Police to prosecute motorists who photographed crash

nilagin said:
There's no excuse for a need to eat or drink whilst driving. As much a menace as those that continue to use their phones.
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Rubbish. Never needed a sip of water for a tickly cough?
How about people who sneeze whilst driving? Their eyes are briefly closed. ...shall we charge them too?

Wait....BLINKING!!
 
i've never felt the need to eat at the wheel but on a hot day in a car without aircon you would soon get thirsty if you did not keep yourself hydrated with water
 
DWDCA/careless driving doesnt have to involve driving like a knob - just having one hand occupied with something other than car controls is sufficient evidence if the court finds that it impaired your ability to control the vehicle

But South Tyneside Magistrates ruled that Sarah McCaffery, 23, of Hebburn, was not in proper control of her Ford Ka as she negotiated a left hand turn with an apple in her right hand.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-335291/Pipped-Woman-driver-fined-eating-apple.html#ixzz3bX7Tyh54
A REMORSEFUL motorist yesterday admitted ‘not being in full control’ after being caught by police eating a sandwich while driving
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http://guernseypress.com/news/2014/09/05/police-crack-down-on-drivers-caught-snacking-at-the-wheel/

The Police Ombudsman asked prosecutors to consider taking a criminal case against a PSNI officer for allegedly eating an ice cream at the wheel
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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...eating-an-ice-cream-as-he-drove-30455229.html

many other examples - I'm sure i recall one which i can't now find in which a man was prosecuted for DWDCA because he was masturbating while driving - I assume the court felt he was driving like a w****r
 
Not everyone is equal. I bet when you look into the detail of those cases they were t***s.

For an ordinary person keeping their attention on road and the environment around them there is nothing wrong with having a sip to drink or a sandwich to eat v

Heck I will be doing that in a minute on my home from the west country as I haven't had lunch yet. However the risk is mine, as in if I spill some coffee or drop a tomatoe on my trousers the first priority will remain driving not cleaning myself that can wait until the services.

Lets just have some simple common sense.
 
dejongj said:
For an ordinary person keeping their attention on road and the environment around them there is nothing wrong with having a sip to drink or a sandwich to eat v
.
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just like theres nothing 'wrong' with driving at 80 on the motorway that thouands of people do everyday - unless the police both spot you and want to stop you - if they do they can, and you are commiting an offence ... theres a very big difference between I get away with it regularly , and 'its legal'
 
Driving at 80MPH on the motorway is illegal, whether or not you get "caught", as is using your mobile phone (non handsfree)
Eating or drinking whilst driving are IN THEMSELVES not illegal acts.
The courts won't "find" for or against any evidence if the CPS decides not to pursue a prosecution.
If the police consider every act of drinking or eating (or scratching your head....rubbing your eye....yada yada) at the wheel to be cases of DWDCA, and the CPS considered a hand off the wheel / gears to be not in sufficient control of the vehicle, the court schedules would be rammed with imminent cases, and they're not.
 
What about us smokers?
 
ChasG said:
What about us smokers?
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Yep....they can cobble you for that too if they're feeling fruity. But again, the actual practice of smoking whilst driving isn't illegal.

Yet ;)
 
big soft moose said:
just like theres nothing 'wrong' with driving at 80 on the motorway that thouands of people do everyday - unless the police both spot you and want to stop you - if they do they can, and you are commiting an offence ... theres a very big difference between I get away with it regularly , and 'its legal'
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That is not at all what I meant, it is not about getting away with it.
 
viv1969 said:
Yep....they can cobble you for that too if they're feeling fruity. But again, the actual practice of smoking whilst driving isn't illegal.

Yet ;)
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It is if the car is considered a "workplace", but obviously that is a whole different law.
 
daugirdas said:
It is if the car is considered a "workplace", but obviously that is a whole different law.
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Ah yes!
A whole different slant.
Unless you are the only person to use that vehicle for work.

And if you think our workplace smoking laws are harsh....have some pity for Canadians who work from home ;)
 
boliston said:
i've never felt the need to eat at the wheel but on a hot day in a car without aircon you would soon get thirsty if you did not keep yourself hydrated with water
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Even cars without air con have indicators and brakes. Pull over and stop somewhere safe and have a drink if you must.
 
So what are the cup holders for? Are you serious or on a windup?
 
nilagin said:
Even cars without air con have indicators and brakes. Pull over and stop somewhere safe and have a drink if you must.
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I'm sorry, but if you're saying you have NEVER in your life sipped a drink whilst driving then I can't take you seriously at all :LOL:
 
nilagin said:
Even cars without air con have indicators and brakes. Pull over and stop somewhere safe and have a drink if you must.
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Having a conversation with a passenger probably causes more distraction than occasionally sipping from a water bottle - perhaps I should pull over each time a passenger tries to engage me in conversation whilst I'm at the wheel?
 
viv1969 said:
I'm sorry, but if you're saying you have NEVER in your life sipped a drink whilst driving then I can't take you seriously at all :LOL:
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Never. I drink before a journey and at the end if thirsty. Any drinks that may be in the car will be in the boot so I'd have to stop anyway.
 
nilagin said:
Never. I drink before a journey and at the end if thirsty. Any drinks that may be in the car will be in the boot so I'd have to stop anyway.
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RIghty oh.
 
Well there is a first for anything. We always drank in our military vehicles, and today as well there are all sorts of rules about Bluetooth usage or not ;) but none about not drinking.

Very very odd behaviour. What's next you don't let women drive either and wear driving gloves? :p :)
 
boliston said:
Having a conversation with a passenger probably causes more distraction than occasionally sipping from a water bottle - perhaps I should pull over each time a passenger tries to engage me in conversation whilst I'm at the wheel?
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I tend not to hold conversations either whilst I'm driving. If you took a proper drink of water before a journey, there would be no need to keep taking sips. Sipping water does little to keep you properly hydrated anyway.
 
If you need a drink while driving, it's probably because your throat is a tad dry...... from all that out of tune singing/shouting......







because the music is ......






TOO FREAKIN' LOUD!!!!! :D
 
No loud music unless you class that v8 big block noise as music which I cant argue against :)
 
dejongj said:
No loud music unless you class that v8 big block noise as music which I cant argue against :)
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Aye, If you put your foot down hard on the loud-pedal, I guess that could make your throat a tad dry :D
 
dejongj said:
So what are the cup holders for? Are you serious or on a windup?
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passengers - or holding your cup so you can drink from it when its safe to do so (like when the car is stationary)

end of the day 99% of the time not even the police care - but if they do decide to stop you, you are comiting a careless driving offence if you have your hands off the wheel and/or eyes off the road because you are drinking, eating, fiddling with your satnav,/radio/genitals or wwhatever
 
big soft moose said:
passengers - or holding your cup so you can drink from it when its safe to do so (like when the car is stationary)

end of the day 99% of the time not even the police care - but if they do decide to stop you, you are comiting a careless driving offence if you have your hands off the wheel and/or eyes off the road because you are drinking, eating, fiddling with your satnav,/radio/genitals or wwhatever
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Since when is driving with one hand on the steering wheel illegal? Best get rid of all those manual shift cars they are a true danger...Heck I know some people who even seem to have to look at the gear stick :eek:

Once again the point is being missed, it is not about those actions by them selves, but about the result of what you do when you perform those actions. It is very simple;

144
You MUST NOT

  • drive dangerously
  • drive without due care and attention
  • drive without reasonable consideration for other road users.
    Law RTA 1988 sects 2 & 3 as amended by RTA 1991
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148
Safe driving and riding needs concentration. Avoid distractions when driving or riding such as

  • loud music (this may mask other sounds)
  • trying to read maps
  • inserting a cassette or CD or tuning a radio
  • arguing with your passengers or other road users
  • eating and drinking
  • smoking
You MUST NOT smoke in public transport vehicles or in vehicles used for work purposes in certain prescribed circumstances. Separate regulations apply to England, Wales and Scotland.
Laws TSf(EV) regs 2007, TSfP(W) regs 2007 & TPSCP(S) regs 200
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Does anyone spot the difference?


Let me help you, one is a legal requirement as highlighted by the words MUST NOT and the other is not, the other is advice. The reason being that 148 COULD lead to 144 but doesn't have to....Hence my comment early, and something @viv1969 consistently had tried to bring to this thread as well, the person/people would not have been found guilty of eating a :jaffa:
 
nilagin said:
I tend not to hold conversations either whilst I'm driving. If you took a proper drink of water before a journey, there would be no need to keep taking sips. Sipping water does little to keep you properly hydrated anyway.
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You sound like a right bundle of laughs :p
 
Once again (for the possibly slow witted), even if the police stop you because your hand is off the wheel for any reason, you have not committed any offence.

They may charge you with doing so, but that still doesn't mean squat.
They'll ask the CPS to bring a prosecution. ..they'll need evidence.
At this point, you still haven't committed any offence.

If you were driving erratically whilst scarfing your redneck burger, then the CPS might decide to prosecute and plonk you in front of a magistrate. Note, at this point you can politely decline and demand trial by a jury of your peers, as you are entitled to do.

The point is...only when someone says "guilty", have you actually become so. Even then, the offence committed is not eating/drinking whilst driving.
 
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dejongj said:
Since when is driving with one hand on the steering wheel illegal? Best get rid of all those manual shift cars they are a true danger...Heck I know some people who even seem to have to look at the gear stick :eek:
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I said driving with one hand onthe wheel unless changing gear or applying the handbrake - "Sect 144 , you must not drive without due care and attention" - due care and attention includes being in full control of the vehicle at all times, and not being distracted from the task at hand ... its not exactly rocket science

As has been mentioned repeatedly - most off the time the police arent that botherd, but technically if you are eating, drinking, fiddling with your sat nav, interfering with yourself (breast feeding, playing an ipad racing game, reading a book - the permutations are endless) then you arent driving with due care and attention and thus you are breaching sect 144

Mod edit comment removed
in reference to
but I give you my word here and now as a moose of probity ................
 
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fabs said:
It's finding cup holders big enough for the bottle of wine that is the most tricky. ;)
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you need to buy those half size bottles of wine - or decant your pinot grigo into a sports bottle so as not to trigger passing coppers into stopping you
 
fabs said:
It's finding cup holders big enough for the bottle of wine that is the most tricky. ;)
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You can fit a magnum sized bottle in a Mercedes GL class (y)

big soft moose said:
I said driving with one hand onthe wheel unless changing gear or applying the handbrake - "Sect 144 , you must not drive without due care and attention" - due care and attention includes being in full control of the vehicle at all times, and not being distracted from the task at hand ... its not exactly rocket science

As has been mentioned repeatedly - most off the time the police arent that botherd, but technically if you are eating, drinking, fiddling with your sat nav, interfering with yourself (breast feeding, playing an ipad racing game, reading a book - the permutations are endless) then you arent driving with due care and attention and thus you are breaching sect 144
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No that is just not accurate, it can be, but it doesn't have to be....As I clearly highlighted section 144 is law, section 148 isn't. Not following 148 COULD lead to 144 but doesn't have to. That is a very important distinction and people shouldn't translate it into that you cannot drink or eat...


Mod edit Quote removed ......... thread tidying
 
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POAH said:
1st of october in England and soon in scotland
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I did use the word "yet"...but you're still partially incorrect.
The new legislation applies only when there are children in the vehicle, and therefore will not affect me in any way :)
 
POAH said:
should ban it totally
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Why? I have no issue with what people do in their own space to themselves, I faily to understand the benefit of banning it all together...I'm no longer a smoker but I don't see why we should dictate to those that do smoke how they lead their lives...
 
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