Matt Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 Woman charged with holding an apple while driving Martin Wainwright Tuesday January 25, 2005 The Guardian A woman tempted by an apple while driving set off a Kafkaesque chain of events, a court heard yesterday, including aerial photography by a police helicopter, nine preliminary court hearings, and a trial lasting more than 2 hours. Unlike Eve, nursery nurse Sarah McCaffery, 23, had not taken a bite out of the forbidden fruit when she was stopped by PC Lee Butler on December 4 last year, but she was holding it in her right hand whilst swinging her Ford Ka into a left turn. Apple or not, the manoeuvre at a junction in Hebburn, South Tyneside, free of pedestrians and other traffic, was carried out "perfectly" said her solicitor, Geoffrey Forrester, but it was spotted by a patrol car parked nearby. PC Butler pounced, initially because he thought that Ms McCaffery's apple was a mobile phone. He then issued the nurse with a £30 fixed penalty notice as part of a Northumbria police drive against food or drink at the wheel. Ms McCaffery was found not to have been in proper control of her car by South Tyneside magistrates yesterday, but Mr Forrester said that her real offence had been to fight the case. "This is all about trying to crush her because she is the one who stood up and said 'This is silly'," he told the court. "The police service and the Crown Prosecution Service do not like to be told they are silly. "Nothing illustrates the nonsense of this case more than the resources that have been thrown at it." The magistrates heard that after Ms McCaffery had the "temerity" to challenge the fixed penalty, police used a helicopter to film the junction. A sergeant and constable in a patrol car made a video. Mr Forrester claimed that offences such as drug-dealing, burglary or assault on children would not have been lavished with such attention. He added that Ms McCaffery was of "impeccable character". Prosecutor Chris Kay, whose evidence included a second video taken from the helicopter as well as aerial photographs, said that the proceedings had cost £425, excluding the aerial work. The court heard that the helicopter had not been sent specifically to film the junction, after Ms McCaffery's decision to go to court, but had taken the video and photographs in the course of another job in the area. Ms McCaffery, of Hebburn, was fined £60 plus £100 costs at the 10th court hearing in the case. The chairman of the bench, Ken Buck, said: "We accept that there are times when you can drive with one hand, but, in holding an apple while negotiating a left hand turn, we consider you not to have been in full control." A spokesman for Northumbria police said costs did not have any bearing on decisions to prosecute. "The defendant chose for the matter to go to a court trial rather than accept a fixed penalty notice, so we were obliged to gather all appropriate evidence to present our case." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collymore Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 You have to draw a line or else people will start growing apple trees in their cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted 25 January 2005 Author Share Posted 25 January 2005 You have to draw a line or else people will start growing apple trees in their cars 58713[/snapback] I'm just against the Police, they do nothing when you need them. Theres people out there doing more serious crimes than eating an apple while driving but the police seem to forget about those people! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collymore Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 You have to draw a line or else people will start growing apple trees in their cars 58713[/snapback] I'm just against the Police, they do nothing when you need them. Theres people out there doing more serious crimes than eating an apple while driving but the police seem to forget about those people! 58716[/snapback] At the end of the day if its illigal its illigal. The police are only human and iv'e got away with worse things than eating an apples at the wheel but this has been due to saying what they want to hear and not arguing cause thats just going to pee them off. From what i know the woman has just flew of the handle and if i was a police man, I would take her to court just to pee her off. I watched a program and they said they will know after 3 seconds of meeting someone if their going to fine them or not. Also if i saw a police man behind me i wouldn't eat anything while driving so she deserves everything she gets IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexikokopops Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 You have to draw a line or else people will start growing apple trees in their cars 58713[/snapback] I'm just against the Police, they do nothing when you need them. Theres people out there doing more serious crimes than eating an apple while driving but the police seem to forget about those people! 58716[/snapback] So are you saying that there would be the same level of crime on the streets if there were no policemen in the country? The police have saved my ass many a time on a drunken night out, and even answered my mates phone for him when he was unable to walk or talk, and told us where he was, so they get the thumbs up from me To be fair, it's more dangerous to drive holding food and drink then with both hands. It's a bit over the top, yes, but she was stupid enough to fight it so many times, you would have thought she'd hve known when to quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 Yip, the police do have a point. Not that most of us haven't been guilty of doing it ourselves, but it annoys me when I'm driving to see people trying to drive, and do something else at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted 25 January 2005 Author Share Posted 25 January 2005 You have to draw a line or else people will start growing apple trees in their cars 58713[/snapback] I'm just against the Police, they do nothing when you need them. Theres people out there doing more serious crimes than eating an apple while driving but the police seem to forget about those people! 58716[/snapback] So are you saying that there would be the same level of crime on the streets if there were no policemen in the country? The police have saved my ass many a time on a drunken night out, and even answered my mates phone for him when he was unable to walk or talk, and told us where he was, so they get the thumbs up from me To be fair, it's more dangerous to drive holding food and drink then with both hands. It's a bit over the top, yes, but she was stupid enough to fight it so many times, you would have thought she'd hve known when to quit. 58743[/snapback] No, in those cases there good...because there actually doing there job, but I know someone whos friends with a policeman and he hass openly admitted the pollice force play games and 'bet' on how many people they can pull in, fair? I think not! The police, The goverment and England on a whole could be alot harsher - Although on some things we could be alot fairer! Yeah as you said rules are rules and if she was doing wrong she deserves what she gets but it seems like one rule for one person another rule for another person theres no consistancy on what wrong/whats right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieG Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 Begs the question - should you be allowed to light up and smoke whilst driving? This is actively encourage by the inclusion of a cigarette lighter in most cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stez Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 at the end of the day you're supposed to have both hands on the wheel at all times, except when changing gear, (long shot but) she could of swerved slightly hit the kerb then lost control and knocked someone over because she only had one hand firmly on the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexikokopops Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 at the end of the day you're supposed to have both hands on the wheel at all times, except when changing gear, (long shot but) she could of swerved slightly hit the kerb then lost control and knocked someone over because she only had one hand firmly on the wheel. 58768[/snapback] Or she could have not got the wheel round enough and hit a car on the other side of the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted 25 January 2005 Author Share Posted 25 January 2005 But whether there drinking, eating, smoking, e.t.c...some people drive with 1 hand on the wheel quite regularly - its just a habit some people have, you never hear of the police pulling them over do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stez Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 But whether there drinking, eating, smoking, e.t.c...some people drive with 1 hand on the wheel quite regularly - its just a habit some people have, you never hear of the police pulling them over do you? 58774[/snapback] probably a slow day for the coppers that day then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexikokopops Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 But whether there drinking, eating, smoking, e.t.c...some people drive with 1 hand on the wheel quite regularly - its just a habit some people have, you never hear of the police pulling them over do you? 58774[/snapback] But at least they can quickly put their hand back on the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 But whether there drinking, eating, smoking, e.t.c...some people drive with 1 hand on the wheel quite regularly - its just a habit some people have, you never hear of the police pulling them over do you? 58774[/snapback] It all depends on whether or not the police see you do it. Like I posted earlier, we've all done something, whether it's changing cd's, eating, whatever, but we haven't been caught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 I was on her side until I read the bit about her driving a ford Ka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted 25 January 2005 Author Share Posted 25 January 2005 I was on her side until I read the bit about her driving a ford Ka 58829[/snapback] Prefer Ford Ka's to fekin smart cars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D4 Posted 25 January 2005 Share Posted 25 January 2005 she cud have been dying of thirst. no one in there right mind pulls over to eat an apple. a pear maybe, cus they fall apart! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted 26 January 2005 Author Share Posted 26 January 2005 And someone else has been fined by some Dickhead police force! A MICHAEL Flatley fan has been fined for playing a Riverdance CD too loudly in his car.Markus Aitken thought it was a joke when a girl cop handed him the £30 ticket  after he pulled over to ask directions. And now he is refusing to pay it. Markus, 30, was booked after getting lost and stopping for help. The WPC heard the Celtic tunes on his car stereo and wrote the fixed penalty notice. Markus said: “I couldn’t believe it was happening. This was Riverdance for goodness sake. “I play it all the time and no one has complained before. But she told me it was excessively loud and she would have to give me a ticket.†Markus, of Whitefield, Manchester, insists the music was not loud and said he was not asked to turn it down first. He has written to Tony Blair about his case while waiting to challenge the ticket in court. Greater Manchester police said fines for car stereo noise were unusual but within their powers. Ok it was Riverdance he was listening to but give him a break theres LOADS of people out there who play loud music and I personally don't have a problem with it, and apparently no-one complaned about this bloke playing his music, the police were obviously bored and had nothing else to do P.S: My uncles a policeman and he works for the traffic department of his force but he is actually some use he works on accident scenes and things instead of fining people for shitty little things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 26 January 2005 Share Posted 26 January 2005 P.S: My uncles a policeman and he works for the traffic department of his force but he is actually some use he works on accident scenes and things instead of fining people for shitty little things! 59142[/snapback] Some might argue that if people didn't do the "shitty little things" then your uncle wouldn't need to attend accident scenes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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