£60 & 3 Points - Ouch For Looking at a Mobile

Friend of mine has just been done for £60 and 3 Points
for Picking up her Mobile Phone While Driving,

The Phone Rang,
She Looked at who was calling and put it in her bag.

The next thing Blues & Twos and Pulled over.

Just a Heads to say with Christmas an all to think
before that drink or Answering that Phone.

It Made me think about mobiles and Driving.

They must of assumed she intended on using it

Best thing to do while driving is just ignore it, or it you must use it pull over in a safe place

Surely she could use the defense that she wasnt using it as a mobile phone? It was simply a device to tell her who wanted to talk to her? And your friends phone log would corroborate this by showing that the call at the time of the alleged offense remained unanswered.

Jimmy Carr got off with a similar offence by saying that he was using his phone to dictate a joke into it therefore it wasnt being used as a 2 way device.
Jimmy Carr story

Dont assume that the police know the law.

She feels that because she had 2 officers in the car there was no point in arguing about it.

I did say simular about it as in you were not talking
nor did you answer the phone.

I will pass on that link

cheers

Sorry, I added some more to the above post aswell.

Has she already accepted the points and fine or just been accused of it? Might be worth taking it to court.

After Reading that there is a BUT

It cant be legal to text as that's only one way?

Thats a tough one. Because the message is only going one way, but the devcie is being used in its capacity as a 2 way device.

Just holding the phone in your hand is counted as "using" the device, possibly even if it is switched off. That is why a mobile phone mount makes it legal.

I was amazed at the number of merseyside people done for this, I see so many using their phones that I thought the police did nothing.

In the paper last week it said that over £1million had been paid in fines in the last year on Merseyside.
They should try sitting on M56 some time - they'd make a bloody forutne.
It's my pet hate and regularly gives me road rage

Originally Posted by diggingdeeper

Just holding the phone in your hand is counted as "using" the device, possibly even if it is switched off. That is why a mobile phone mount makes it legal.

I was amazed at the number of merseyside people done for this, I see so many using their phones that I thought the police did nothing.

But if it isnt being used for the purpose of 'interactive communication' it isnt necessarily an offence. This is possibly the reason that Jimmy Carr wasnt convicted of an offence.

Quote

From Sussex Police website
What is the law about using mobile phones while driving?
It is illegal to drive a vehicle or ride a motorbike and use a hand held mobile phone or similar device. It is also illegal to supervise a learner and use a hand-held phone. Hands-free phones are also a distraction and you risk prosecution for not having proper control of a vehicle if the police see you driving poorly while using one.
A hand held device is something that ‘is or must be held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or performing any other interactive communication function’. A device ‘similar’ to a mobile phone includes a device that can be used for sending or receiving spoken or written messages, sending or receiving still or moving images or providing Internet access.

Originally Posted by Softy_Southerner

In the paper last week it said that over £1million had been paid in fines in the last year on Merseyside.
They should try sitting on M56 some time - they'd make a bloody forutne.
It's my pet hate and regularly gives me road rage

People not being done or being done Softy?
I can't see how anyone can can pick up and look at a phone to see who is ringing, noting who it is, making a decision and then putting it into a handbag without taking their attention from the road. It's all very well until you are hit by someone faffing about with a phone and then you are not so chuffed. At the moment it is just a lottery whether you get caught or not but education of the effects is the real answer. If you use the phone while driving then your driving is shoit. Don't entertain using the phone whilest driving, simple.

But what about people changing station on the radio, or setting the air-con/heating? What about map readers?

They are all just as dangerous yet seem to be perfectly within the law.

Ignoring the semantics of what consitutes "using" a mobile phone surely the Police can just do you for careless driving if you're not actually using the phone but aren't paying proper attention to the road!

the law is strange in its ways you can use a 2 way radio cb etc as long as it can not be used as a teliphone as well according to the ofcom site but then the bolice could say you didnt have proper control of your car so you knackered anyway BUT its ok for them to use there tetra ones with 2 way radio and mobile phone capabilitys because they are TRAINED TO USE THEM. WTF!

At the end of the day there are people getting killed on the roads because people use their phones while driving and lose their concentration, if you think that is ok then don't moan if yourself or a loved one gets injured or killed due to same. Ditto map reading and all the other shoit things people do whilst driving and end up swerving all over the place, it's not good driving, you should drive for other people besides yourself.

Well said Bandy!!

The law is there, you know it is...everyone knows the risks of getting caught and the risks of having an accident. Just because you think it won't happen to you doesn't mean that it won't!!

If you get caught then don't bitch about it - learn the lesson, pay the fine and don't do it again....simples!!