PICKING up his phone to find the nearest McDonald's, a peckish Zoltan Kovacs did not realise that the famous golden arches were directly behind him.
Unfortunately for the 26-year-old, he also failed to realise that one of the 40 officers from Essex Police participating in Operation Surround A Town had spotted him using his mobile phone.
Ordered to pull over and slapped with a £60 fine and three points on his licence, Zoltan, originally from Hungary, said: "I was only looking for the bloody McDonald's. To be honest I'm really busy, I've come from Stevenage and I've got to get back to London, so I just wanted something to eat.
"It was a very expensive phone call," he added glumly.
The operation, run by Essex Police in conjunction with Essex County Council as part of the No Excuse campaign, took place in and around Chelmsford on Tuesday.
Drivers using mobile phones, not wearing seatbelts or driving without MOTs and insurance were targeted, with HGV drivers working too many hours.
Sarah Ryan of Chelmsford was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt.
She said: "To be honest on short journeys I don't usually wear a seatbelt. I do on long ones, but that will definitely change now."
Sarah, like all drivers stopped on Tuesday, was allowed to have her fine and three points revoked if she watched a video informing people of the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt. She was also told that the tread on two of her tyres was below the legal limit.
"I have just been to get new tyres and I'm about to go to watch the video," said Sarah. "I'm glad I was stopped because I didn't realise the tyres needed changing."
Meanwhile, halfway through discussing the dangers of driving without a seatbelt, Sergeant Colin Shead from the Dunmow Traffic force looked up and paused momentarily before sprinting to his car.
Through his earpiece he was told that a green Citroën Saxo failed to stop when asked to pull over on Victoria Road.
Neither the driver nor the passenger were wearing seatbelts but instead of pulling over, they sped off, drove through a red light and were then apprehended by police.
PC Andy Summer said: "He didn't have a current tax disc, which is why he thought he was being pulled, but then he failed to stop, ran a red traffic light and wasn't wearing a seatbelt, so he's been reported for court."
Also reported for court was a man driving a Ford Fiesta ST, targeted by criminals for use as getaway cars.
This man, who did not wish to be named, was driving the car for a client and pulled over randomly. But standard licence checks revealed that his licence had expired after he failed to send it off to the DVLA when he ran a red light and got three points earlier this year.
On his return from the police chase, Sgt Shead said: "He can't drive at all. He's got to get back to Sawbridgeworth, his own car is in Harlow, he could potentially lose his job as well."
The car was seized and the man had to phone for a lift.