Man gets 150 euro fine for sticking finger in ear
The headline may be a little misleading, because when the police stopped Simon de Bruin at an unknown date in Amstelveen and fined him 150 euro, it was for sticking a finger in his own ear. To be even more precise, the police thought he was making a phone call while driving a car which is only allowed if you do it hands-free. When De Bruin protested that he had just showered, that he was merely removing the last bit of water from his ear and that the police could check his phone logs, the officers were unimpressed and uninterested. “Tell it to the judge,” they told De Bruin.
Somehow this bit of news managed to crawl all the way to De Telegraaf (Dutch), where it doesn’t say whether De Bruin will indeed “tell it to the judge.” The only reason we found it is because we run a side-business turning the bones of old news into glue.
funny thing is… I have been wondering if they also give you a ticket ’cause you’re drinking coffee, trying to read a paper/map/postcard/homework/eating breakfast out of ones nose/whatever while driving. I’m wondering because I see this sort behaviour all the time. I do agree with the policemen that sticking your finger in your ear is not “hands free” *haha*
“Tell it to the judge.” Even if Simon de Bruin gets his day in court, it’s the cop’s “word” against the defendant’s. Just the other day I saw a cop in my Vermont town driving, talking on his mobile and picking his nose simultaneously at a busy 4-way stop. Being preoccupied and not paying attention, he did not wait his turn to proceed (it was mine, actually) and started to move into the middle of the intersection. No accident, but man, I was pissed.
“…talking on his mobile and picking his nose simultaneously at a busy 4-way stop.” He was telling his buddy, “If I get it out whole, we’ll go fishing.”
[…] explained that he hadn’t been making his phone call, but was scratching his ear instead (where have I heard this before?). When he offered his phone to the police so that they might check the call data they declined on […]