District Judge Nigel Broderick was speaking to Connor McCoy (22), of Annaghmore Road near Toomebridge, who admitted the offence. Police were on the Frosses Road dual-carriageway north of Ballymena on November 10 last year and when officers passed an articulated lorry, which was driving on the inside lane, they could see the defendant holding a mobile phone which he was looking at and "tapping the screen". Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
A defence lawyer said a text had come through and the defendant had been "tempted" to use the phone. The court heard the defendant had initially been offered a fixed penalty ticket at the roadside but he "elected to go to court". District Judge Nigel Broderick said: "I take a dim view of people driving large vehicles whilst also navigating a mobile phone".
Were it not for the fact that the police offered the defendant a fixed penalty, the judge said he would have banned him from driving for the offence. Advertisement Advertisement He said driving a lorry with a phone in his hand meant the defendant was "creating a danger". The judge told the defendant: "You have seen the ads on the TV.
All it takes is two or three seconds attention to that phone, someone pulls out in front of you and there could be a fatality". Handing down six penalty points and a £400 fine, Judge Broderick added: "If you are caught doing this agai.
