Going to court....

[Goldsax]

Well long storey short im being taken to court over "using my mobile Phone" while driving....when the matter of the fact is i wasent...hence why i denied the fixed penalty and going to court....heres the storey:

> A round about...
> Im going straight
> Copper waiting at what would be my 3rd turning...so facing my side as i go across
> i had my elbow on the top of the door card, and my hand on my ear (just like if i was on my phone) as i had a glandular infection at the time and it was killing me
> i drive 300yards down the road and stop outside my girlfriends house, as thats where i was going to drop her off to get changed from work
> Copper pulls up behind me and says do you know why im talking to you??
> Me being me said 'cos you want to' as i had no idea why lol
> she said for use of your mobile phone while driving...
> i said hang on a minuet and explained why my hand was there cos of the infection
> she said can i check your phone, i said sure you can but my GF has been on it for the past 15mins or so (which she had been...poor lass to skint to buy credit so uses mine and shes the one with the job haha)
> copper went through the usual crap about the fixed penalty
> then i denied it
> she said (pointing at her van) what does that say...
> i said 'POLICE'
> She said no the bit above it...it said ' mobile video'
> anyways she you may see me in court you may not...

I then got a letter 3 weeks later...well a summonds...ive pleaned not guilty by post.

Now my questions are:....

Do the video thingys work while they are driving? (it didnt have a little dome thing on the top)?

If it does work while driving and the focus is not clear but you can see my hand by my ear, is that sufficiant evidence for them to prosacute me??

and is 3 points the max i can get??

Only reason im concerned is that i have 8 points from when i was 17/18 and im trying to get rid of them as im wanting to go into the motor trade business and i cant get a job in that sector atm as im 20 and i have 8 points...heance why ive been good for 2 years (dont loose 5 of them until may 2011 and the other 3 in feb 2012) so that will leave me with 11 points if i get prosucuted...so if worst comes to the worst will 11 points be the max?? or is there a posibility they could ban me??

im really worried as ive change my direction in life only to get pushed back AGAIN

Thanks in advance guys any help would put my mind at ease, im really worried

Sorry for the long post lol thanks

[bonkersmk1]

if u wasnt on the phone u have nothing to worry about ? will get thrown out of court probs u have any proof from ur doctor that u had an ifection ? mayb that might go down well dont worry they gota prove it

[Goldsax]

Nar im used to having this infection so didnt go, all they say is drink lots of water and take paraceamol, so saw no point in going lol.....but if they have a picture/video of my hand being in my ear region...but is out of focus, is mine and my girlfriends word enough against one copper (she was on her own) and a pic/video?? :S

[bonkersmk1]

if u wasnt on the phone what have u got to worry about ? they cant prove somethin when there is nothin to prove right ? it will get thrown out of court

[Gazer]

what about phone records?
just a thought :y:

[bonkersmk1]

ye thats another thing mention. ^^^^its to much hassel for them the judge will laff n will get thrown out

[Goldsax]

nar cos my Girlfriend was on my phone at the time lol...so when i send my not guilty thingy in...they will throw it out of court you rekon??

[bonkersmk1]

if they want to go through ur phone records it will take time and money y would they want to do all that over a petty crime? with no proof if u go court a should think it would get chucked out they cant prove somethin if there is nothin to prove as said b4 dont worry bout it mate

[Gazer]

yeah i wouldnt worry either mate :y:

[ReCoNoR]

They're always gunna take the coppers word against yours mate.

BUT, innocent until prove guilty, and an out of focus camera cant prove shit.

[Goldsax]

ok...does the camera recored while the vehicle is moving?? if not then im home free lol

[Gazer]

erm i think they do acually dont quote me on that though
maybe there trying to scare ya by saying it lol

[Goldsax]

She might be pissed off cos she tried to do me for leaving the sceen of a crime (someone hit a pole and they thought it was me) but seen as i wasent even in the country at the time she got pretty pissed off when i told her that after she took me to the station and wrote a full report lol

[Goldsax]

They're always gunna take the coppers word against yours mate.

BUT, innocent until prove guilty, and an out of focus camera cant prove shit.

i like you lol...cept the 1st bit lol

[saxo_furio17]

you mosy likely wont get anything but tell us how it goes

[Goldsax]

so i 3 points the absolute MAX they can give me?? i havent got any points before for being on my phone, nor being caught and warned...i got 5 for due care in 2008 and 3 points for doing 38 in a 30 in feb 2009...so non are along the same lines so they cant give me more points can they??

[ReCoNoR]

Shouldn't you be banned already? I thought if you got 6 points in your first two years you got banned?

[Goldsax]

ive been driving almost 3 years lol i got my licence revoked back in the beginning of 2009 was off the road in april back on in july

[mtpagey]

driving without due care
speeding
licence revoked...

you really aint doing too well behind the wheel are you :P

[Goldsax]

that was almost 2 years ago...like i said above...im trying to get my clean licence back

[Mr_P]

Do you have a solicitor?

Without one, I'll say you're pretty buggered. A police officer will run rings around you in court. Sorry mate.

The only thing you may get lucky with is the fact it was only a petty crime so it could be another officer attending.

Was she on her own in the van?

[jonathon5]

I got done twice for driving on the phone years ago.

If your innocent fight it

[grantperring]

tbh mate if its a survalence cop van then the camera will show you with your hand on your ear with no phone , and if its out of focus then the court cannot except it as proper evidence against you so you should be fine :y:

[nappert]

mate-i'd say ur fucked.they've probably had a look at the video back at the station,or in her van after it.(they CAN rewind the footage & see). If it didnt look like you had a phone to your ear then they wouldnt be takin it to court.she doesnt wanna look like a fool any more than you do,especially in front of a judge!!!And as for your phone bein used at the time....well....your phone??? i dont think you got a leg to stand on.would love to know what happens though

[tokyodrifte]

Are you suuureee you wasnt on your phone? :wink:

[hellonpluto]

http://www.google.co.uk/url?source=imgres&ct=tbn&q=http://www.acc.umu.se/~zqad/cats/1169988171-Gonna_get_raped_cat.b.jpg&sa=X&ei=_cg-TJT_Ntm5jAfNoLWUBw&ved=0CAUQ8wc4GA&usg=AFQjCNEfpnfK276E_BIaH1FW4kFRng93TA

[Pixie]

Sounds shit coppers nowt better to do grrrrr

[Chief8802]

Surprised this hasn't been suggested yet but if I were in your position then I'd defo be trying to get hold of whoever your girlfriend was on the phone to and get them to make a statement saying they were speaking to her, not you.

I wouldn't go to court without it tbh, obviously I know naff all about the law in this situation but I totally agree with what Mr_P and nappert have said, wouldn't be at all surprised if they're both right.

Is it possible for you to get hold of who she was speaking to?

[ryanmt]

Very hit and miss all this mobile phone using business. My mates dad got pulled over and told very straight he would be receiving 3 points for driving whilst on the phone. Only thing was he didn't have a phone on him, or in the car at the time.

[Manu]

Surprised this hasn't been suggested yet but if I were in your position then I'd defo be trying to get hold of whoever your girlfriend was on the phone to and get them to make a statement saying they were speaking to her, not you.


I thought of this too. It's probably your only option..

[Sparky26]

Surprised this hasn't been suggested yet but if I were in your position then I'd defo be trying to get hold of whoever your girlfriend was on the phone to and get them to make a statement saying they were speaking to her, not you.

I wouldn't go to court without it tbh, obviously I know naff all about the law in this situation but I totally agree with what Mr_P and nappert have said, wouldn't be at all surprised if they're both right.

Is it possible for you to get hold of who she was speaking to?

+1 i would definately be trying everything

[deans2k8]

ive been pulled for this before..i had a headache and hand on my head, coppers were abit pee'd because i didnt even have a mobile phone on me haha

[daz_zz_er]

I genuinely feel very sorry for you, good luck mate and hope things go your way!

[Goldsax]

yeh the coppa was on her own, and my girl friend was on the phone to my mum aranging their 'girly weekend' lol so you think il be fukd? Or fine! Lol

[Chief8802]

Personally I think you'll be ok. As I said, just make sure you get your mum and girlfriend to enter statements to back up the story, or whatever it is they need to do to get their evidence into the case.

I don't think there's any reason for the court to reject that, because if you were lying just to get out of it then you would all be guilty of perverting the course of justice, and for that the 3 of you would get royally fucked. No one should be stupid enough to risk that, especially on such a minor case, but if so then 3 points would be the least of your worries!

So as long as you are telling the truth then I think you should be fine, would be quite an injustice if you were done for it.

Saying that I'm far from an expert in any of this so please don't take it as gospel. Good luck :y:

[danzman1991]

When do you go to court mate?

[Add91289]

It is an offense just to touch a mobile phone in a car, you dont have to be using it to get done. But theres a million reasons why you may have your hand on you head/ by your ear, so surely that cant be sufficient evidence?

But a copper once told me that when people plead not guilty, an independent person looks at any evidence and they decide if it's worth and in the public interest to pursue in court. If thats the case they must be confident of getting a prosecution.

[Saxoladlesta]

Personally I think if the police didn't have good enough evidence then the CPS would have thrown it out already but you'll have to wait and see.And the camera won't be fuzzy they should be able to see clearly.

[K17NEY]

I was in court for the same reason this morning and i already have 9 points.At first the judge said ill have 3 points and a minimum of a 6 month ban.I plead gulity and gave a letter from my boss saying id get sacked if i lost my license.I ended up with 3 points and a £60 fine...Result:y:

[Morgzc]

It is an offense just to touch a mobile phone in a car, you dont have to be using it to get done.

Shiiit, I've always used mine in my car to play music. Back to the radio for me then :(

[vtrdunc]

Surely if your girlfriend was on the phone they'll have a recording of that phone call at whatever phone company it is. I'm sure they're meant to keep records and a short recording of each phone call of who, when, where etc.

If you were genuinely not on the phone you'll be fine but if not you deserve what you get. I'm not saying I don't make quick phone calls while driving but if I'm caught I'd accept the consequences.

Dunc

[Saxoladlesta]

Depends what you mean by "touch a phone",you can listen to music on one as long as your not constantly switching songs etc

[Powellyboi]

Sounds shit coppers nowt better to do grrrrr

Its the rules. Coppers are there to keep the law.
Sorry but I hate peoples attitude towards the police sometimes.

[Add91289]

Depends what you mean by "touch a phone",you can listen to music on one as long as your not constantly switching songs etc

I've heard you cant even lay a finger on it, but even if you legally could, i still wouldn't. it's just asking for trouble.

the video evidence will be clear, if it wasn't, they wouldn't bother with these vans.