[UK-CONTEST] OT: Driving & Use of Radio

[Steve Knowles]

Further to this thread, I (as a time-served, but now retired Plod) suggest 
it is necessary also to consider the following:

If stopped, you should point out the make, model and serial number of the 
equipment concerned to the officer and require him to record those details 
in his notes.  He may well refuse, but this is something he SHOULD do, so a 
refusal is to your advantage.
Make your own note (any piece of paper will do - something like an opened-up 
cigarette packet is excellent because it is just the sort of thing that 
ordinary people have to hand) of the above radio details, plus the date, 
time and place of the incident, the shoulder number of the officer concerned 
and the fact that you have asked the officer to record the equipment 
details.  Ask the officer to read and sign your note as correct (he will 
probably refuse, but you asked and can state that in court).  If you have a 
mobile phone with a camera, photograph the officer, his car, the equipment 
AND your note.  Keep the note (and photographs) safe for production at court 
if required.

Asking the officer on scene whether he intends to prosecute for "Without Due 
Care" (or worse) is of dubious value; the decision to prosecute is actually 
out of his hands and is dealt with by the Crown Prosecution Service on the 
basis of the evidence submitted in the case (they have power to overrule any 
decision made by police on the street) and your mentioning it may put ideas 
into his head.
For WDC, assuming you have not been involved in an accident, you must be 
served with a warning along the lines of "You will be reported for the 
question to be considered of prosecuting you for an offence of  driving 
without due care and attention" - you can be told this by the officer at the 
scene or receive it by post, delivered to the address you supplied, within 
fourteen days of the incident.  If you haven't had the notice in fourteen 
days they can't proceed against you for WDC. If you get the notice, they 
then have six months in which to summons you to court.  You are unlikely to 
get both a ticket and a summons - this would be considered 'two bites at the 
cherry'. which is not allowed.

If you get a ticket, read it carefully to see what rights of appeal you are 
given.  If you CAN appeal it before going to Court you MUST do so - failing 
to do so would prejudice your case horribly.  You can still take it to Court 
if your appeal is rejected.

If the case is going to Court, get a GOOD lawyer.  You may have to lay out a 
bit of cash, but on acquittal you'll get it all back, plus expenses, loss of 
earnings, etc., possibly even compensation if you can show that the 
prosecution should never have been brought!  Get a POOR lawyer and lose, 
you'll wind up having to pay him, and the prosecution costs as well!  I 
would suggest you get your solicitor to instruct a barrister - they are very 
well respected (almost feared) at Magistrates' Court; they are also very 
good at unravelling complex legal situations.

The legislation here is so complex that (in 2007) Metropolitan Police 
drivers were forbidden from using their personal radios while driving 
because they also contained mobile phones and so were thought to be subject 
to the legislation!
Since then I know of at least one case where a person charged with using a 
mobile phone while driving as escaped by claiming they were recording a joke 
on the phone and not using it as a telephone!  I don't believe there has yet 
been a definitive case stated.

The best solution is proboably to go 'Hands Free' !!!

73

Steve G3UFY