Stand to loose job for using mobile phone in car

wendfd

I don't suppose anyone remembers or cares but I thought I would come back with the result of this problem.

My son in law appealled against the automatic issue of 3 points following him being caught using his mobile phone, whilst in traffic. (This would have ment having his licence taken away as he is a new driver (less than 2 years)with 3 points already)

The offence took place in Nov 07. The appeal was heard this week April 08 and although he still got the 3 points and £100 fine it was dated this week so he does not get his licence taken away as he has now been driving longer than 2 years!

confused31_2

Nice to hear that, ive only just read the first post and people seemed to be a bit harsh about it.

I use my phone when im stopped in traffic, ill be a bit more cautious in future.

A friend of mine went over 12 points and he kept his licence as the last thing these courts want to do is put people out of work.

I was banned when i was younger and it was a nightmare hopefully its scared him a bit and he wont do it again, i learnt my lesson.

Im glad he got on okay anyway.

confused

wendfd

I spoke too soon, yesterday my son in law had a letter advising him to return his licence to the DVLA as they WERE BACKDATING the 3 points to November. He had no reply to his appeal from the court just advice about the fine. They seem to have ignored his appeal completely.

Now he has to wait to hear if his employer is going to change his job roll until he can pass his test again.

He will probably loose the opportunity to earn commision
He has got the fine £100 Plus costs to pay £70
He has the cost of getting to work by train as now can't use company vehicle.
He can't get to his evening job now which he had to make ends meet.

It makes me angry as I see people all the time on the phone in their cars.

robpw2

sorry to hear that he has lost his licence and the appeal was not accepted .

I hope he passes his test again soon.

Its unfrtunate that many seem to get away with commiting driving offences but if your caught then that doesnt give you an excuse as my mum would say if they drove off a cliff would you .

anewman

wendfd wrote: »

It makes me angry as I see people all the time on the phone in their cars.

One day they'll get caught too, obviously with this punishment you will now know not to bother touching mobile phones while driving. A handsfree doesn't cost very much.

Seems only reasonable to date the points at the date of the offence to me, and if the other points didn't help him learn, then this will.

He can sell the car now and make some money out of that.

Why should he appeal when he was on his phone? I don't see the point in wasting court time, and giving yourself yet more costs. Pay the fine, move on and don't make the same mistake again. There's no point appealing for the sake of appealing when you were in the wrong anyway.

zeon999

Well if your gonna break the law dont be supprised when you get caught.

I am not saying I have never done anything wrong but difference is when I get caught for it I hold my hands up and say yeah yeah am bad.

We all know the risks when we do something wrong, if he was on 3 points already and needs his license for his job and to look after him family, then he should have took that into consideration before he went ahead and did a phone call while driving.

If your gonna break the rules dont cry when you get caught and dont start claiming oh but I am special I should get away with it.

pompeyrich

Sorry to hear the result wasn't what your SIL had hoped for, however points for a 2nd or subsequent offence are always issued from the date of offence, this is to stop people delaying a hearing to avoid amassing totting up points, as would have happened in your case.

I am not un-sympathetic, as in this day of camera policing, it is all too easy for people to gain points for petty offences and 6-12 points hardly makes one a bad driver.

wolvoman

Alikay wrote: »

Points on my licence - 0, and have never had any in 26 years of driving, same with DH

It took me 7 test attempts and over 2 years of lessons to pass so I've made damn sure I keep my licence. If my phone goes, I don't answer it: I pull into a side street, services or whatever and hit "missed calls" then return the call. I've got 3 kids and elderly mum & MIL but no call is so important that it can't wait a few mins till I park up.

Don't want to come across as pious and holier-than-thou: I drink, eat too much, sometimes say stuff that upsets people etc etc-but I always treat driving with the respect it deserves - a mistake behind the wheel can cost lives and destroy families.

My turn to be pious. If you can't pass your test in the first couple of attempts you're really not cut out for it and shouldn't be on the road.

wolvoman

anewman wrote: »

Why should he appeal when he was on his phone? I don't see the point in wasting court time, and giving yourself yet more costs. Pay the fine, move on and don't make the same mistake again. There's no point appealing for the sake of appealing when you were in the wrong anyway.

Why go to court at all? After all the police could just hand out bans at the roadside.

Come to think of it, why bother having legal trials at all.

Everyone has a right to a defence, it's what separates a decent country from tyranny. In the end in this case justice was done - why do you still feel you have a point to prove?

wolvoman

zeon999 wrote: »

Well if your gonna break the law dont be supprised when you get caught.

I am not saying I have never done anything wrong but difference is when I get caught for it I hold my hands up and say yeah yeah am bad.

We all know the risks when we do something wrong, if he was on 3 points already and needs his license for his job and to look after him family, then he should have took that into consideration before he went ahead and did a phone call while driving.

If your gonna break the rules dont cry when you get caught and dont start claiming oh but I am special I should get away with it.

And can you categorically say that faced with a similar situation as described by the OP that you would react differently? I mean 100%?

Because if you can, you are a mighty driver and I bow down to your ability to control any given situation, no matter how difficult.

Of course the reality is that your only capability is being 'holier than thou' on on an internet forum.