A care worker late on her way to her next appointment pulled over and parked up to phone the client. A policewoman saw that she still had her engine ticking over, nipped over and fined her £100 and 3 points on her licence for illegally using a phone whilst driving.
Apparently after an investigation by BBC Look North it turns out that technically the police officer was legally correct, but what sort of dirty scumbag trick is that to do to a care worker no doubt on minimum wage two weeks before Christmas?
The police have probably the worst approval rating ever at the moment with scandal after scandal and I think this was the dirtiest of rotten tricks by a nasty piece of work. She`ll no doubt go far in the force.
Just to be clear, Im really annoyed about this. Shes no relative of mine or anything, in fact I can`t remember where exactly is was other than in the North East somewhere.
Im going to try and find out more and see if I can rustle up a collection for the lass. Dont worry…just among my mates round here!!
I thought I`d post it on here for general info on the law regarding the use of cell phones. So watch out and turn the motor off! There might be other members of the filth who do this sort of thing, although its hard to imagine.
It’s things like this that have stopped people having any respect for the police, most of them think they are above the law and are not there to uphold it.
mac12:
It’s things like this that have stopped people having any respect for the police, most of them think they are above the law and are not there to uphold it.
Agreed, but it’s like this job ain’t it, one knobhead is looked upon by the public as a representative to the whole profession resulting in all the flak and b/s that they, and we, get.
There are good and bad coppers as there are good and bad truck drivers
Then they get back to the station and swop stories, and laugh, a lot, at the amount of anger and life changing misery they have caused someone, its a game they all play, they need to find a good hiding place, and pray they dont get found.
The law on using mobiles just goes to show what an ■■■ the law is, you should be able to use a mobile while the vehicle is stationary at the roadside or in a lay-by, if you’re parked legally in what way can it be dangerous if you’re not moving and have no intention of moving while on the phone
It’s type of heavy handed “by the Book” policing that alienates the public, the very people the police need support from to stop serious crime, but then I suppose a nick is a nick when it come to review time.
I personally think she could have a defence of not driving whilst using her phone, provided she was parked properly.
This is from the house of commons library on the legislation whilst using mobile phones whilst driving.
The prohibition applies when driving. Driving includes times when stopped at traffic lights or during other hold-ups that may occur during a typical journey when a vehicle can be expected to move off after a short while. In exceptional traffic jams, such as a lengthy stoppage on a motorway, it would be clear that someone wasn’t driving if the engine was off. Ultimately whether someone is “driving” will be a matter for the courts.
It’s quite clear from the legislation they added “with engine off” to stop the loophole of people using the phone whilst in stop start traffic.
Would a court consider somebody parked in a proper place, with the car in neutral and handbrake on as driving, even if the engine was running?
However its a risk going to court, especially if you’re on a low wage, easier if you a highly paid person who can afford the legal advice and could afford the heavier fine if it went wrong.
Although a friend of mine conducted his own defence and won his case when he was accused of driving a van without a seatbelt, he proved that the policeman couldn’t of seen the seat belt from the angle he was looking at.
it is a ■■■■ take, wonder what time of day and area it was… just thinking that a woman on her own may feel vulnerable and left enging running just in case??
what really annoys me is when you watch the police documentaries you very often see a police car double crewed but the driver giving the commentary using his radio whilst his colleaque just sits there… there is even on where you see the driver drinking a can of coke…
bazstan009:
If you start the collection pm me paypal & I will go a tenner.
wow that’s fantastic! Thanks. I’ll try and get some info when I get home.
These lasses do a great job doing what nobody else wants to do.
It would be a one in the eye for that copper if we can sort the fine and maybe get her a drink as well!
cheers.
Winseer:
Perhaps the police were annoyed that with the engine running - they couldn’t do her for parking illegally…
You don’t get 3 bloody points for “parking illegally” though.
I did… I parked at Comley bank in Edinburgh in my van, the rear third of the vehicle was on the white ‘‘zig-zag’’ at pedestrian crossing… It was 4pm on a sunday afternoon and i put my hazards on and ran into the shop I was right outside to buy a few essentials, I was in the shop under a minute, upon returning to the vehicle there was a copper standing waiting on me he issued me with 3 points and £100 fixed penalty.
I came out of a multi story car park in Glasgow. Got stopped at the lights behind a bus with cars in my outside. I noticed I had left my phone on the dashboard. I moved it from there to my centre console at the gear stick. Lights changed and round the corner the blue lights came on behind me. I got a ticket for using my phone behind the wheel.
Tried to get legal aid to fight it. Nope. Since im employed I dont qualify. WTF?
Went to court to contest the case on my own. The police womans description of the incident?
“The accused had his phone in his right hand and appeared to be texting. The road was busy with traffic and pedestrians.”
No mention that we were stainanery
No mention of the fact my car was in neutral
No mention of the fact there were no pedestrians anywhere near
No mention of the fact I wasnt actually texting or calling.
End result? Three points and a £150 for me
My license has been clean for over 10 years
Ive always been one to take the police side in most cases but after that experience they can sod off and take all the flack that comes their way.
I recall a case a few years ago when the police in newcastle pulled over a woman for having an apple in her hand, not in full control of the vehicle they said, she denied it, they then spent in the region of 20k checking cc tv cameras until they found film of her with the apple. She got points & a fine. Next day the local paper had a picture of the arresting officer driving out of the police station eating a doughnut! What nice people.
i got done for having no seatbelt (yes i know i should have worn it) flitting between shops in the town where i live.
copper was sitting on his motorbike gassing to some bird that was walking past-he saw me,followed round the corner,blue lights blah blah. first thing he said was" i know you saw me ,why didnt you put your belt on?"
in my defence i replied that as i was going about a hundred yards further on from where he stopped me there didnt seem much point!!!
got the poxy lecture off him about going round houses telling people their loved ones have been killed in an accident etc(i doubt they do this on motorbikes…)
anyway mr ■■■■■■■ done me for the seatbelt,fair enough.
three months later that ■■■■■■ was in our local paper,he’d had a minor smash on his own bike some time ago,and tried to claim for a load of damage and injuries that didnt happen.cut a long story short he ended up losing his job and getting three months in nick as insurance company proved he lied to them.what a prick…
This stinks when you see the way the pigs drive ,I only met a woman PC coming out the petrol station last week doing battle with the seat belt whilst pulling on to the main rd .
WhenI did the DCPC I had to watch a video of a prick police man driving a car recklessly while doing his commentary.There was another jackass sitting beside him doing nothing.If the paypal thing gets going I will give £10.00,stuff like this boils my P.
Sadly, I have agree with the sentiments on here. Unless there is more to the story, on the facts given I wouldn’t even get out my car, but like life, they political masters want the police to represent a cross section of the community so you get the good with the bad, the black and white law people and those who may apply common sense. I regard myself in the common sense area. It the car is parked, no problem, unless you stop in lane 4 of Thelwall to chat!!!
