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Frost row motorist vows to flout the law
1:29pm Monday 31st December 2007
A MOTORIST has vowed to continue flouting the law which saw him fined for leaving his engine running to defrost his car.
Ken Hardman was given a £30 fine by a police officer who said he was breaking the law by leaving his car unattended.
Mr Hardman is appealing to Lancashire Police against the penalty, and has written to the authority to say that officers "should have better things to do than penalise law-abiding citizens".
The 45-year-old had switched on the ignition of his Mercedes 180 and left the keys in to keep the engine going and warm the company car up, on December 19.
He locked the car with the automatic key fob from the outside and went back inside his house in Whittle-le-Woods to wait for a few minutes.
He said: "At about 8.30am there was a knock on the door.
"It was a police officer who asked if the car was mine, and said if it was, I was committing an offence.
"I asked what the offence was and was told it was quitting' - leaving your vehicle's engine running unattended on a public highway.
Mr Hardman, a father of two and granddad of one says he has no plans to stop defrosting his car.
"I've always warmed up my car that way, and I see no reason to stop," he added.
"I'd never heard of it, but it's ridiculous, the car was locked and secure and was parked right outside the house, about five feet away on our road which is a really quiet dead-end."
Lancashire Police said the officer fined Mr Hardman as part of Operation Cold Start, which targets residential areas where cars thieves are known to operate, because he refused to accept a warning Mr Hardman, who works in media sales, said: "It's absurd, I could leave the car on my drive with the doors locked and open to thieves, and it wouldn't be a crime.
"I've been driving for nearly 30 years and I have a clean licence because I am extremely careful, particularly as I drive a lot for work.
"Nowadays the police are hell-bent on prosecuting drivers for anything and everything, instead of actually targeting the real criminals.
"The office who fined me was clearly on an ego trip, and was not going to listen to reason."
Your Say Your Citizen
Barry G, Whittle Le Woods says...
4:41pm Thu 3 Jan 08
ken wrote:Ken, you are right it's not an offence to leave your car running on the driveway, but it is to do it on a public road, which you did in this case. Mike is spot on in what he says.
Hi all ,Its me the naughty driver , thanks for all your comments , good & bad , it's a giggle reading them , by the way whos bothered about what happens when selling it ? and thae main point I make is this ... its not an offence to levae car open on the drive in a stealable position with keys in and a bit stupid to do , but use a bit of sense like a sensible adult and lock & secure it , and plod turns up to fine you £30 quid, you either encourage thier behaiviour or discourage them by politely stating common sense, but as we all know there a bit like the Arsenal they dont like it up em ! Happy New Yar to you all , k
from the UK, Lancashire says...
9:54am Wed 2 Jan 08
lou, lancs says...
1:39am Wed 2 Jan 08
mike, WLW says...
2:36pm Tue 1 Jan 08
Are the words "Thanks, officer, I'll bear that in mind in future" so very hard to say? I suggest you are the one on an ego trip.
You were offered advice and refused to accept it, so you got a ticket.
If your car had been nicked you would have been the first person to be moaning that you never see the police on patrol in Whittle!
Grow up man for God's sake.
me, Blackburn says...
9:25pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Burnley, Burnley says...
7:16pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Marie, Preston says...
6:44pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Burnley, Burnley says...
6:10pm Mon 31 Dec 07
I'm right behind you by the way. This so called offence is the most ridiculous I've ever heard.
ken, w l w says...
5:48pm Mon 31 Dec 07
andy, spain says...
5:27pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Ive never heard so much rubbish in my life over being fined for what appears to be defrosting a car. Ok I accept you can get de-icer however it tends to freeze on wind screens etc.
Burnley, Burnley says...
3:18pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Mary, Loooooooooo says...
3:00pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Brian wrote:Example....
You are partly right,Mary. In that they would probably not pay for any damage/loss to the owner's vehicle (providing the policy terms allow them to get out of it). However, they would be liable for payment of any third party claim. Which makes the final paragraph of your first post wrong.
You sell your car and you don't send back your certificate of insurance back to your insurance company. The new owner doesn't get insurance on the car. If the insurance is still current and you don't put a new vehicle on cover, then your insurance is liabible for the third party damage.
Technically I was wrong on the last paragraph of my last post.
Burnley, Burnley says...
2:35pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Brian, Preston says...
2:32pm Mon 31 Dec 07
However, they would be liable for payment of any third party claim.
Which makes the final paragraph of your first post wrong.
Mary, Loooooooooo says...
2:29pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Brian, Preston says...
2:06pm Mon 31 Dec 07
I'll lay a pound to a penny that if his car WAS being stolen, the police wouldn't have been on his doorstep quite so quickly.
But it's another "crime" solved, isn't it? Looks good for the books.
Mary, you may have good intentions, but you're wrong.
Burnley, Burnley says...
2:02pm Mon 31 Dec 07
Mary, Looooooooooo says...
1:39pm Mon 31 Dec 07
"I'd never heard of it, but it's ridiculous, the car was locked and secure and was parked right outside the house, about five feet away on our road which is a really quiet dead-end."
The car was not secure and would of invalidated the insurance. Effectivly having a vehicle on the road with no insurance which is an offence.
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Steve Richards, Wales says...
12:36am Fri 11 Jan 08