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Daily Mail, Friday July 15, 2005
By Adam Powell
Mark Freeman thought he was doing his duty when he pulled over to let an ambulance pass on a 999 call. Unfortunately, the manoeuvre took him through a red traffic light – and a strategically placed camera snapped him in the process.
The wheels of justice then began to turn and nothing he could say in his defence was enough to halt them.
The railway maintenance worker ended up with a £60 fine, a £35 bill for costs, three penalty points on his licence and £300 loss on wages for time spent on three court appearances.
“I'm disgusted,” he said last night. “I can't see what else I could have done. If there was someone seriously ill or dying and I stopped the ambulance, would I have been held responsible?”
Mr Freeman, 36, instinctively drove forward when he saw the ambulance in his mirror as he drove through his home town of Doncaster. Its blue lights were flashing and its siren sounding. It was going to the aid of someone with breathing difficulties, it emerged later.
Unable to move into the nearside lane because of traffic, he went through the lights as they turned red and pulled over on the other side.
He received a letter saying he would then be prosecuted. When the married father-of-five tried to explain the incident to the South Yorkshire Safety Camera Partnership his words fell on deaf ears.
The matter was referred to the town's magistrates court where Mr Freeman appeared to plead his case. After three appearances he was advised by the court clerk that he should change his plea to guilty.
“I was told by the clerk I had little chance of winning and if it went to trial it would have cost me huge legal fees,” he said. “The law is barmy and it should be changed. Moving was the only course of action I had.”
A spokesman for the partnership said: “There is a system in place for motorists who feel they have extenuating circumstances – they can opt to take their case to a court of law. If magistrates agree the circumstances are valid, the appeal would be upheld. If Mr Freeman decided to change his position and plead guilty to the offence, that is a matter for him.”
Kevin Delaney, of the RAC Foundation, said the law was unequivocal and he regretfully would advise any motorist not to go through a red light to allow an emergency vehicle to pass. “There should be an exemption in the law to deal with this or some discretion exercised by the courts,” he said. “But sadly it does not happen.”
South Yorkshire Ambulance Trust spokesman Sue Cooper said: “It is regrettable that a motorist who gave way to an emergency vehicle has been in court. But the Trust has every confidence in the legal process and the advice given in the Highway Code.”
A spokesman for ambulance drivers union Unison said: “I'm sure Mr Freeman thought he was doing the right thing, but drivers are trained for these circumstances and he should have stopped at the light.”
Mr Freeman, who will also count the cost in higher insurance premiums, said: “Motorists today just can't win.”
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