Motor offence

[goatclaw]

I have been given a fixed penalty ticket, The officer asked me my full name and address etc. However upon returning home, I have found that he has put my middle name as my surname and not included my surname at all. Where do I stand?

[factor-fiction]

I don't know the legal position but I would think you could find the officer will claim you gave him/her the wrong details. Anyway, did you commit the offence- if so, why should you escape the penalty?

[Ethel]

Minor administrative error - still valid ticket

[goatclaw]

Hi, thanks for the answers. I removed a mobile phone from my right hand fleece pocket, as my seatbelt was pulling on it. The phone had actually been switched off since Weds evening, as I have recently lost my best friend to suicide and did not want to be disturbed. As I took the phone from my pocket amd was about to put it onto the passenger seat with all my work stuff, the officer saw the phone and pulled me over. He claimed he had seen the screen lit. I assured him it could not have been as it was not even switched on. In fact the screen was actually facing into my hand, which I had placed back onto the steering wheel in order to change the phone to my left hand and passenger seat. I let the officer switch the phone on and of course a couple of messages came through. He took this as being proof that I had indeed used the phone. I tried to get him to check the details of when the messages were sent, but he would not have it. I tried to explain about the phone being off, and that if it had been on I would not have been receiving the same messages again if they had already downloaded to the phone! These messages were from Weds night, I was pulled over for "using" my mobile while driving today (mon). He even accused me of deleting the phone call / messages that I was alleged to have been making / sending at the time and then switch the phone off. I can prove from the phone comany I suppose that the phone was off until he switched it on, I don't know how I would go about getting that information. The itemised bill will back the rest of my claim up, that I didn't make a call, but I would need the afforementioned data to show the phone hadn't been on to even receive calls / messages. When I asked how I could dispute it, he even said that if it went to court, he would give evidence and that I could end up with a 6 month ban for driving without due care and attention other than the �60 fine and three points!

[ChuckFickens]

Did anybody read all of that ^

[buildersmate]

Try pleading not guilty and explaining all that to the judge then.
I think he'll find it hard to swallow and will probably nod off in the middle.

[sara3]

what's the offence? I believe that fiddling with your mobile means you're not in full control of your vehicle, regardless of whether you're making a call.

and no, I didn't read it all!

[jno]

I read it all, and yes, try getting the records from your phone company if you want (the police would do it if they thought it would help pin something on you). But sara is right, the offence is to do with not being in full control of your car so none of the above may matter.

Wrong name may be a minor administrative matter but you try getting the wrong one on an airline ticket...

[goatclaw]

It just bugs me, that like being at school, you can work solidly for hours, then as soon as you turn to borrow a pen, the teacher walks in just at that point, then you end up with a detention for not doing any work,just because of what he thinks has been happening. What next? will we be getting fines / points for taking our hands off the steering whel to change gears? Because that's how long it took me to do that!

[goatclaw]

It just bugs me, that like being at school, you can work solidly for hours, then as soon as you turn to borrow a pen, the teacher walks in just at that point, then you end up with a detention for not doing any work,just because of what he thinks has been happening. What next? will we be getting fines / points for taking our hands off the steering wheel to change gears? Because that's how long it took me to do that!

[Metjam]

You were using a pen whilst driving?? Ye gopds man, the story just gets worse.
Pay up and shut up. And stop being so whiney in the future.

[up4it]

I would fight it - The copper knows he is wrong and is just trying to put the frighteners on you so you just bend over and take it

Go to court and you can prove that your phone wasnt on and moving your phone from your pocket to the passenger seat is no worse than changing gear

Alternitively make a complaint against the officer, I did when I was pressured into something similar and funnily enough everything was dropped pretty quickly

[Twenty20]

>moving your phone from your pocket to the passenger seat is no worse than changing gear

I think you'll find the difference is you need to change gear to drive the car, you don't need to mess about with your phone. Common sense really.

[Sweep75]

Firstly, you'll have to go to the police station, either to pay up, or to contest, so tell them the error in details then.
If you truly have done nothing wrong, I would contest it. Data can be taken from the phone to tell if it was being used around that time. A friend of my husbands is going to court soon for this, she swears she wasn't using it, and it they have taken it for forensic testing.
If you were using it, or thinking about it, pay up and take it as a warning. I have points on my license for this, like you I wasn't actually using the phone, just holding it, but still...if it had rang, I'd have looked! I never even saw the police car, so God knows what else I could have missed!

[hayls]

pay your fixed penalty ticked as the car address etc is all linked back to u anyway, attach a letter to the part where u have to fill in & send off, the payment dont actually go to the police it goes to the fixed penalty dept in cardiff (maybe) theyll automatically adjust the penalty details on the master system when u are cleared as paid.

[tufty7]

Nah , Guilty as charged, you had the phone in your hand whilst in control of a motor vehice, you know the law so why did you do it ?? you perhaps were innocently placing it elsewhere but the law is the law!! end of !

[arline]

ss stll have to pay they got ur address