A white van driver has been left with a criminal record and ordered to pay £266 in fines and costs after honking his horn to attract a friend's attention. Jamie Spence, 52, from Chelmsford, Essex, sounded his Ford Transit van's horn outside Braintree train station on December 4 last year, unaware that an Essex Police officer was watching.
Incident Details
Police Constable Asa Smith observed Spence's vehicle and suspected it was exceeding the 20mph speed limit as it approached the station. In a statement read to Colchester Magistrates' Court, PC Smith said: "When outside the station, subject vehicle hooted horn a number of times to try and get the attention of a friend, not for the purpose of warning other road users."
Legal Proceedings
Essex Police decided to bring a criminal charge against Spence on April 29. He pleaded guilty to the offence of "sounding an unauthorised audible warning instrument on a vehicle." At a hearing last week, magistrate Richard Deacon imposed a £146 fine and ordered Spence to pay £120 in costs. Court documents revealed that Spence had been offered the chance to settle the matter out of court by paying a fixed penalty notice, but he did not respond.
Case Processing
The case was handled under the Single Justice Procedure, where low-level offences are resolved without a public hearing. It was one of 110 cases dealt with on May 12. Across the same week, motorists in England and Wales were prosecuted for similar vehicular offences, including failing to maintain windscreen wipers, driving the wrong way up a motorway slip road, and attending an illegal road race.
Highway Code Guidance
The RAC advises that the Highway Code states drivers "should only use a car horn when they need to alert other road users of danger of a collision or in the event of a potentially dangerous situation." It can also be used to alert drivers when approaching a blind spot or corner. The RAC adds: "Misuse of a car horn is illegal and can result in fines for the driver and owner of the vehicle."
