Stopped for using mobile phone while driving

[DrivingOffence]

Regular mumsnetter name changed for this as I'm very ashamed of myself.

I was driving, queuing in traffic (so not moving), looked at my phone for no good reason, I know this is illegal and irresponsible. I didn't notice there was a police officer on the other side of the road and he obviously pulled me over, took my license details and logged the offence. He asked why I was using my phone and I had to say I had no good reason, I didn't.

Could anyone advise me please what is likely to happen? I have looked it up and it seems that the minimum penalty is 6 points and a £200 fine, so I assume I'll get that. Is there a risk of further prosecution/penalties?

Any advice most welcome and feel free to tell me what an irresponsible idiot I am, I know I am but deserve a kicking tbh.

OP, I see loads of people doing what you do. I understand why the penalties are so strict. I'd be embarrassed too but realistically you were stationary so the chances of it actually leading to anyone coming to harm is extremely low. The penalties are correct but I wouldn't see what you've done as the equivalent to people texting etc in moving vehicles.

I have my iPhone set up so I can use it without touching the screen. However, I think it's distracting to use the phone even when I'm doing it hand-free so I try to never use it apart from using it for hands free navigation. The accessibility menu is useful for setting up truly hands-free phone set ups.

Not having your phone in a cradle is really really daft though.

I'm in the habit of pulling over and parking my car to check my phone if I have an urgent need to respond to something. I also pull over if I receive an important phone call.

I remember reading a report in the newspaper when mobile phones first started becoming popular about a ban on using them while driving in Chile (I think Chile). This was years before we had a ban. Anyway, the police decided to have a crackdown and started pulling drivers over if seen with a phone to their ear or in their hand. On stopping them, the police found a lot of the drivers had toy mobile phones and were just pretending to be using them to show off .
They couldn't charge them with anything because its not illegal to be pretending to use a phone holding a toy.

I was once almost hit by a car in 'stationary' traffic because the driver was using their phone. I was crossing at a pedestrian island between 2 cars and the car in front moved forward. The driver behind must have seen the movement and they put their phone down before starting to move themselves but just didn't register that I was now in front of her. I jumped out of the way, but not everyone can do that so easily.

I'm not trying to be judgemental, but a lot of posters seem to think using a phone in traffic is risk free.

She wasn't even moving!

That's irrelevant, as has been proven by the Police action.

I got stopped a couple of years ago when the police thought I'd been using my phone while waiting at traffic lights. Fortunately for me, all I was doing was turning off my satnav and I could prove it. However, it got me wondering; suppose I had been using my phone as a satnav, or had simply been turning off music or something similar, I would have been distracted to exactly the same extent as I was with the satnav. The law on this is a bit illogical in some ways.

Use a radio.

So sorry for the horrible and senseless death of your friend. I am glad you posted, the minimising of just how dangerous the OP was being is quite surreal.
People need to understand that using their phone when a car has its engine on is worse than drink driving.

My toddler is far more distracting when I'm driving than a mobile phone could ever be.

OP knows it was wrong. But sitting stationary, has to be pretty low risk.

Of course you can. Most cars can Bluetooth connect to your phone and you can say “call Jan” and the car will call Jan via the Bluetooth in your phone and you talk on the car speakers. Even the free sat navs will also automatically pop up alternate routes if one is faster.

It isn't an offence to touch a phone while driving, it isn't even an offence to hold a phone, provided you're not "using" it.

The offence "hold and use a phone"

You may like to look at the legislation

Were you holding the phone, or was the phone in a cradle designed for the purpose of holding the phone?

This the amount of drivers I see daily using there phone is ridiculous one actually went through a red light at a crossing yesterday

The law has to be illogical to allow the use of those in car iPads which seem to be taking over the dashboard

My phone was safely tucked away at the bottom of my handbag. What the police saw was me turning off a satnav whilst waiting at traffic lights and taking it off my dashboard.

The really "not paying attention" bit was that she was driving behind another car (her mother as it turns out, who witnessed the accident and supplied this evidence) which had actually properly overtaken Ali. The car in front overtook him properly.
Just how long do you think her eyes were off the road not to spot that? Why didn't she spot her own Mum pulling onto the other side of the road to overtake something and realise she needed to do the same? I reckon she must have been looking away for quite a few seconds, as a bare minimum.
I hope she gets buses for the rest of her life.

Ah I see it was a separate Sat Nav, that you moved.

It was her satnav, not her phone, that she turned off. I'm assuming it was a separate piece of tech.

A separate SatNav is considered the same as a mobile phone as the definition is .

It’s illegal to hold and use a phone, sat nav, tablet, or any device that can send or receive data, while driving or riding a motorcycle.
This means you must not use a device in your hand for any reason, whether online or offline.

So I presumably that would include Vapes with bluetooth connectivity.

No it isn't.

Before the ban a friend of mine stopped at a red light, checked her phone and then forgot she was at a red light and drove off.

I take your point about what the website says but read further down under using it hands free and having it in your hand is the killer. If you further, to the actual legislation, it particularises what constitutes use down to checking the time or illuminating the screen.

Mine will light the screen if you pick it up.

I think standing up in front of the beak and saying it was in your hand but not being used is a hiding to nothing.

Ah, OK, I stand corrected.

So what speed would it be ok to text at?

She isn't saying it's ok to text at any speed - just that there's a difference between texting/looking at phone whilst stationary and while moving.

If the device was switched off, you could legally hold it, but I agree it would be hard to prove in court.

I'm aware that even plugging a phone in to a charger, will illuminate the screen so is "using it". I now always plug the phone in to CarPlay before starting to drive.

What I don’t understand is why I’m legally allowed to touch (and pay attention) to the big screen mounted to my car dash? All my messages pop up when I’m driving as my phone is synced, yet if I scroll the smaller device attached below then I’m in trouble? Why are we making cars more ‘technologically advanced’ if it’s such a distraction?