The recent incident where a motorist took a sip of her Slush Puppy whilst stationery at traffic lights, or “#icecrime” as it is currently trending as on twitter, has attracted much press coverage and public interest alike.
The motorist in question, Sophie Vaughan, was issued with a 3 penalty point and £100 fixed penalty notice for driving without due care and attention (also known as careless driving), which I am pleased to read she is intending to challenge assuming press reports are correct and accurate.
The internet is littered with comments from members of the public, other drivers and various road safety charities who are critical of drivers who become “distracted” or eat and drink whilst at the wheel. I am not seeking to promote or condone such activities rather my aim is to give advice to drivers on what the law states in such cases.
Driving without due care and attention carries a broad range of sentences on conviction ranging from 3 – 9 penalty points to a discretionary disqualification – should the Court feel that the circumstances of an offence are sufficiently serious to require a driver to be banned from driving. In addition to sentencing a driver to a penalty point or disqualification sentence a fine of up to £5,000 will be imposed by the Court.
Recent years have seen a rise in fixed penalty notices being issued in cases like Sophie’s and many more cases are making their way to Courts because motorists rightly want to have their day in Court. The fixed penalty regime does not allow a driver to contest the notice with the police and it is only possible to challenge fixed penalties by electing to go to Court and plead not guilty thus allowing the Magistrates to make a determination of whether they believe that the prosecuted offence has been committed.
The law in relation to “due care” cases is that the Crown Prosecution Service MUST prove beyond reasonable doubt that the manner of someone’s driving has fallen below the standard expected of the competent and careful driver. Courts are entitled to take into account circumstances which the driver could be expected to be aware and any circumstances shown to have been within the driver’s knowledge. Furthermore, the Magistrates are entitled to consider whether a driver has failed to observe a provision of the Highway Code as a serious failure can constitute evidence of careless driving.
It is my view that the Prosecution will struggle to gain a conviction in a case where someone prosecuted for driving without due care and attention has, in stationery traffic, taken a sip of their drink – especially where they have not caused an accident or inconvenienced any other road users. From what I have read thus far in the media Sophie is right to consider taking this case to Court.
Other offences that the police can and do issue fixed penalty notices for in similar cases are driving without reasonable consideration to other road users (also known as inconsiderate driving) and driving in a manner which does not give proper control or a full view of the road or traffic ahead. In the former case the Prosecution MUST prove beyond reasonable doubt that other road users have been inconvenienced by the person’s driving. In cases where someone is alleged to have not had proper control of their vehicle or a full view of the road or traffic ahead it is necessary for the Prosecution to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, exactly that – namely that a person has driven, caused or permitted a vehicle to have been driven, in a position which did not give proper control or a full view of the road or traffic ahead.
The decision regarding whether or not to challenge a fixed penalty should always be taken with the benefit of legal advice so that an informed decision can be made once an assessment of the likely success at trial has been provided by a motor offence specialist solicitor. We give free initial advice to people who are thinking of fighting a fixed penalty ticket and we have won cases like Sophie’s together with those where someone has been accused by the police of poor driving because they have, for example, eaten at the wheel, tuned a car radio or changed a CD.
Sophie, if you are reading this, stick to your guns and challenge that fixed penalty. I certainly think you have a case to argue! If you need any advice give me a call and I’ll be happy to help.
For specialist legal advice in this regard and for legal advice regarding all motoring offences please contact Julie Robertson on 0161 819 7221 or Julie.robertson@bootes.co.uk Twitter @DriverSolicitor. The initial call is always free!
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