A LEARNER driver has been dragged to court for stopping just a few yards past a red light at a junction during a lesson. Joseph Bell, 18, stopped over the line at a junction on Colwick Loop Road in Nottingham on December 14 last year. The A-Level student admitted failing to comply with the red […]
A LEARNER driver has been dragged to court for stopping just a few yards past a red light at a junction during a lesson.
Joseph Bell, 18, stopped over the line at a junction on Colwick Loop Road in Nottingham on December 14 last year.
The A-Level student admitted failing to comply with the red light, but Nottingham magistrates accepted special circumstances, BBC News reports.
The court heard Mr Bell, who was 17 at the time of the incident, stopped into a red light area for 14.8 seconds, with no oncoming cars or pedestrians present.
Footage showed he pulled up to the intersection at a slow speed and his instructor – who was with him in the car – could take control of the vehicle if needed.
Bruce Stuart, defending Mr Bell, said the car would not have presented a danger to other road users if there had been traffic.
He said: “This is something that learner drivers do – they make mistakes.”
The barrister said the prosecution showed “bad judgement” by the police.
The learner driver – who plans to take his test in the next few weeks – was granted an absolute discharge, meaning he will not be charged a fee or have any points added to his driving licence.
Despite the ruling, Nottinghamshire Police defended their decision to pursue the case by backing the prosecution against Mr Bell.
The driving instructor wrote a letter backing Mr Bell and said the error was “a simple lapse of judgement” that can sometimes happen with student drivers.
After the hearing, Mr Bell said he was “relieved” at being discharged as having three points “would have proved [to be] a lot of hassle”.
The boy’s mum Gaynor Bell said she was “completely frustrated” with the police decision to back the prosecution against her son, especially considering that the instructor was with him in the car at the time.
She said: “As a parent you put your trust in them – that’s why you use driving schools.”
Inspector Simon Allen, from Nottinghamshire Police, defended the force’s actions over the case.
He said there is “no mitigation for learner drivers when committing a traffic offence” and it was the job of officers “to uphold the law”.
He added: “The safety of all road users is paramount, which is why the law holds learner drivers equally accountable and they must ensure that they follow the rules of the road.
“In these cases, drivers have the choice to take a ticket or to go to court as happened here.”
