Woman fined with 3 points for eating crust of bread while driving in UK.

Run_to_da_hills · 20-01-2009 11:58pm #1

Woman gets three points and a fine for eating a crust of bread while driving in the UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7834611.stm

It won't be long before the UK authorities will fine you for picking your nose at the wheel. :eek:

And there are those that support the sharing of penalty points and police data between European Countries.

robbie99 · 21-01-2009 12:05am

Don't eat and drive.

L-M · 21-01-2009 12:22am

Soon it'll be illegal to talk and drive, or listen to the radio. What a disgrace lol

Guy:Incognito · 21-01-2009 12:33am

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

And there are those that support the sharing of penalty points and police data between European Countries.

What is the issue with that? Are you suggesting that if we share data that all the bad points of certain systems will be made universal and the good points abandoned. God forbid we stop people who get banned simpley hopping across a border and driving again.

Frankly RTDH, I'm amazed you posted about this at all, it's so out of character.

Run_to_da_hills · 21-01-2009 12:44am

Stekelly wrote: »

What is the issue with that? Are you suggesting that if we share data that all the bad points of certain systems will be made universal and the good points abandoned. God forbid we stop people who get banned simpley hopping across a border and driving again.

Frankly RTDH, I'm amazed you posted about this at all, it's so out of character.

It depends on the ban, drink driving, excessive speeding, dangerous driving I can understand with data being shared but when it comes to trivial matters like eating a Pierce of bread it gets stupid. A number of years ago someone got done for eating a kitkat, it eventually got thrown out of court with an apology. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/739005.stm

I would have nothing against having an appeal court in Ireland for offenses carried out abroad so that some of these cases could be tested and thrown out.

CyberGhost · 21-01-2009 12:45am

UK is on a fast track to 1984.

TheNog · 21-01-2009 3:47am

Surely there has to be more to this than just eating bread. She must have displayed poor driving like swerving or late breaking etc for that type of conviction.

If there is no more to it, then I say appeal it. The most stupid conviction I have ever heard.

rgunning · 21-01-2009 8:55am

I heard her on BBC radio one when I was over there. Sadi she didn't swerve or anything, etc. and how much of a disgrace it is. We are, however, only hearing her side of the story. To be fair, she had no traffic incidents for something like 13 years up to this.

The problem is the law over there states that that if you are "Not in proper control of your vehicle" you can be fined like this. And yes, this would include picking your nose. Maybe she was nad maybe she wasn't, but under the strict rules of the road, hands off the wheel means you are not in control.

Yes, I know this involves gear changes, turning on lights etc., so the point is that the traffic police have to apply the law only when they feel necessary. There have been a good few cases over in England that typify this.

Interestingly, she chose not to contest it. But a lot of this was due to the fpenalty being increased on a loss.

Maybe people here will start to appreciate that the Gardai usually show a lot of restraint when applying the rules of the road compared to the nit-pickery that goes on over there. If people constantly flout these rules, it's what we could become.

Seth Brundle · 21-01-2009 10:49am

That has been happening in the UK for years. I recall reading of stories where drivers were done for drinking cans or eating a kit kat!

Hal1 · 21-01-2009 10:51am

I bet she knows which side her bread is buttered on now.

Cookie_Monster · 21-01-2009 10:54am

rgunning wrote: »

Interestingly, she chose not to contest it.

Probably because there is more to the story

Run_to_da_hills · 21-01-2009 11:14am

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Probably because there is more to the story

She is probably more afraid of being harassed.

Henry Ford III · 21-01-2009 11:32am

What about smoking whilst driving? Much more dangerous presumably?

Oh and don't forget applying makeup, shaving, reading newspaper/map, taking off clothes etc. I've seen them all.

Alun · 21-01-2009 11:34am

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

She is probably more afraid of being harnessed.

You really need to get that spelling checker of yours fixed

Mr.David · 21-01-2009 11:44am

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

She is probably more afraid of being harnessed.

As a green energy source to power the world for years to come?:D

daveharnett · 21-01-2009 11:46am

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

She is probably more afraid of being harnessed.

Yeah, that's what it is all right:rolleyes:.

So in your perfect world, drivers could proceed with impunity as long as they had a breakfast roll in hand?

deadwood · 21-01-2009 1:15pm

Was she eating a "crust" of bread

or one of these?

thenightrider · 21-01-2009 1:21pm

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

It won't be long before the UK authorities will fine you for picking your nose at the wheel. :eek:.

They will only fine you if you pick your nose and eat it

ednwireland · 21-01-2009 1:38pm

there was talk of fining people for tuning their radios and smoking but i guess if you swerve and they pull you or are deemed to be driving erratically then they nick you
police state anyway the uk they have much bigger problems than this and this just loses any respect for the police force.

DublinDilbert · 21-01-2009 1:45pm

TheNog wrote: »

Surely there has to be more to this than just eating bread. She must have displayed poor driving like swerving or late breaking etc for that type of conviction.

If there is no more to it, then I say appeal it. The most stupid conviction I have ever heard.

Exactly, definitely more to it than that!

If it was just a crust, how would they even see it! surely she would have swallowed the evidence!

MagicMarker · 21-01-2009 1:50pm

I once ate a tripple whopper while driving.

That was messy.

Omcd · 21-01-2009 2:21pm

Just a thought, I wonder why we have so many fatal single vehicle crashes over here where a car has left the road for no obvious reason - not trying to blame simple crusts of bread for them all, but the general idea that the victims may have had their attention focused on something else other than just driving.

I know the general perception is going to be that the majority of us can handle multitasking, so the problem, in relation to nitpicking enforcement, is centred around the few that may not be able to...

madds · 21-01-2009 2:31pm

Crust of bread? Doesn't come near the woman tucking into what looked like a big bowl of Weetabix (or some similar cereal) whilst driving behind me one morning on the way to work. Silly girl's eyes left the road for 2-3 seconds at a time while she was rooting round for her next spoonful.

Omcd · 21-01-2009 3:03pm

Once was behind a woman on the M50 who was driving in the 'fast' lane but spending most of her time looking in the rear view mirror combing her hair.

Was behind a driver last week on a dark twisty country road, he was playing away on an undimmed iPod touch suctioned cupped to the windscreen right in front of his face (ie just below and to right of the rear view mirror).

My father used to have an alarming habit of taking off or putting on a coat or a jumper while driving (I'm sure to some people reading this thats normal routine).

Run_to_da_hills · 21-01-2009 5:11pm

On a similar note "Food police" are the latest addition to the up and coming British nanny state.

Householders are to be visited by officials offering advice on cooking with leftovers, in a Government initiative to reduce the amount of food that gets thrown away.

The officials will be called "food champions". However, they were dismissed last night as "food police" by critics who called the scheme an example of "excessive government nannying".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/4214024/Dont-throw-away-leftovers-warn-food-police.html

daveharnett · 21-01-2009 5:19pm

On a similar note? How are those two stories related? One has to do with food, one has to do with careless/inattentive driving.

RTDH, nothing destroys an argument more quickly than overstating it. Perhaps you should be a little more selective before playing the Orwell card.

Run_to_da_hills · 21-01-2009 10:11pm

daveharnett wrote: »

On a similar note? How are those two stories related? One has to do with food, one has to do with careless/inattentive driving.

RTDH, nothing destroys an argument more quickly than overstating it. Perhaps you should be a little more selective before playing the Orwell card.

Some people just dont have a sense of humour. :rolleyes:

Thoie · 21-01-2009 10:32pm

Omcd wrote: »

Just a thought, I wonder why we have so many fatal single vehicle crashes over here where a car has left the road for no obvious reason - not trying to blame simple crusts of bread for them all, but the general idea that the victims may have had their attention focused on something else other than just driving.

I know the general perception is going to be that the majority of us can handle multitasking, so the problem, in relation to nitpicking enforcement, is centred around the few that may not be able to...

Most (but obviously not all) of those happen during some kind of unusual road conditions - particularly slippery, wet, windy, etc. Many can be accounted for by people either not changing their driving to suit the road, or tiredness.

Woman fined with 3 points for eating crust of bread while driving in UK.

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