Car insurance news

Bobby fines damsel in distress

A woman who got lost on the motorway and stopped to ask a policeman for help has been fined £30.

Rachael Farthing, a car insurance manger from Leicester, was travelling at night along the M6 when she got confused about which junction to take. So when she saw a police car on the hard shoulder she pulled over to ask for directions.

The policeman was only too happy to help and pointed the 44-year-old in the right direction, but not before handing her a fixed penalty ticket for stopping.

Rachael said, “I thought it would be sensible to pull over and ask for directions rather than risk an accident by looking at my map.

“I was on my own, it was dark and I was a real damsel in distress.”

The mother of one, who claims she has never been in trouble with the police before, was travelling to a motor insurance Christmas ball when the incident happened. Understandably, she says that her faith in the police has suffered as a result, remarking, “I’m furious and feel this policeman acted completely unreasonably. Whatever happened to the helpful British bobby?”

Edmund King of the RAC Foundation sympathised with Ms Farthing and said, “The action taken by the police was over the top and unnecessary.

“However motorists do need to be aware that it is against the law to stop on the hard shoulder.”

Despite being £30 out of pocket, Rachael Farthing’s next motor insurance premium should not suffer as a result of her ordeal. As Craig Handy, spokesperson for CoverGirl Car Insurance Services explains, “She has not received any points on her licence and so should still be able to get a fantastic deal from a firm that specialise in women’ s car insurance.

*A replacement car can normally be arranged under one of the following conditions: (1) Comprehensive policyholders – a replacement car may be available under the terms of your insurance policy. Please check your policy details for more information. (2) Non fault accident – where we have the name, car registration number and insurance details of the person who caused the accident, we can supply a replacement car. This is done on a credit hire basis which means the costs for this service will be passed onto the insurance company of the person who caused the accident. We may not be able to arrange a replacement car where we are unable to get an admission of liability from their insurance company, or where the driver is untraceable or uninsured. (3) Repair garage – if your car is booked in for repairs following an accident, the repair garage may be able to provide a replacement car (subject to availability).