On phone when driving

Alicia12

I’ve had a letter saying I was driving without due care/attention. It came within the 14 days and said I was going at 0mph. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong until I rang and they said a member of public videoed you on your phone. It’s stupid and I shouldn’t have even looked at. I wasnt talking to anyone I would have just picked it up and looked at the screen. They won’t allow me to see the footage unless I want it to go to court? Will I get points and loose my license or do the let you off if they think you made a genuine mistake??

eamon

£200 fine and 6 points


https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law


The only safe method is to safely park up and switch the ignition off.

Car_54

eamon wrote: »

£200 fine and 6 points


https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law


The only safe method is to safely park up and switch the ignition off.

But the OP Has been accused of careless driving, not mobile phone use. AIUI fixed penalties for careless can only be issued by police at the scene of the offence, so court seems the likely outcome.

tacpot12

There is no chance that you will be let off "for making a genuine mistake".

You will need to question whether the video shows you driving without care and attention. If the video shows you looking down at you phone, you will have a hard time defending this, but if the video is so tightly focused on your phone that it can't be seen that you are looking at it, you can argue that you had your eyes on the road at all time and that you were just moving the phone while maintaining your full attention on the road ahead.

If the video does show you looking at your phone, and it is clearly a momentary glance, you might argue that this is not so significant a lapse in concentration as to warrant a court case/fine/points etc. The risk is that if you get this wrong, they will come down harder on you that they otherwise would have.

You may benefit from legal advice from a expert motoring solicitor.

My advice is to say you want to go to court, get the video. If you can use it to defend yourself, do so as vigorously as you can. If it shows you are guilty, admit this early in court, but complain that you should have been allowed to see the video without having to decide whether to go to court first - make it clear that it is the Police who have wasted the courts time by forcing you to come to court when you would have pled guilty anyway had you been shown the evidence against you.

Car_54

tacpot12 wrote: »

If it shows you are guilty, admit this early in court, but complain that you should have been allowed to see the video without having to decide whether to go to court first - make it clear that it is the Police who have wasted the courts time by forcing you to come to court when you would have pled guilty anyway had you been shown the evidence against you.

If the OP does decide to change his plea to guilty, he should do so as early as possible, and will not have to go to court. He should also get a discount on any fine.

Complaining about the police would be singularly pointless, since they are simply following the law. If he wants to change that, he needs to contact his MP, not the court.

unforeseen

It sounds more like a warning letter than a nip

waamo

Alicia12 wrote: »

I’ve had a letter saying I was driving without due care/attention. It came within the 14 days and said I was going at 0mph. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong until I rang and they said a member of public videoed you on your phone. It’s stupid and I shouldn’t have even looked at. I wasnt talking to anyone I would have just picked it up and looked at the screen. They won’t allow me to see the footage unless I want it to go to court? Will I get points and loose my license or do the let you off if they think you made a genuine mistake??

Was it a letter or a form asking you to name the driver?

TooManyPoints

Did the letter include a request to provide the driver's details? If it didn't (and you haven't provided those details) they don't know who was driving. So they cannot offer a fixed penalty or begin court action. What exactly did the letter say?

AdrianC

It's 16yrs since the law on mobile phone use while driving was introduced.

YOU DO NOT HAND-HOLD YOUR PHONE WHILE THE ENGINE IS SWITCHED ON.

It's that simple. That hasn't changed in all that time. All that has changed is that the penalties got more severe two and a half years ago, because people still didn't get the clue.

Where it goes from here is a different question - we can't guess.
Maybe it'll just be a warning.
Maybe it'll be tea and biscuits.
Maybe it'll be a £100/3pt CD10 FPN.
Maybe it'll be a £200/6pt CU80 FPN.
Maybe it'll be a court date - unlikely unless you already have six points on your licence, so six more would take you to a totting ban.

And, yes, if you passed your first test less than two years ago, and get six points, your licence will be revoked, and you will be back on L plates.

One thing's for sure - "Oooh, but it was a genuine mistake, honest" won't affect the outcome one bit.

Smellyonion

Would it not be ironic if the 'member of the public' that thinks they're batman videod you from behind the wheel.

SHAFT

tacpot12 wrote: »

There is no chance that you will be let off "for making a genuine mistake".

You will need to question whether the video shows you driving without care and attention. If the video shows you looking down at you phone, you will have a hard time defending this, but if the video is so tightly focused on your phone that it can't be seen that you are looking at it, you can argue that you had your eyes on the road at all time and that you were just moving the phone while maintaining your full attention on the road ahead.

If the video does show you looking at your phone, and it is clearly a momentary glance, you might argue that this is not so significant a lapse in concentration as to warrant a court case/fine/points etc. The risk is that if you get this wrong, they will come down harder on you that they otherwise would have.

You may benefit from legal advice from a expert motoring solicitor.

My advice is to say you want to go to court, get the video. If you can use it to defend yourself, do so as vigorously as you can. If it shows you are guilty, admit this early in court, but complain that you should have been allowed to see the video without having to decide whether to go to court first - make it clear that it is the Police who have wasted the courts time by forcing you to come to court when you would have pled guilty anyway had you been shown the evidence against you.

If the video shows them phone in hand what defence do you suggest?