Anybody been accused of driving and using a mobile fone, when they had not..

[apollo-8]

Last night, while driving home, from the Gym. I stopped at a traffic light, while waiting for the lights, to change, i rested my right arm on my window and hand on the side of my head....waiting, then set off, on green.... I noticed a patrol car on the opposite side at the lights going in the opposite direction...until he did a u turn and followed me....so long, then on with the blues.....i stopped. An officer came to me and told me , i had been stopped for using my fone while driving........!.
My fone was in my sports bag, zipped up on the passenger side as i showed him....I was not using the fone at all,,!...
Given three options... i chose to go to court.....! out of principle...
Any advice.....for defence would be a big help....my word, against THE LAW...

[sandyRoe]

Would there not be a record somewhere of the calls made and received on your phone?

[HowardKennitby]

Your phone record should prove whether or not your phone was in use at the time.

[rojash]

^^ Absolutely.

[apollo-8]

Yes..I asked them to check my call history... on the fone...they said i could of been on internet services..eg facebook etc... like What!...these are the Police..!
They was'nt intererested... I have been onto my service provider to send me my bill by post....

[Mojo-Jo-Jo]

Your ISP will know if you were online.
The burden of proof is with the police.

[apollo-8]

Isp..? how would i find that...could you give me some info on that, please,,,,

[Voulez-vous]

I suppose you could have been on any old phone, even if yours was in your bag? Did they search you or your car? It's annoying if you can be charged without them having to prove anything.

[apollo-8]

ARH,,, Internet service provider....

[apollo-8]

No i was'nt searched , nor was my car,,,,thats a good point...hpoe they maybe slipped up ....

[Nosha123]

A friend defended himself in court over same thing and was found innocent! Judge found a flaw in police statement where cop said he saw phone being used from xx ft distance. Which isn't possible to identify as could have been fag packet or anything! They weren't interested in phone records so your strongest evidence is fact the phone was zipped up in bag and the cop saw this when stopping you...

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Exactly the same thing happened to me a few years ago...outcome..whilst I proved beyond reasonable doubt that I was not using the cellphone.i.e.statements call lists etc..I could not prove that I was'nt holding it to my ear...£650 fine + the cost of the lawyer for the afternoon...British justice at its best

[thenry]

They ARE the police. They'll do what they want. Good luck !

[FredPuli43]

Furthermore, using the phone isn't necessarily an offence . Jimmy Carr, no doubt using the solicitor 'Mr Loophole', was acquitted because he claimed that he was using the phone to record material for jokes and not as a phone.
Easy to see how the police seeing the arm and hand as described could jump to the conclusion that you were using a phone. But they can't have had much time to come to that, nor, perhaps, much of a view. The magistrates may well doubt the police conclusion too.

[Ali_c]

Yes, same thing happened to me a few years ago. I took phone records with me to court which showed I wasn't on the phone and the judge argued back it could of been an incoming call, which there are no records. My phone was switched off in the glove compartment, they said I could of switched it off and threw it in there before stopping. I took it to an appeal hearing on a point of principles and still got found guilty, fined £250 and 3 points.

[tonywiltshire]

I had a person contact me as he had been stopped on the Motorway for using a telephone, which he denied. Do not admit what is not true; if you were not using the phone say you are not guilty, some people just admit what was not true by letter rather than attend, particularly if the court is some distance away. If it eventually proceeds to the magistrates court after a number of adjournments be ready for the magistrates to believe what the police officer says rather than you, so be prepared to attend court, and produce evidence to substantiate what you say, do not rely on being believed.
My contact was found not guilty.

[Baldric]

An honest, law-abiding citizen versus the Police,

Good luck with that one apollo-8

[Twenty20]

Or, just maybe, the OP was actually using the phone (note spelling) and is looking for a way out now?

I'm not totally convinced that the police would really chase after someone who simply had their hand next to their head unless they did indeed see a phone. Otherwise we'd all be getting stopped by the police for scratching our ears!

Quite easy, I would have thought, to slip the phone into a sports bag during the time the police car was following and when it had stopped.

Don't forget, many, if not all, patrol cars have video cameras to film what the driver in front is doing so the OP may indeed have been caught on video. Just something to consider - it may help or hinder the OP depending on whether they were actually using a phone.

[Mick-Talbot]

Yes I have ... A traffic cop pulled out on me, I slowed down and thought what a plonker . The copper then signaled me to stop, I wound down my window and he said
'You were on your phone then'

"No I was not"

'I saw you'

"You didn't even see my white Hi- Top , long wheel base transit van, how the hell did you spot a mobile phone ?"


So anyway.... Im then sat in the back of this cop car ........

Knowing that everything I say would be recorded I kept calm and answered the usual.. tax, insurance questions.
I repeatedly asked him to check my phone, he wasn't interested in that because he knew he had invented the incident.

I ripped the shreds out of the coppers driving,

"If you are that desperate to cover up your awful driving mate you had better go round the van kicking the tyres"


He then let me out of the car and I got on my way.

I

[apollo-8]

Ok...phone (fone)..
I was not using the phone....I would of taken the fine , otherwise.
I didn't know they recorded , when questioning you in the car...