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Motorist Fined for Beeping at Pedestrian
Motorist Fined for Beeping at Pedestrian
By Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post
Steven Milne - fined after he beeped his horn at a pedestrian who caused him to slam on his brakes
A MERSEYSIDE motorist, prosecuted and fined for simply beeping his horn at a pedestrian, last night said he would "probably have got off lighter" if he had run him down.
IT consultant Steven Milne, a former soldier who has served in Afghanistan, had been driving a friend to a Champions League match when he saw the pedestrian walk out in front of him in Wirral, talking on his mobile phone.
Mr Milne, 28, from Wallasey, stopped his car and beeped "several times" at the man, only to find a police officer knocking on his car window.
The driver was given an on-the-spot fine for beeping his car horn at 7.30pm, in a case which the Noise Abatement Society has described as "extreme".
According to Merseyside Police, the offence was committed because Mr Milne was stationary when he beeped his horn, and the warning at that point was unnecessary and could have posed a danger to other drivers.
Chief Supt Paul Forrester, of Merseyside Police, said: "We're trying to encourage courteous driving and sharp toot on the horn warns others, but a toot, toot, toot can be dangerous."
Mr Milne, who served with the Royal Logistics Corps in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, said he had filled in the ticket saying he wanted to go to court to fight his case, but says he was never told of the court date.
This week, he returned home from a short break with his fiancee to find a bailiff's letter demanding the £45 fine plus bailiff's costs of £50.
Mr Milne, who works in IT for Marks & Spencer, in Chester, said: "I'm amazed it went this far. If I had run the guy over, I would probably have got off lighter.
"I've been advised that the best thing I can do is pay the fine. To fight it would mean two court appearances and because I'm self-employed it could mean losing my contract and my job.
"But I'm convinced I could have won if I had gone to court. I can't believe they would waste taxpayers' money fighting this."
Peter Wakeham, of the Noise Abatement Society, said he had not heard of a similar case before.
He said: "I can see nothing wrong with beeping your horn and warning someone.
"For someone to step out in front of you is very frightening and I feel sorry for him.
"If he had just been doing this to annoy people I could understand it. People that sound car horns are a nuisance. But from what I've been told it is very extreme. Horns are a safety warning device. That was an expensive beep on the horn."
Chief Forrester said that drivers tended to use the horn to "vent their annoyance at others" and the police were trying to encourage courteous driving.
He said he had little sympathy with Mr Milne, and added: "When you come to a stop and carry on blowing your horn, you are using it for a reason other than which it was intended."
He said the horn "is a courtesy rather than an insult" and used unnecessarily could alarm other drivers and increase the risk of an accident by distracting them.
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