Loophole that let driver use phone to film

A DRIVER who filmed the aftermath of a road accident was cleared at the High Court yesterday of using a phone at the wheel thanks to a loophole in the law.

Ramsey Barreto, 51, was stopped by police after he was seen recording a video as he passed the scene of the serious incident.

The builder was charged with breaches of the rules relating to mobile phone use while driving and convicted by magistrates last year.

But his conviction was overturned at crown court when a judge said the regulations do not ban using a phone to shoot video while driving.

The case went to the High Court and two senior judges have now upheld that decision, clearing Mr Barreto, of Ruislip, West London.

Lady Justice Thirlwall said: ‘The legislation does not prohibit all use of a mobile phone held while driving. It prohibits driving while using a phone for calls and other interactive communication – and holding it at some stage during that process.’

The decision has led to calls to update the Road Traffic Act 1988 to take account of smartphones with cameras. It was last revised in 2003 to cover making or taking calls on mobiles while driving.

The Barreto case went to the High Court after an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill. Louis Mably QC, for the DPP, argued the rules aim to ‘guard against unsafe driving caused by drivers holding phones and using them’.

He said there is ‘no rational distinction’ between using a mobile for interactive communication and for ‘a different equally distracting purpose’.

But Mr Barreto’s barrister, Jyoti Wood, argued the rules only relate to interactive communication, including calls, texting and web use. The rules had ‘failed to keep pace’ with technological advances in smartphones, the court heard.

Lady Justice Thirlwall said the law is ‘cumbersome’ but the effect is ‘clear’ – only using a phone for communication is banned.

However she warned the decision was not ‘a green light for people to make films as they drive’.

The judge said: ‘Driving while filming events or taking photographs whether with a separate camera or with the camera on a phone, may be cogent evidence of careless driving and possibly of dangerous driving.’

The Department for Transport said: ‘Motorists should only use a mobile hands-free while driving.’