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“I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped



 
 
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  #21  
Old June 9th 20, 02:57 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Mason[_6_]
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Posts: 2,244
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 2:50:48 PM UTC+1, Kelly wrote:

Still, all things being equal, if a lenient view was taken there would
be the option of him getting away with a telling off and/or possibly a
driver's awareness course type of thing, but who knows?


QUOTE:

The motorist responsible agreed to attend a driver alertness course after being spoken to by police and did not face criminal prosecution.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/c...-a4461076.html
Ads
  #22  
Old June 9th 20, 05:23 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
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Posts: 11,574
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On 09/06/2020 14:05, Kelly wrote:
JNugent wrote:

On 09/06/2020 09:11, Kelly wrote:

JNugent wrote:
On 08/06/2020 21:13, Kelly wrote:
JNugent wrote:
On 05/06/2020 17:45, Simon Mason wrote:

Terrible "excuse".
QUOTE:
It would be highly amusing if it wasn't so dangerous, as the driver of this trailer-towing Ford Ranger seems to think playing on your phone is a reasonable excuse for crawling along a country lane, before coming to a stop and then moving off again.

According to the cyclist who shot the footage it happened near Kittochside in East Kilbride, where she was faced with the vehicle moving very slowly on the country lane. It then comes to a stop and the cyclist thinks he is letting her overtake, but then the vehicle starts to move. She said to the driver "I thought you were letting me past", to which he cheerfully replied: "No, I was just playing on my phone!"

The cyclist claims he then proudly showed off his mobile to advertise the fact. After hearing the driver's explanation, the cyclist can be heard saying: "Absolute cracker". Not the sharpest tool in the box and one that hopefully can be prosecuted with a number plate clearly visible...

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling...ne-2020-274121

Was there a double-yellow line at the side of the carriageway?

But he was undoubtedly acting unlawfully, double yellow or not.

How can it be unlawful to stop where stopping and waiting are not
prohibited?

A double-yellow doesn't even *mean* "no stopping".

But that is is not what this incident is about, is it? Here we have
evidence (all on video) of a driver in control of a vehicle which is
moving slowly before stopping in the middle of a single track country
lane. A cyclist comes up behind the vehicle, waits for a little while
and then starts to creep past it, only for the vehicle to start moving
again before stopping again. She (the cyclist) eventually gets within
speaking distance of the vehicle's driver and says to him, "Sorry, I
thought you were letting me past."
To which the driver replies, "No, I'm playing with my phone!" as he
proudly shows her his phone.

The unlawful act is not the driver's stopping and waiting, it's the
use of his hand-held device while driving. He must still be driving
because the vehicle is moving, albeit it intermittently, all this is
cleary shown in the video - anyway, even if it had been stationary,
who safely parks a vehicle dead in the middle of a single track
country lane?

QUOTE:

When can you use a phone in your vehicle? The law is clear on when
you can use a hand-held device behind the wheel. It is only legal if
you are safely parked - and this does not include waiting in traffic
or stationary at the traffic lights. [...]

Can I use my phone while driving if I'm not moving? Contrary to what
many drivers seem to think, the law still applies when your vehicle is
stopped at lights or in heavy traffic. If your engine is running,
your phone should be nowhere near your hands. This is still the case
if the engine stops automatically to save fuel (called 'start-stop
technology’). [...]

What are the penalties for using your phone while driving? ... Today,
it is a Fixed Penalty Notice of £200, and six penalty points on your
licence.

UNQUOTE

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/l...le-phone-laws/


I am dead against the use of handheld phones whilst driving, but does
picking up and showing an item to someone count as "using" it and if so,
has that principle been tested in court?

Asking for a friend.


Maybe you could tell your friend that I don't know if that
principle has been tested in court, but I wouldn't like to be the one
to test it. And, until some brave soul does, I'll be content to go
along with the RAC's advice which is: " If your engine is running,
your phone should be nowhere near your hands."

PS: If the road is a genuinely single-track road, it really doesn't
matter whether a stationary vehicle is up against the left verge, in the
middle or up against the right verge, does it?


No, you are right, it doesn't - it will still be causing a total
obstruction wherever. Doesn't it follow, though, that you can't
possibly safely park your vehicle in such circumstances.


It *does* and that is the best argument against what the driver
allegedly did.

In practice, though, when in the middle of nowhere, it hardly matters.
And of course, there could be any number of reasons why a vehicle might
have to stop: illness of an occupant, mechanical breakdown of various
sorts, need to avoid a collision with a human or an animal. The list is
never-ending.

Best, I
would have thought, would be to wait for somewhere you can pull over
and into before safely parking your vehicle there. Then, switch off
the engine and play with your handheld phone to your heart's desire.


That would indeed be best.
  #23  
Old June 9th 20, 05:26 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
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Posts: 11,574
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On 09/06/2020 14:50, Kelly wrote:
Simon Mason wrote:

On Tuesday, June 9, 2020 at 9:11:10 AM UTC+1, Kelly wrote:

Can I use my phone while driving if I'm not moving? Contrary to what
many drivers seem to think, the law still applies when your vehicle is
stopped at lights or in heavy traffic. If your engine is running,
your phone should be nowhere near your hands. T


Plus you should not be "playing with your phone" while driving, as this idiot even admitted to doing. Hopefully, the police will investigate the offence.


I think he at risk of being fully penalised if the police do
investigate. But I don't think he properly understands what the
relevant law is, he didn't even try to hide the fact he was using his
phone, on the contrary, he actually freely showed that he was. Also,
I don't think it was particularly dangerous in those circumstance but
we all know what the letter of the law is like.

Still, all things being equal, if a lenient view was taken there would
be the option of him getting away with a telling off and/or possibly a
driver's awareness course type of thing, but who knows?


My view is that the introduction of the "handheld" law only became a
really pressing matter once SMS texting became popular. Using a phone
simply for audio communication was never any more dangerous than using a
two-way radio (which is still allowed, BTW).
  #24  
Old June 9th 20, 05:50 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
TMS320
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Posts: 3,875
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On 09/06/2020 11:12, JNugent wrote:
On 09/06/2020 08:44, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 00:11, JNugent wrote:
On 08/06/2020 20:20, TMS320 wrote:
On 08/06/2020 17:32, JNugent wrote:
On 05/06/2020 17:45, Simon Mason wrote:

Terrible "excuse".
QUOTE:
It would be highly amusing if it wasn't so dangerous, as the
driver of this trailer-towing Ford Ranger seems to think playing
on your phone is a reasonable excuse for crawling along a country
lane, before coming to a stop and then moving off again.

According to the cyclist who shot the footage it happened near
Kittochside in East Kilbride, where she was faced with the vehicle
moving very slowly on the country lane. It then comes to a stop
and the cyclist thinks he is letting her overtake, but then the
vehicle starts to move. She said to the driver “I thought you were
letting me past”, to which he cheerfully replied: “No, I was just
playing on my phone."

The cyclist claims he then proudly showed off his mobile to
advertise the fact. After hearing the driver’s explanation, the
cyclist can be heard saying: “Absolute cracker". Not the sharpest
tool in the box and one that hopefully can be prosecuted with a
number plate clearly visible...

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling...ne-2020-274121

Was there a double-yellow line at the side of the carriageway?

For all your talk about laws, what an utterly pathetic response.

Was the driver perrmitted to stop, or prohibited from stopping?
That seems an important question, wouldn't you say?


No.


Really?


Really.
  #25  
Old June 10th 20, 12:26 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,574
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On 09/06/2020 17:50, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 11:12, JNugent wrote:
On 09/06/2020 08:44, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 00:11, JNugent wrote:
On 08/06/2020 20:20, TMS320 wrote:
On 08/06/2020 17:32, JNugent wrote:
On 05/06/2020 17:45, Simon Mason wrote:

Terrible "excuse".
QUOTE:
It would be highly amusing if it wasn't so dangerous, as the
driver of this trailer-towing Ford Ranger seems to think playing
on your phone is a reasonable excuse for crawling along a country
lane, before coming to a stop and then moving off again.

According to the cyclist who shot the footage it happened near
Kittochside in East Kilbride, where she was faced with the
vehicle moving very slowly on the country lane. It then comes to
a stop and the cyclist thinks he is letting her overtake, but
then the vehicle starts to move. She said to the driver “I
thought you were letting me past”, to which he cheerfully
replied: “No, I was just playing on my phone."

The cyclist claims he then proudly showed off his mobile to
advertise the fact. After hearing the driver’s explanation, the
cyclist can be heard saying: “Absolute cracker". Not the sharpest
tool in the box and one that hopefully can be prosecuted with a
number plate clearly visible...

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling...ne-2020-274121

Was there a double-yellow line at the side of the carriageway?

For all your talk about laws, what an utterly pathetic response.

Was the driver perrmitted to stop, or prohibited from stopping?
That seems an important question, wouldn't you say?

No.


Really?


Really.


You can't see the relevance of whether the driver was prohibited from
stopping.

Why am I not surprised? :-)

  #26  
Old June 10th 20, 09:47 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
TMS320
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Posts: 3,875
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On 10/06/2020 00:26, JNugent wrote:
On 09/06/2020 17:50, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 11:12, JNugent wrote:
On 09/06/2020 08:44, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 00:11, JNugent wrote:


Was the driver perrmitted to stop, or prohibited from stopping?
That seems an important question, wouldn't you say?

No.

Really?


Really.


You can't see the relevance of whether the driver was prohibited from
stopping.


Because it's irrelevant.

Why am I not surprised? :-)


Why am I not surprised you can't recognise the real offence that took place?
  #27  
Old June 10th 20, 03:44 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
jnugent
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,574
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On 10/06/2020 09:47, TMS320 wrote:

On 10/06/2020 00:26, JNugent wrote:
On 09/06/2020 17:50, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 11:12, JNugent wrote:
On 09/06/2020 08:44, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 00:11, JNugent wrote:


Was the driver perrmitted to stop, or prohibited from stopping?
That seems an important question, wouldn't you say?


No.


Really?


Really.


You can't see the relevance of whether the driver was prohibited from
stopping.


Because it's irrelevant.

Why am I not surprised? :-)


Why am I not surprised you can't recognise the real offence that took
place?


Go on, genius...

What was it?

Don't forget the little matter of evidence, whatever you "think" the
offence was.
  #28  
Old June 10th 20, 09:50 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
TMS320
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,875
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On 10/06/2020 15:44, JNugent wrote:
On 10/06/2020 09:47, TMS320 wrote:
On 10/06/2020 00:26, JNugent wrote:
On 09/06/2020 17:50, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 11:12, JNugent wrote:
On 09/06/2020 08:44, TMS320 wrote:
On 09/06/2020 00:11, JNugent wrote:


Was the driver perrmitted to stop, or prohibited from stopping?
That seems an important question, wouldn't you say?


No.


Really?


Really.


You can't see the relevance of whether the driver was prohibited from
stopping.


Because it's irrelevant.

Why am I not surprised? :-)


Why am I not surprised you can't recognise the real offence that took
place?


Go on, genius...

What was it?


Sigh.

Don't forget the little matter of evidence, whatever you "think" the
offence was.


Evidence is for a court. Something way above your station in life.
  #29  
Old June 10th 20, 10:04 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Simon Mason[_6_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,244
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 9:50:38 PM UTC+1, TMS320 wrote:

Evidence is for a court. Something way above your station in life.


The court would hear of a driver admitting to "playing with his mobile" whilst driving along a country lane. Open and shut case.
  #30  
Old June 10th 20, 10:13 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Kerr-Mudd,John[_2_]
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Posts: 374
Default “I was just playing on my phone”: driver’s excuse when cyclist asked why he’d stopped

On Wed, 10 Jun 2020 21:04:42 GMT, Simon Mason
wrote:

On Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at 9:50:38 PM UTC+1, TMS320 wrote:

Evidence is for a court. Something way above your station in life.


The court would hear of a driver admitting to "playing with his
mobile" whilst driving along a country lane. Open and shut case.


I see Nugent is less keen on The Law in this case.

--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug.
 




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