Police fine - using phone

proformance

Hi guys

Letter from MET police alleging i have been caught using a mobile phone whilst driving.

Is the option to do an educational course only for speeding?

Have any of you successfully defended yourselves in court (if it gets to that) against one of these?

Goes without saying I cannot remember this allgended incident and am always conscious about not picking up my phone even to answer calls. I can't guarantee it's never happened, but if ever, it's very, very seldom.

Many thanks

P

TooManyPoints

How do they know you were driving? Are you sure they allege you were driving or are they asking you who was?

Courses are not offered for mobile phone offences. If you are offered a fixed penalty it will be £200 and six penalty points. If the matter goes to court and you are convicted you face an income related fine, a surcharge of 10% of the fine and £85 costs (if you plead guilty). You will also receive the same six points there. A disqualification is possible but extremely unlikely.

Robisere

They will have some evidence of this. Check the date of the (alleged) offence and think about it, before you go any further into denial territory.

no1catman

The only other explanation, if the location of the offence is away from where you drive, is that someone has cloned your plates. But in that event you'd have more problems - speeding and parking offences piling up on your mat. And maybe getting your car stopped for drug offences - that the other car is engaged in.

So, sadly more likely its a moments lapse, and you've been caught, but as others have said make sure it's you at the wheel, not someone else that you lent the keys to.

ElefantEd

proformance wrote: »

Hi guys

Letter from MET police alleging i have been caught using a mobile phone whilst driving.

Is the option to do an educational course only for speeding?

Have any of you successfully defended yourselves in court (if it gets to that) against one of these?

Goes without saying I cannot remember this allgended incident and am always conscious about not picking up my phone even to answer calls. I can't guarantee it's never happened, but if ever, it's very, very seldom.

Many thanks

P

Your last sentence tells you the answer. Unless you've never used your phone whilst driving, you may have been caught.


As others have said, make sure you reply giving details of who was driving the car at the time of the alleged offence (if a request to do so is what's been sent to you) as not doing so also has a fairly severe penalty.

AdrianC

proformance wrote: »

Letter from MET police alleging i have been caught using a mobile phone whilst driving.

If this is the first contact you've had, then they're asking who was driving. Tell them, then you'll find out what the penalty's going to be.

If you don't tell them, then you're also looking at six points, plus an offence code that insurers like even less than phone use.

Is the option to do an educational course only for speeding?

It may be, but it's not for you to decide.

Have any of you successfully defended yourselves in court (if it gets to that) against one of these?

It will only go to court if the six point for a fixed penalty takes you to totting-up ban territory (not revocation, that's automatic if you're within two years of your first test pass), or if you deny that it happened.

Goes without saying I cannot remember this allgended incident and am always conscious about not picking up my phone even to answer calls.

Or to check the time, or to check the satnav, or...
The offence is hand-holding the phone. Even if you're stationary in traffic at the time.

I can't guarantee it's never happened, but if ever, it's very, very seldom.

How long ago did it happen?

Andy_L

proformance wrote: »

Goes without saying I cannot remember this allgended incident and am always conscious about not picking up my phone even to answer calls. I can't guarantee it's never happened, but if ever, it's very, very seldom.

Does your phone's call history go back far enough to check?

neilmcl

Andy_L wrote: »

Does your phone's call history go back far enough to check?

He doesn't have to be making a call to be guilty of the offence.

TooManyPoints

He doesn't have to be making a call to be guilty of the offence.

In a recent appeal in the High Court when considering the case of DPP v Ramsey Barreto, Lady Justice Thirlwall and Mr Justice Goss disagreed:

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/19-07-31-DPP-v-Barreto-Ref.-CO2702019-Judgment.pdf

At least they disagreed in so far as to be convicted the driver must have been using the phone for some form of interactive communication. From their conclusions:

The legislation does not prohibit all use of a mobile phone held while driving. It prohibits driving while using a mobile phone or other device for calls and other interactive communication (and holding it at some stage during that process).

Anyway, all a bit previous. Perhaps the OP could let us know whether he has been accused of driving whilst using his phone, or whether he has been asked to provide the details of who was driving his car at the relevant time.

foxy-stoat

proformance wrote: »

I cannot remember this allgended incident

You mean you cannot remember getting caught. I would ask for evidence then pay up - I don't think the police will be sending out scam letters to all in the hope that people will just plead guilty and pay up.

Car_54

foxy-stoat wrote: »

You mean you cannot remember getting caught. I would ask for evidence then pay up - I don't think the police will be sending out scam letters to all in the hope that people will just plead guilty and pay up.

And if they refuse to provide evidence (as they’re entitled to and probably will)?