Driving without due care and attention/failing to stop for a crossing patrol

[beverley1234]

Difficult one this. The road i was in has a traffic calmer which forces traffic to stop one way. I stopped here. When it was clear and i set off, there was a crossing patrol 200yds down the road. The person was in the middle of the road and there were some people just stepping on to the pavement after completing their crossing. I moved up to 2nd gear and rolled the car forward at about 20mph. I did this as the road is very small and the the centre of the road is about 3yds from the pavement. I had i guess quickly calculated in my mind that if i stayed at that speed, by the time i reached the location of the patrol they would have returned to the pavement. From when i first noticed the patrol, they had dropped the sign and were walking back to the pavement. My perception is that they have withdrawn the request to stop at this point. By the time i passed the crossing person they had returned to the pavement. However, i have been told that not only did i fail to stop for a patrol but this was driving without due care and attention. I disagree as i took this into account when moving forward and only reached about 20mph. I did not stop as there was no request to do so and i did not drive carelessly as i made sure that the crossing person was out of the way. The prosecution statement has been embelished to say that i had to swerve around the patrol, but this just did not happen. Unfortunatley there was no one in the car with me and i dont know if there are any prosecution witnesses. This will obviously be an emmotive one as it involves a school crossing. I dont believe that i am wrong but maybe i am just convincing myself. I appreciate this is only my version and there are always two sides, however, i would be interested to know what anyone else thinks

[sara3]

you were doing quite well until I reached the end.. maybe you're just convincing yourself?

if you go to court not being sure of your actions/intentions you're going to be in trouble. if you know you're guilty, plead guilty. if you're not, stop trying to talk yourself into it. you have to be confident of the facts in court.

[dilligaf]

I can assure you that you will not be interested to know what anyone else thinks if Norman reads this.
I think will put on his black cap before replying to you.

[jno]

I don't really know; but at a guess, if driving without due care and attention means what it says, you might be able to defend yourself. Driving over a crossing when someone still has their back foot on the road is quite common and not really careless. Failing to stop for a patrol is a trickier issue, though - I think the rules are applied quite strictly. Someone else may be able to give you more detailed advice.

[TWR]

Hi Beverley, after re-reading this the Patrol persons STOP sign was down but the person was still on the crossing so in that case you should have stopped. you also state the person was out of the way!! am I right in thinking you have just missed the back of the person? As you know these Lollipop persons are a law up to themselves ( With respect to all that do the job) Their duty is to safely assist parents/children across the road but how many times do you see them stop the traffic when it is only adults there? I am not condoning what has been done but I think you are on a sticky one here.

[daffy654]

Failing to stop for a school crossing patrol is the same as driving through a red light. If the patrol person was still on the road then you were in the wrong.

[CJ242]

Can I ask who is prosecuting and who has claimed that you swerved?

[beverley1234]

Thanks for the answers.
There was not an actual zebra crossing or anything. It was an open road. The crossing person had lowered the sign and started walking towards the pavement, which was about 3 yds away when i was about 200yds away. I continued forward at about 20mph and the crossing person was back on the pavement before i reached the crossing point.

[beverley1234]

The prosecution is from the police and the mention of "swerving" is in their "statement of facts" which is about 3 lines long. I have not been interviewed or anything by the police on this matter.

[TWR]

I would contest the swerving, if that was the case you would have mounted the pavement with the space you said you had.

[TWR]

Again, I would check the Highway code regards the STOP sign and what are the rules, ( Has the STOP sign to be upright untill the patrol person reaches the side he/she is heading ( This I am sure they should)

[derekpara]

You claim that the patrol was starting towards the pavement 3 yards away when you were 200 yards away travelling at 20mph ? Somethings not quite right here. Do you meen120 mph ?