Safe Speed Forums

with the amount of time i spend on the road, i observe far more than the average motorist and the latest 'idiocy' if you will has to be pulling onto the hard shoulder to answer a mobile. i dont do it. most clients give me a mobile but not hands free so tough. i will return the call at MY convenience but there are an increasing number of drivers who pull over anywhere to answer a mobile. hard shoulder, hazard lights are optional and if i was an officer of the law, i would be issueing £30 fines all over the place

incidentally, a truck driver has been done for using his mobile with his engine running. he pulled over to answer it but failed to turn his engine off so he was penalised

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Richie

SSAFA supporter
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=126025031585

our company has multiple sites, so often we have meetings over conference calls rather than face to face.

On a couple of occasions they have been interrupted by a knocking sound - people have stopped on the hard shoulder to join conference calls, and the rozzers have decided to let them know their error.

Quite frankly, they deserve the fines / points / ridicule they get.

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COAST Not just somewhere to keep a beach.

A young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless, in a world of criminals who operate above the law.

Yeah, it does go to show how the thought processes of normally intelligent and responsible people can become so short-circuited by the apparently unstoppable need to use their mobile.
They know they shouldn't use a hand-held whilst driving, but they should also know that they must not stop on the hard shoulder unless its an emergency.....
People DO know this don't they

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Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical, liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

Has that made news? I think I could help it along. Can you tell me more?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

found it. give me a couple of minutes to scan and edit the article Paul

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Richie

SSAFA supporter
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=126025031585

i have marked the relevant section with a green line

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Richie

SSAFA supporter
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=126025031585

Ta. Where was that published and when? What's the headline?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Commercial Motor 24/05/2007

page 18

Eastern DTC has to deal with a backlog of phone offences

Chris Tindall was the reporter

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Richie

SSAFA supporter
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=126025031585

that's bad, but nowhere near as bad as the guy done for DUI because he decided to sleep in his car.

I've done that several times after a party when the weather's been good. Won't do it again, I'll drive home instead.

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Prepare to be Judged

My company has banned the use of any mobiles, hand held or otherwise, whilst driving on company business. Failure to comply can result in disciplinary action.

I still regularly see people driving with one hand on the wheel, the other pressing a mobile to the ear. Mostly women driving 4x4s for some reason.

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Brian

As DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol) is an american offence I presume you mean he was done for drink driving. Is this an american or UK case?

If it is a UK case then if he was done for drink driving while asleep that would seem to be a wrongful conviction.

The normal charge for someone found over the limit in a motor vehicle is that of drunk in charge. There is a defence to the charge of showing that you had no intention of driving while still over the limit. Such a defence only has to be proved on the balance of probabilities.

go on then, pick on the foreigner.



now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure that was the actual charge.


I can't find the original newspaper report, although a search of safespeed returns reports of a couple of similar cases. Obviously your defence is not foolproof if these people were found guilty despite being safely asleep.

In the case I read, the chap was sleeping in his car in a pub carpark but found guilty because he'd put his keys in the ignition.

Me and my mates regularly sleep in vehicles whilst away on climbing trips and I can't remember a time when any of us will have been sober.
So this drunk in charge thing is a worry.
If the keys to the car were hidden under a rock or something a distance away would that cover us?
Surely just having access to the keys wouldn't wash as an offence as we would all be done for drunk in charge when drinking at home with the car on the drive.

here's a bbc report

There have also been stories (apocryphal?) of people having a few drinks at home, realising they have left something they needed in their car in the road outside, picking up their keys, going out to the car and getting pinched for "in charge while unfit".

Evidence of intention to drive? Well, a policeman saw you walking unsteadily towards your car with the keys in your hand ...

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Malcolm W.
The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not represent the views of Safespeed.

How would this law stand if you were sleeping in the back of a motorhome?

Drunk in charge is drunk in charge. We have to rely on the Police to be sensible.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Just out of interest, can you be done for using a mobile if you're parked with your engine running? Quite often I'll be parked at the side of the road with the engine running for heat/air to keep windows clear and be chatting on the phone...

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Mike

Certainly you can in the UK mainland. I'm not certain that the same law applied in Northern Ireland.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety