A Biggleswade man has been fined almost £300 after flashing a two-fingered salute at a road traffic camera he was driving past.
Perrie Harvey, 36, of London Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, pleaded guilty to driving while not being in a position to have proper control. This is an offence contrary to section 44D of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
The offence happened as Harvey was driving a Land Rover on the A14 at Newmarket on 17th April 2018.
At at hearing at Ipswich Magistrates' Court, prosecutor Waseem Raja showed the picture the camera had taken to the court.
He said: "You can clearly see from the way he is gesturing that he was not in full control of the vehicle.
"His hands are not on the steering wheel.”
In mitigation, a statement from Harvey’s solicitors said a driving conviction would increase his insurance premiums and that he had already paid a substantial amount in defence costs.
Magistrates endorsed Harvey's driving licence with three penalty points. He was fined £293, ordered to pay prosecution costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £30.
Many motorists don't realise that they can be prosecuted under this same legislation if it appears to a police officer that they could be distracted from their driving by eating, smoking, reading or doing anything else that takes their attention from the safe operation of their vehicle.
It is not necessary for the prosecution to prove that the vehicle was not under proper control; merely that it could not have been given the circumstances.
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