police letter

diystarter7

lisyloo said:

maisie_cat said:

lisyloo said:

TonyMMM said:

Driver training courses were offered for mobile phone use offences in the past, but no longer. The fixed penalty is £200 and 6 points.

You have the option of defending the allegation in court if you wish - what constitutes "use" is usually the legal point that can be argued ... losing would still be 6points, but with an income related fine and costs/charges ( which will be much higher than the £200 fixed penalty).

Just done a quick google and says if the engine is running you cannot touch your phone.
Free professional advice may be available if the OP is insured.

Speculation but I'm guessing the policy on courses changed after the letter was sent out.

How would a photo "prove" that the engine was running if the vehicle was stationary? My car engine turns itself off when stopped, in neutral and handbrake on and if I'm stuck in traffic I often turn it off myself. I don't actually use my phone driving but makes me wonder.

A photo would not. A video might.
You may be able to see the evidence beforehand.
Personally I like to have legal cover (not for getting away with bad behaviour but for getting correct up to date information).
For a small cost per year (sometimes free on house insurance), it's very worthwhile IMO.

The highlighted bit, wrong!

Please see my previous 8 March at 8:43PM post as it is still against the law and I quote 

The law still applies if a driver is stopped at traffic lights, queuing in traffic, supervising a learner driver, or using a car that has a start/stop engine when you're not moving.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/mobile-phone-laws/


I'm all for these new laws.

Thnaks

lisyloo

diystarter7 said:

lisyloo said:

maisie_cat said:

lisyloo said:

TonyMMM said:

Driver training courses were offered for mobile phone use offences in the past, but no longer. The fixed penalty is £200 and 6 points.

You have the option of defending the allegation in court if you wish - what constitutes "use" is usually the legal point that can be argued ... losing would still be 6points, but with an income related fine and costs/charges ( which will be much higher than the £200 fixed penalty).

Just done a quick google and says if the engine is running you cannot touch your phone.
Free professional advice may be available if the OP is insured.

Speculation but I'm guessing the policy on courses changed after the letter was sent out.

How would a photo "prove" that the engine was running if the vehicle was stationary? My car engine turns itself off when stopped, in neutral and handbrake on and if I'm stuck in traffic I often turn it off myself. I don't actually use my phone driving but makes me wonder.

A photo would not. A video might.
You may be able to see the evidence beforehand.
Personally I like to have legal cover (not for getting away with bad behaviour but for getting correct up to date information).
For a small cost per year (sometimes free on house insurance), it's very worthwhile IMO.

The highlighted bit, wrong!

Please see my previous 8 March at 8:43PM post as it is still against the law and I quote 

The law still applies if a driver is stopped at traffic lights, queuing in traffic, supervising a learner driver, or using a car that has a start/stop engine when you're not moving.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/mobile-phone-laws/


I'm all for these new laws.

Thnaks

I was not talking about the law.
I was answering a specific question about how "media" evidence might prove that a car engine was running - nothing else
Please read the context.

Car_54

Belenus said:

[Deleted User] said:

lisyloo said:

TonyMMM said:

Driver training courses were offered for mobile phone use offences in the past, but no longer. The fixed penalty is £200 and 6 points.

You have the option of defending the allegation in court if you wish - what constitutes "use" is usually the legal point that can be argued ... losing would still be 6points, but with an income related fine and costs/charges ( which will be much higher than the £200 fixed penalty).

Just done a quick google and says if the engine is running you cannot touch your phone.
Free professional advice may be available if the OP is insured.

Speculation but I'm guessing the policy on courses changed after the letter was sent out.

Google isn’t necessarily your friend - that info is not correct.

The policy on courses changed many months ago.

Is there a National Policy or does it vary by Police Authority/Force?

Policy is irrelevant, since there is only one course provider (NDORS), and they no longer do one.

TooManyPoints

...a couple of weeks ago i got a letter from the police saying i was caught on my phone while i was stuck at temporary lights

How did they know you were the driver at the time? Have you missed a bit out that you haven't told us about?

Ectophile

TooManyPoints said:

...a couple of weeks ago i got a letter from the police saying i was caught on my phone while i was stuck at temporary lights

How did they know you were the driver at the time? Have you missed a bit out that you haven't told us about?

Most likely because

• The OP is the registered keeper
• The OP hasn't denied being the driver at the time of the alleged offence.
  

TooManyPoints

Most likely because

• The OP is the registered keeper

• The OP hasn't denied being the driver at the time of the alleged offence.

They need a bit more than that to secure a conviction. They need positive evidence that he was driving, not lack of a denial that he was. That evidence usually comes by way of a completed "Section 172" request for driver's details. This is the bit I suspect the OP has left out.