Mum Takes On Police After Her Magnum Is Mistaken For Phone While Driving

A woman went head to head with the police and won after she was fined for using her phone at the wheel.

Michelle Course, from Melbourne, Australia, was pulled over by cops after they allegedly spotted her messing about with her mobile while driving in November 2020.

After being stopped, Michelle was charged with driving while using her phone and fined almost $500 (£269) for the offence.

But it wasn't quite as cut and dry as the police officer thought.

Rather than being distracted by Instagram and Facebook or calling a friend while at the wheel, Michelle explained that she was simply enjoying an ice cream.

She even pulled out the wrapper for the Magnum Ego ice cream, her favourite treat, and the receipt for it, which showed that she had bought it just six minutes before being stopped.

Speaking to A Current Affair about the incident last year, Michelle said: "There's no way I could be eating my Magnum Ego, holding my phone and driving at the same time."

A Current Affair

Despite showing the officer the evidence, though, the fine still stood and she was ordered to pay $496 (£266).

However, she wasn't going to let it be and she fought her case.

The mum-of-one contacted Victoria Police to enquire about getting access to the dash cam footage from the day she was pulled over as well as asking the police to look up her phone records to determine whether or not she was making a call at the time.

And her perseverance paid off, with police pulling the case on her.

Michelle told A Current Affair this week: "Common sense has prevailed and the fine has been dropped."

She added: "I was contacted a few days before the court date and I was very grateful that the system had worked and that justice had come about."

But despite the protracted battled, Michelle said she doesn't hold anything against the cop or the police.

A Current Affair

She said: "There's no hard feelings. He was just trying to do his job and I have a lot of respect for the police force and what they do."

Discussing the case, lawyer Justin Lawrence said it's vitally important that people who think they've been unfairly dealt with fight their corner and appeal decisions.

He said: "It's on people to work as hard as they can to prove their evidence. If they're prepared to do it and hand up all the material to a magistrate, I think the law will on their side."

But not everyone is as innocent as Michelle.

Back in 2018, a BMW driver was stopped on the M25 in Surrey because he was watching a film while driving.

The driver was so busy glued to the movie that they failed to spot the police motorcyclist that was following alongside for about two miles.

Topics: Australia, Food And Drink

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom