{"id":3393,"date":"2026-05-25T13:30:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/white-van-driver-slapped-with-266-fine-for-tooting-his-horn-to-get-friends-attention\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:30:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T13:30:02","slug":"white-van-driver-slapped-with-266-fine-for-tooting-his-horn-to-get-friends-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/white-van-driver-slapped-with-266-fine-for-tooting-his-horn-to-get-friends-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"White van driver slapped with \u00a3266 fine for tooting his horn to get friend\u2019s attention"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_1c1e1b\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Jamie Spence pleaded guilty to the charge of &#8216;sounding an unauthorised audible warning instrument on a vehicle&#8217;<\/h2>\n<div class=\"Byline_byline-container__K_Owl\" data-testid=\"byline\"><span class=\"Byline_byline-content-wrapper__Imque\" data-testid=\"byline-content\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"Byline_author-badge-date-wrapper__Q7jj1\">\n<p><span class=\"\" data-testid=\"byline-publishedDate\"><\/span><span class=\"ArticleTimestamp_updated-date__7qD4Q ArticleTimestamp_updated-date-with-published__iFKpF\" data-testid=\"byline-updatedDate\">Updated <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37202764\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Jamie Spence was seen - and heard - using his horn outside a train station (stock image)\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37202764.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2169461162.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37202764.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_GettyImages-2169461162.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37202764.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_GettyImages-2169461162.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37202764.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-2169461162.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Jamie Spence was seen - and heard - using his horn outside a train station (stock image)\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Jamie Spence was seen &#8211; and heard &#8211; using his horn outside a train station (stock image)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A white van driver has been handed a criminal conviction and a \u00a3266 court bill for tooting his horn to attract the attention of a friend. Jamie Spence, 52, was spotted by an <a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/essex-police\" rel=\"follow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"\">Essex Police<\/a> officer while sounding his horn outside Braintree train station on December 4 last year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The officer then reported the driver for \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/all-about\/crime\" rel=\"follow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">sounding an unauthorised audible warning instrument on a vehicle<\/a>\u201d, sparking a criminal prosecution. PC Asa Smith told a court he had started watching Spence\u2019s Ford Transit van after suspecting the driver was travelling over the 20mph speed limit on his approach to the train station.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cWhen 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,\u201d the officer wrote, in a statement to Colchester Magistrates\u2019 Court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Spence <a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/weird-news\/\" rel=\"follow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">pleaded guilty to the charge<\/a>, and at a hearing last week magistrate Richard Deacon sentenced him to a \u00a3146 fine with an order to also pay \u00a3120 in costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Court documents also show that Spence, from Chelmsford, was offered the chance to settle the case out of court, but did not respond to a police offer to pay a fixed penalty fine.<\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_9d2dcd\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\"><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37202412\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/travel\/news\/brits-heading-tenerife-over-half-37202412\" tabindex=\"0\">Brits heading to Tenerife over half-term warned about triple &#8216;tourist traps&#8217; threat<\/a><\/span><\/span><span data-testid=\"readmore\" class=\"ReadMore_readmore-prefix__xS44r __className_9d2dcd\">READ MORE<!-- -->: <span class=\"ReadMore_readmore-link__eF9pN\"><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" data-tmdatatrack=\"read-more\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37201181\" data-tmdatatrack-source=\"editorial\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/real-life-stories\/teacher-miserable-uk-now-pays-37201181\" tabindex=\"0\">Teacher &#8216;miserable&#8217; in UK now pays just \u00a3100 for flat with pool in &#8216;really wholesome&#8217; country<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The case was dealt with in the Single Justice Procedure, where low-level crimes are dealt with behind closed doors. Essex Police decided to bring a criminal charge on April 29.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The magistrate passed sentence on May 12, deciding on Spence\u2019s case among 110 criminal cases dealt with that day. Also last week, motorists around England and Wales were prosecuted for offences including not maintaining their windscreen wipers, driving the wrong way up a motorway slip road, and attending an illegal road race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The RAC advises motorists that the Highway Code says that driver \u201cshould 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cIt can also be used to alert drivers when approaching a blind spot or corner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The RAC adds, in its online advice: \u201cMisuse of a car horn is illegal and can result in fines for the driver and owner of the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/weird-news\/white-van-driver-slapped-266-37202751\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jamie Spence pleaded guilty to the charge of &#8216;sounding an unauthorised audible warning instrument on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_GettyImages-2169461162.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}