Essex Van Driver Jamie Spence Fined £266 for Tooting Horn at Friend

A van driver from Writtle, Jamie Spence, 52, has been criminally convicted and ordered to pay £266 for sounding his vehicle's horn at a friend.

Spence was observed by a police officer outside Braintree station on 4 December last year, using his horn to get a friend's attention, not to warn other road users of danger. PC Asa Smith reported the incident, leading to a prosecution for "sounding an unauthorised audible warning instrument on a vehicle."

At Colchester Magistrates' Court last week, Spence admitted the offence. Magistrate Richard Deacon imposed a £146 fine and ordered £120 in costs. Court documents reveal Spence had previously declined an out-of-court offer from Essex Police to pay a fixed penalty fine.

The matter was resolved via the Single Justice Procedure, a system handling low-level crimes in private. Spence's case was one of 110 dealt with on 12 May.

The Highway Code stipulates that a vehicle horn should only be used to alert other road users to the danger of a collision or in potentially hazardous situations, including approaching blind spots or corners. Misuse of a car horn is illegal and can result in penalties for the driver and vehicle owner.