I had ridden a couple of hundred miles to visit my cousin and her new born baby and was within striking distance of her house when my phone had a bit of a hissy fit. I pulled over and removed the phone from the handlebars and had it in my hand when some jumped up kid copper pulled up and nicked me.
I told him I wasn’t doing anything illegal as I wasn’t making a call but trying to find out where I was on Google maps. He reckons because I was still astride my SV650, engine running and phone in hand, I was in fact breaking the law and gave me a fixed penalty offer.
I told him I would see him in court. The smarmy kid laughed and said he’d see me there! Now I’m all for nicking people on phones while they’re driving as it’s dangerous but I’ve done nothing wrong.
I’ve been a teacher for 30 years and am a great public speaker. Do you agree I will teach the kid a lesson in court?
Answer
The short answer is no. Being a teacher and a great public speaker will not help you I’m afraid. Not even being royalty will help as you have in fact broken the law.
If you had turned off the engine and got off the bike to hold and look at the map on your phone then there would have been no issue. However, as the law states it’s illegal to hold a phone to perform “an interactive communication function by transmitting and receiving data” i.e. looking at Google maps while riding or driving, the policeman, is legally correct.
My advice is accept the fixed penalty offer of £200 and six points. It will be cheaper and quicker.
Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast
Motorcycle Monthly January 2019
Dear Neil
Many thanks for your comment. With regards to where the line is “drawn with regards to defining what it is to be ‘driving’ or ‘riding’ a vehicle” is very much fact dependant and each case turns on its own points.
What I can say is there a bucket load of case law on the subject spanning back over the decades that I won’t even try to condense and reply with. However, to keep it simple, if you want to avoid any issues, my advice is park up somewhere safe; turn the engine off; get off the motorbike; and then look at your phone etc. if you need to. If you don’t, you risk getting into bother with the law.
Hi Andrew,
This is an interesting subject, because where would the line drawn with regards to defining what it is to be ‘driving’ or ‘riding’ a vehicle? In the case of a motorcycle; Does the engine have to be running? Does the rider need to be wearing a helmet even if he/she is sat astride the vehicle on a public highway etc.
Regards,
Neil.