An elderly motorist has been left fuming after being fined £100 and threatened with court for going through a red light to let an ambulance pass.
Frank Wallington, 76, who’s had a clean driving licence for more than 20 years, was issued with the penalty after he made way for the emergency vehicle last March on the A52 in Radcliffe on Trent, Notts.
The OAP had been driving home from his cousin’s funeral when he was caught on camera inching past the lights – just one second after they changed.
He had been making way for an ambulance which was approaching with flashing blue lights behind him.
Frank Wallington, 76, who’s had a clean driving licence for more than 20 years, was issued with the penalty after he made way for the emergency vehicle last March
Fearing he would cause paramedics to be delayed by being stuck in front of them on a single lane, he felt he had no option but to inch forward to let it pass.
But he was left stunned when he was slapped with a £100 fine and three points by Nottinghamshire Police despite only the front end of his BMW going over the white line.
The grandfather-of-four appealed the penalty by stating what had happened but he was left without a response for nearly a year.
He has now been told that he must appear at Nottingham Magistrate’s Court on February 14 if he wants to dispute the punishment.
Mr Wallington, a part-time school worker from Walsall, says he had been left ‘feeling like a criminal’ despite doing ‘nothing wrong’ and he has always prided himself on being a competent driver.
He said: ‘I’m an advanced driver and I’ve always had a completely clean license. I pride myself on being a very good driver.
‘I’m being treated like a criminal without having done anything wrong. I don’t think it’s just. If it was speeding and caught I would understand.
‘If there was no other vehicles involved I would probably have put my hands up and admitted it.
‘Instead I’m being punished for doing the right thing. The alternative was blocking and delaying an ambulance responding to an emergency.
‘I can’t deny that I was one second late going through the traffic lights, but my point is there were very legitimate mitigating circumstances.’
The OAP had been driving home from his cousin’s funeral when he was caught on camera inching past the lights – just one second after they changed. His car and the ambulance are both circled
Mr Wallington had been driving from the funeral in Long Bennington, Lincs, along the A52 Grantham Road when he spotted the ambulance as he approached traffic lights.
He added: ‘I saw the ambulance behind me in my mirror, so I moved over to the left.
‘I saw a white car tailgating. I had to delay setting off because of the car behind it, which I thought was perhaps a relative of the patient in the ambulance with it being so close.
‘The ambulance and the car behind it were going quite fast. I indicated to show that I’d seen him and that I was slowing down to allow him to pass.
‘I was looking at them in my wing mirror, I had taken my eyes off of the traffic lights as I was obviously distracted by the approaching emergency vehicle.
Mr Wallington, a part-time school worker from Walsall, says he had been left ‘feeling like a criminal’ despite doing ‘nothing wrong’
‘I went through the traffic lights 1.2 seconds too late, they were on green as the ambulance approached, and the punishment was three points and a £100 fine.
‘This is what happens when you let an ambulance through. I wanted to keep myself back from where it goes into one lane. I took my eyes off the lights as they were on green.
‘The camera is adjusted so as soon as the red light goes on it is activated.
‘I couldn’t see the red light change as it was behind me. The car in front of me must have just gone through on orange.
‘But I would still do it now, let an emergency vehicle through..
‘I passed my advanced driving test 20 years ago and still adhere to all the thing I was taught.’
Mr Wallington now plans to write to the court as he doesn’t believe he will be able to make the February 14 hearing date.
He added: ‘I’m going to write to the court reiterating the points and tell them that I’ve been unjustly treated.
‘I’m not going to drive 60 miles there and back all to say what I can say in a letter.
‘I watch quite a lot of Police Interceptors and I’m always amazed how lenient they are after their crimes.
‘They get maybe six points on their licence. I just think ‘well they could have killed people’.
‘They’re criminals, I’m not a criminal. It’s excessive.
‘They are just not listening to what I am explaining to them and it’s been incredibly frustrating.’
