German trucker uses mobile as "ear warmer," court believes it
Oh sure, we've seen alleged criminals wriggle out from under the strong arm of the law, but this one takes things to an entirely different platform. Reportedly, a truck driver in Germany was pulled over for yapping on his cellphone while cruising, but apparently, said trucker actually wasn't talking when the boys in blue saw his handset upside his melon. As the story goes, the 43-year old was actually using the freshly recharged mobile to "warm his ear" in an attempt to alleviate an earache. Astonishingly enough, he was even able to provide "an itemized telephone bill proving he had not been using the phone at the time he was stopped," thus, a court in Hamm accepted the excuse and let him go sans penalty. Something tells us this guy's got friends in low places.[Via Switched]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Vancouver guy @ Mar 18th 2008 12:06PM
I wanna smoke what German courts are smoking..
Michael @ Mar 18th 2008 1:07PM
I don't see how this is so hard to believe. If his phone bill showed that he wasn't on a call, then he wasn't on a call. Haven't any of you noticed how warm electronics get when they charge? My cell phone doesn't get warm, but other electronics I have do, and who's to say his doesn't? I mean, if your ear is hurting and you notice your phone is warm... it makes logical sense to me to use it. Kind of like a hot compress on an aching muscle.
elgee02 @ Mar 18th 2008 1:42PM
I thought the point of these "hands free" laws was not so much to prevent you from TALKING on the phone but more so to prevent you from having to use one of your hands to hold said phone to your head... hence why they call it a "hands free" law. I don't know for sure about Germany but at least here in California it's being called a "hands free" law, the purpose being they don't want you to devote one hand to holding a phone to your head. You can still talk on the phone, but only through bluetooth or wired headset.
To me it's not a big deal, but essentially even though this guy may not have actually been talking on the phone, still using a hand to hold it against your head totally defeats the purpose of a "hands free" law, does it not?
NuShrike @ Mar 18th 2008 4:38PM
The flawed idea is that using your hands distracts and handicaps one's ability to drive. Too bad, it's the talking that's the actual handicap.
youngcalihottie @ Mar 19th 2008 7:40PM
i would also say that the act of talking is what distracts you, not so much holding the phone. even when im not on the phone, i only hold the wheel with one hand. i might even go as far as to say he was safer by relieving his headache than driving while being distracted by the headache.
could it all be bs? of course! whos to say that it was even the bill for the account he was using at the time! and even if he presented the phone with the bill, since he was in Germany it was probably a GSM phone. therefore, it could even be a different sim.
whatever the case, he presented reasonable doubt. i would just say that in the future police officers may want to take note of the sim or esn in use at the time.
Dapple @ Mar 19th 2008 7:42AM
Has anyone considered that he may have been receiving a call, and not making one (in which case it wouldn't show on his bill)???
Seanross @ Mar 19th 2008 10:43AM
I dont know about his bill, but I have sprint and they show both incoming and outgoing calls
youngcalihottie @ Mar 19th 2008 7:44PM
do they not show incoming calls in germany? i mean, i guess its possible if you have calling-party-pays. i guess we just don't know, cuz in the US bills show every single incoming/outgoing call/text/web session/every single thing on your bill.