Discussion
Anyone please help, I’m a lorry driver I was driving home in my car, I pulled out my mobile phone and put it on my passenger seat.
Police pulled me and gave me a CU80.
Can I appeal or anything as I have a 2 SP30 on license one of them expires on 5th of August..
Am I F@@ked. Really worrying.
Police pulled me and gave me a CU80.
Can I appeal or anything as I have a 2 SP30 on license one of them expires on 5th of August..
Am I F@@ked. Really worrying.
Southz said:
Anyone please help, I’m a lorry driver I was driving home in my car, I pulled out my mobile phone and put it on my passenger seat.
Police pulled me and gave me a CU80.
Can I appeal or anything as I have a 2 SP30 on license one of them expires on 5th of August..
Am I F@@ked. Really worrying.
'If' prosecuted you have a chance to refute the allegation.Police pulled me and gave me a CU80.
Can I appeal or anything as I have a 2 SP30 on license one of them expires on 5th of August..
Am I F@@ked. Really worrying.
You've also got to consider, as you're a vocational driver, that the Traffic Commissioner will be informed & may want a meeting with you for mobile phone offences.
Slow said:
Keep ignoring all the letters till the 5th, wait for a court date and then your first points will be gone before you get 6 more and banned.
If you had 6 points on your licence on the date of the CU80 offence (which will give you another 6 points), the date of conviction doesn't matter. You'll be up for a 6 month totting up ban regardless of the initial points being over 3 years old on the date of conviction. TwigtheWonderkid said:
Slow said:
Keep ignoring all the letters till the 5th, wait for a court date and then your first points will be gone before you get 6 more and banned.
If you had 6 points on your licence on the date of the CU80 offence (which will give you another 6 points), the date of conviction doesn't matter. You'll be up for a 6 month totting up ban regardless of the initial points being over 3 years old on the date of conviction. I know when I got 6 points in my first 2 years I was out of the country for 3 months before my court date and everything got pushed back. Thought it might work to push the date past where the points would expire.
The legislation states ‘using’ a mobile phone whilst driving. Recent appeal case (possibly Jimmy Carr) raises questions about ‘using’ as the legislation states using it as a communications device.
If you are being entirely honest and you weren’t using it, that is your defence. It is for the prosecution to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that you were using it as per the spirit of the legislation. As your career depends on this, I’d lawyer up.
If however being honest with yourself you were using your phone, don’t fight it, just bend over and take what’s coming. If you claim not to have been using it, and the police can prove that you were, the Mags will likely give you a harsher punishment.
If you are being entirely honest and you weren’t using it, that is your defence. It is for the prosecution to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that you were using it as per the spirit of the legislation. As your career depends on this, I’d lawyer up.
If however being honest with yourself you were using your phone, don’t fight it, just bend over and take what’s coming. If you claim not to have been using it, and the police can prove that you were, the Mags will likely give you a harsher punishment.
vaud said:
That link very clearly says 'date of offense' whilst an existing endorsement is valid.Why did you take your phone out of your pocket at all if you had no intention of interacting with it?
That will be an obvious question you would be asked.
The notion that the Police are so eagle eyed as to spot someone pulling a phone out of a pocket and immediately putting it down, which is at best probably a 5-10 second motion, and wouldn't go anywhere near your ear or whatever, is rather fanciful.
That will be an obvious question you would be asked.
The notion that the Police are so eagle eyed as to spot someone pulling a phone out of a pocket and immediately putting it down, which is at best probably a 5-10 second motion, and wouldn't go anywhere near your ear or whatever, is rather fanciful.
The High Court ruled last year that the offence is only committed if the phone is used for an interactive communication purpose, such as a phone call, Email, internet access etc.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/road-traffic...
So if you really were just moving it from one place to another, you have a defence to the charge.
OTOH if between your pocket and the passenger seat you glanced at a text message or an Email, you were arguably using it for interactive communication. I can imagine the court might be sceptical that you took your phone out of your pocket with no intention of using at at all.
As your job is at risk I would say it is worth speaking to a solicitor who specialises in motoring matters on this one.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/road-traffic...
So if you really were just moving it from one place to another, you have a defence to the charge.
OTOH if between your pocket and the passenger seat you glanced at a text message or an Email, you were arguably using it for interactive communication. I can imagine the court might be sceptical that you took your phone out of your pocket with no intention of using at at all.
As your job is at risk I would say it is worth speaking to a solicitor who specialises in motoring matters on this one.
Durzel said:
Why did you take your phone out of your pocket at all if you had no intention of interacting with it?
That will be an obvious question you would be asked.
The notion that the Police are so eagle eyed as to spot someone pulling a phone out of a pocket and immediately putting it down, which is at best probably a 5-10 second motion, and wouldn't go anywhere near your ear or whatever, is rather fanciful.
I often get into the car without taking my phone out of my pocket. It quickly becomes apparant that it is uncomfortable and i take it out and place it elsewhere in the car. Not saying this is what the OP has done (although i hope so with 6 points already) but a just reason for his action. That will be an obvious question you would be asked.
The notion that the Police are so eagle eyed as to spot someone pulling a phone out of a pocket and immediately putting it down, which is at best probably a 5-10 second motion, and wouldn't go anywhere near your ear or whatever, is rather fanciful.
However what a magistrate would think of this reason is another matter.
Yes to your 2nd point, seems a higher unlikely coincidence.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Slow said:
Keep ignoring all the letters till the 5th, wait for a court date and then your first points will be gone before you get 6 more and banned.
If you had 6 points on your licence on the date of the CU80 offence (which will give you another 6 points), the date of conviction doesn't matter. You'll be up for a 6 month totting up ban regardless of the initial points being over 3 years old on the date of conviction. However whilst awarding me 6pts the Magistrate warned me that this put my tally to 9 and therefore close to a 12pt totting up ban and that I should be more careful from now on...
Aretnap said:
The High Court ruled last year that the offence is only committed if the phone is used for an interactive communication purpose, such as a phone call, Email, internet access etc.
https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/road-traffic...
So if you really were just moving it from one place to another, you have a defence to the charge.
OTOH if between your pocket and the passenger seat you glanced at a text message or an Email, you were arguably using it for interactive communication. I can imagine the court might be sceptical that you took your phone out of your pocket with no intention of using at at all.
As your job is at risk I would say it is worth speaking to a solicitor who specialises in motoring matters on this one.
It might well be worth seeking legal advice. https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/road-traffic...
So if you really were just moving it from one place to another, you have a defence to the charge.
OTOH if between your pocket and the passenger seat you glanced at a text message or an Email, you were arguably using it for interactive communication. I can imagine the court might be sceptical that you took your phone out of your pocket with no intention of using at at all.
As your job is at risk I would say it is worth speaking to a solicitor who specialises in motoring matters on this one.
Being skeptical is not, of course, sufficient to find guilt, but the bench will require an 'out' in all probability. Why were you moving your phone? Was there a message displayed? Did you press a button? Did the police officer see you glance down at the phone for length of time longer than necessary for a move? Checking to see if you'd received a message or to discover what kind of message any buzz signified is likely to be considered as using.
I always keep the phone in my pocket. I used to put it on the passenger seat till my wife saw me do it and said "If you get stopped like that it will look like you'd been using your phone"
She was right, simples really. If you are driving along with a phone on the passenger seat it does make it look more like you were using it.
She was right, simples really. If you are driving along with a phone on the passenger seat it does make it look more like you were using it.
julian64 said:
I always keep the phone in my pocket. I used to put it on the passenger seat till my wife saw me do it and said "If you get stopped like that it will look like you'd been using your phone"
She was right, simples really. If you are driving along with a phone on the passenger seat it does make it look more like you were using it.
I don't think that 'looking like you might possibly have used a phone' is a legal offence, but I could be wrongShe was right, simples really. If you are driving along with a phone on the passenger seat it does make it look more like you were using it.
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