Driving whilst using a mobile phone is a fairly new road traffic offence introduced to eradicate the unwelcomed influences that technology ca have on our driving habits.
Potential Loopholes
- Insufficient evidence of nature of device alleged to have been used.
- Insufficient evidence of use of a mobile phone.
- Vehicle not being driven at the time of the offence.
- Procedures not followed by police officers.
• Police officers failing to search for a mobile phone or failure to check call records.
The definition of driving whilst using a mobile phone is contained with section 41D (b) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Road Vehicles (Construction & Use) Regulations 1986 which state:
"No person shall drive a motor vehicle on a road if he/she is using a hand held mobile telephone; or a hand held device of a kind specified in paragraph (4) of the regulations."
What would seem as a fairly clean cut definition allowing for little confusion as to whether someone is guilty of an offence is, in reality, very technical and ambiguous.
In order to find someone guilty of this offence the Procurator Fiscal must prove beyond reasonable doubt that a mobile telephone was held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or any other interactive communication function including sending or receiving messages or media or accessing the internet.
It is not an offence to use hands free equipment!
Penalties for this offence include a fine and discretionary disqualification. However, with our specialist knowledge and experience our client's have never had anymore than 3 penalty points endorsed on their licence when they are guilty of the offence.
Contact the Specialists
Normally the Procurator Fiscal can obtain a conviction for this charge simply on the verbal evidence of two witnesses and as such it requires a Specialist Road Traffic Solicitor with attention to detail and the ability to explore technicalities and loopholes to successfully defend a charge of this nature.
Accordingly, the task of retaining your driving licence should not be entrusted to inferior legal representatives when ONLY Specialist Road Traffic Solicitors will do!
EVEN IF YOU ARE GUILTY WE CAN HELP TO PROTECT YOUR LICENCE AND KEEP YOU ON THE ROAD. Don't delay call our Specialists today.
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