcharge.
Think long and hard before you say “nothing to loose by fighting it”
The road traffic act, unlike the tacho rules, still considers you to be driving even when stationary with the handbrake on engine running or not. The law states you can’t use these devices when driving.
Maybe the officer was misleading but it’s not actually their decision whether you get the option of a course or not. The officer can tick a box on the form to recommend that you get given the option of a course but it’s still someone else’s decision somewhere in a central office whether you get a course, points/fine, or straight to court.
The officer should have explained this to you that you MAY get the course but it’s not actually up to him.
Richard R:
I have yet to see a policeman using a hands free device instead of answering their radio when driving, hypocrites the lot of them just because the drive with a hi viz on does not make it safe.
Because its not illegal to use a radio while driving including cb’s
Rowley010:
The road traffic act, unlike the tacho rules, still considers you to be driving even when stationary with the handbrake on engine running or not. The law states you can’t use these devices when driving.
The law may consider you to still be driving when stationary. It’s a matter of judgment in some cases, but obviously waiting at a red light still means you’re driving.
In road traffic law, “driving” doesn’t mean “moving” but means something closer to “at the controls” in the sense of being ready to operate the controls if called upon to do so, or actively performing the mental activities that determine if and how you will operate the controls.
Being safely and securely parked, even with the engine running say for the air con on a hot day (or for repairs whilst the bonnet is up), is probably not driving, but receiving a call whilst driving and bumping up the nearest kerb (which isn’t a reasonable place to park and might suddenly require you to move on, so you leave the engine running) is still driving.
The danger in almost all cases is that, by having the engine running, that normally implies that you are “at the controls” in the sense that you’re performing mental activities related to driving or that you are mentally prepared to operate the controls when called to, and you might find it difficult to dislodge the implication (even if the engine is truly not started with a view to driving, which is a relatively unusual act).
I would just accept the punishment and be done with it, as said none of take enough notice of the rules and end up in silly situations like this that could have been avoided.
These days the best practise especially at our employer is not to answer the phone whilst driving even on hands free kits.
The law is the law and yes sometimes the law is an ■■■ but that is life. Learn from it and move on.
Well it was worth the call 3 point and £100 fine reduced to a course now i m happy 