Offense Code 125 - £100 + 3 points

we should let everyone drive how they want. both hands , no hands. looking at the road or looking at eastenders . your choice

but if you kill/injure someone or damage their property you go straight to the gas chamber and your car and belongings get given away

i imagine people would soon start driving more carefully . it genuinely amazes me that you can carelessly drive into the back of someone , maybe changing their whole life and get off with a slap on the wrists or atleast less penalty than what the OP got. could even be back on the road the next day to do it again.
 
sansnom said:
So annoyed by this, basically got stopped by a police officer this afternoon because I was 'using my mobile phone' while driving.

For the record, I was not on the phone, I was not calling, talking or texting. I was looking at it though as I was following Sat Nav directions, which he saw me doing, and which I tried to explain was no different than using a sat nav console in a car.

He issued me the ticket anyway. £100 plus 3 points. The only points I've had since I got my license 11 years ago. I'm furious tbh as it was in stopped traffic and not in any way a danger to the public or other road users when I looked over to the sat nav to make sure I was still following the right route.

Should I bother contesting it? Would I have a leg to stand on or would it be a waste of time? I don't care so much about the fine, but the points will no doubt have a major impact on insurance wont it?
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Hi

Did one police officer catch and issue you with a fixed penalty notice?


If so, I thought two had to be present at the time of offence Being committed then they could charge you.

I could be wrong though?
 
sansnom said:
Isnt the onus on him to prove it though? I mean if it went to court, I can prove that no call was made or received at the time of the ticket.
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You can't prove anything of the sort. You might be able to produce your itemised bill and prove that no phone call or SMS was sent or received at that time but you can't prove that a data-based call or message such as Skype, WhatsApp or iMessage wasn't being sent or received at the time.
 
Basically we all know the rules, when driving your attention should be fully on driving, if the engine is running and you are on the public roads then you are in charge of the vehicle and are responsible for driving and your passengers in the car (seat belt's)

There are no excuses, this is why there are warnings on satnav's that say you shouldnt interact with them while the vehicle is in motion.

it is very clear under the law, take the points and the fine and learn the valuable lesson
 
A line needs to be drawn though and it's simply easier to say 'leave it all alone unless you're parked and switched off' than try and define what degree of stationary is ok... Simply at the lights? Gridlocked traffic? What about handbrake on or off? The person sat holding the car on the clutch?

Much easier to make a clear black and white distinction in where the behaviour is acceptable rather than leave a gray area.

If your phone is so important it can't wait, get a holder or handsfree etc.
 
PMKeates said:
Points and a fine for doing something while stationary is a bit retarded. The possible consequences are unimaginably inconsequential.
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What if while you were looking down, a kids ball went under your front bumper and the kid ran out to get it. Now the lights go green, you get a honk from the car behind, you look up, see no obstruction and pull away?

If you hadn't have been looking down you'd have seen the kid.

I know it's all speculation but that's why if you're driving, you should be driving - not doing an unrelated task that distracts you from your surroundings and environment. Yes accidents happen, but if you give your driving proper attention then those accidents are less likely to happen.


A good way to think about what you should or shouldn't be doing whilst driving is to pose the question - "if I did X whilst on my driving test, would I fail?". No need to guess what would happen whilst on your driving test you picked your mobile up whilst stopped at traffic lights is there?
 
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I've been on both sides of this. Also got done some years ago looking down to my phone on my lap, at lights.
Police pulled me over and asked what I was looking at. I admitted my phone (as sat nav) on my lap. Up until that point of admitting it he only had a suspicion, I basically dropped myself in it. No way of contesting it.

The next time not to long ago (not using my phone) drove under a bridge with police on they caught up with me and asked what I was looking down at. I said I felt a sharpe pain in my leg and though I was stung by a bee. I glanced to check and was about to pull over. No issue and I carried on.

You admitted to it, the only way you would have got a ticket.
 
amigafan2003 said:
What if while you were looking down, a kids ball went under your front bumper and the kid ran out to get it. Now the lights go green, you get a honk from the car behind, you look up, see no obstruction and pull away?

If you hadn't have been looking down you'd have seen the kid.

I know it's all speculation but that's why if you're driving, you should be driving - not doing an unrelated task that distracts you from your surroundings and environment. Yes accidents happen, but if you give your driving proper attention then those accidents are less likely to happen.
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What if an air-bust nuclear explosion went off as you were looking down, thus avoiding your eyes the exposure to the blinding lights, and then as you get out the car to observe the destruction a small child is about to be run over by a blind driver who you then are able to save because you used a phone?

Creating a 'what if' scenario that has an infinitesimal chance of occurring doesn't act as justification. The reality is that you don't have to continuously look in any particular direction while you are waiting at lights so the kid getting ball situation you suggest is flawed.
 
People are missing a big point here.

The copper doesn't know that he was using sat nav, just that he was looking down at a mobile device.

The copper then made an accusation, and instead of the OP going to court to defend it, he admitted the offense and took the points.

As far as the law is concerned, the OP is guilty, and the OP admitted his guilt at the time he signed the notice.
 
PMKeates said:
What if an air-bust nuclear explosion went off as you were looking down, thus avoiding your eyes the exposure to the blinding lights, and then as you get out the car to observe the destruction a small child is about to be run over by a blind driver who you then are able to save because you used a phone?
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Now you're just being silly, using an exagerrated scenario to dismiss my perfectly reasonable one, in order to justify your own stance.

Creating a 'what if' scenario that has an infinitesimal chance of occurring doesn't act as justification. The reality is that you don't have to continuously look in any particular direction while you are waiting at lights so the kid getting ball situation you suggest is flawed.
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I didn't say you have to look dead ahead (because that would be silly) but you should be concentrating on driving (yes, even when stopped you're still driving) and checking all directions for hazards - i.e. your mirrors for cyclists and motorbikes and the sides of the road for pedestrians or animals who might enter the road. Just because you've stopped moving doesn't mean the hazards dissapear. God, I swear this forum is justification for restests every 5 years!

The reality is you should be concentrating on driving - that's all there is to it. If you do anything that affects your control of a vehicle, concentration or reduces your awareness of your surroundings whilst driving and you get pulled for it by a copper then you've no right to come on an internet forum crying about it.
 
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Rightly or wrongly the offence committed was using a handheld device while in charge of a vehicle. It doesn't matter whether it was to make a call, use satnav, or text. A handheld device was being used contrary to the law.
 
amigafan2003 said:
Now you're just being silly, using an exagerrated scenario to dismiss my perfectly reasonable one, in order to justify your own stance.
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Oh the irony, it hurts
amigafan2003 said:
If you do anything that affects your control of a vehicle, concentration or reduces your awareness of your surroundings whilst driving and you get pulled for it by a copper then you've no right to come on an internet forum crying about it.
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Haha, you live on Earth, right? Most people sitting in traffic are thinking about and doing other things. Could be what they're having for dinner that night, which direction to take later on in the journey, taking a swig of some water etc. Maybe the vacuous are focussed solely and intently on driving because it's all they can handle. The rest of us will continue to make judgement calls based on realistic probabilities, such as briefly averting one's gaze from directly ahead for a few seconds not likely bringing forth armageddon.
 
Phantom Shadow said:
and the offence code. Insurers typically don't care that much about 3 points from speeding. Other offences will usually have a bigger impact.
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That's true ... but I know this code is the same as far as impact as a lot of the guys I have worked with have had this over the years with no impact to insurance but it will differ for some companies.
 
PMKeates said:
Most people sitting in traffic are thinking about and doing other things. Could be what they're having for dinner that night, which direction to take later on in the journey, taking a swig of some water etc.
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And they shouldn't.

Maybe the vacuous are focussed solely and intently on driving because it's all they can handle. The rest of us will continue to make judgement calls based on realistic probabilities, such as briefly averting one's gaze from directly ahead for a few seconds not likely bringing forth armageddon.
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We, I aspire to a higher standard of driving than you obviously, so good luck with what you're doing and I'll carry on regardless.
 
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