RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 16, 2012 Having been nearly been involved in a head on crash with an idiot driving the wrong way along a local one-way road, on a blind bend and with their 'phone pressed to their ear, perhaps the penalties for this crime are totally inadequate. A £40 fixed penalty ticket and three points would not seem to be any sort of deterrrent. After a 'brown trouser' incident like this, one tends to look out for other offenders, and lo and behold I lost count of the number spotted doing it in a seven mile trip. I understand that the 'Police' (Federation/ACPO?) are campaigning for the fines and points to be raised. My view is that it should be a 'loss of licence' offence and a very large fine. Perhaps the offence should be renamed 'distracted driving' (as in the USA) in a 'educational' campaign. It might get through to a few more imbeciles who persist in doing it. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/15/young-drivers-still-texting-surfing-the-web/1707711/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 16, 2012 Perhaps tackling this should be a task for your new PCC? It could go along with idiot parking like the one I found last night on a blind bend with double white lines. In the 2 miles from there to home there were at least 106 illegally parked vehicles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 16, 2012 Illegal parking is a major menace in our town - blind bends are nothing for this lot as obstructing the view at junctions seems to be their real favourite. Apart from that some young female person nearly ran over me in Tesco's car park yesterday when she didn't even see me as she approached a pedestrian crossing far too fast (she was probably going too fast because she was nattering away on the 'phone which one hand was holding to her ear). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacque Jacque Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Harsher penalties will make little difference, what is missing is "enforcement". There simply aren't enough Police officers to uphold the law these days (PCSO's don't count), therefore the chances of actually being caught are slim. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 16, 2012 But the money they could have spent on putting around about 3,000 officers on the beat to enforce said laws has just been wasted on the PCC elections farce. 10% turnout for a vote for a political position that is uncessary, burecratic and (as far as the candidates are concerned, the most important part) attracts an annual salary of £85k+ per year plus expenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 16, 2012 Inadequate enforcement goes hand in hand with the "Gimme" generation who have grown (I won't say "grown up") with the attitude of having an inalienable right to do as they please when and where they please. You know something's wrong when they front up to the Magistrate's Court (which some actually do) to hear the words "You will pay a fine of £40" only to reply "Make me" as they stroll out of the courtroom muttering "Wha'evaaaaaa". Then jump back into an uninsured and possibly unregistered car, doing a burnout in the court car park and speeding off the wrong way up a one-way street. Which is where we came in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointstaken Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Confiscate the car in which they were caught breaking the law . Let them explain to the owner (if it doesn't belong to the offender), what happened, and make them compensate the owner for its loss. If it does belong to the offender, confiscate it anyway. Either way, tuff ! Might stop a few more offenders when the message gets round. Dennis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Happy Hippo Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 16, 2012 Dennis, The problem with your suggestion about confiscation, (and i'd add automatic loss of licence as well) is that it smacks of common sense. noe we all know that those words are not in the vocabulary of the law makers and enforcers in this country. Regards Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Gwiwer Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 16, 2012 As I now live in a country and state which has confiscation (and crushing) laws for repeat offenders I can add that the deterrent is very marginal in its effect. Those determined to reoffend (which has been called "re-enjoy" among their kind) will happily steal the next car they can get into and carry on as before. Except that having lost their own property they now nick and trash someone else's. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 We have had 'use of electronic devices while driving' laws on the books for almost 3 years now and while the incidence of this type of idiocy went down for a while, the idiots soon realized that the enforcement was such that they had to try very hard to get caught* so it has returned to pretty much where it was before the ban (based on my very unscientific observations while spending 2hrs a day on the road). *apparently, in one instance, the police managed to ticket 22 people for using their phones to video the aftermath of a collision as they drove past - 'shooting fish in a barrel' comes to mind Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Dennis, The problem with your suggestion about confiscation, (and i'd add automatic loss of licence as well) is that it smacks of common sense. noe we all know that those words are not in the vocabulary of the law makers and enforcers in this country. Regards Richard Law makers AND enforcers Richard? Rather a sweeping generalisation of the "enforcers" I feel..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Re6/6 did you get the reg number of the car? If so report it along with time and date and if possible a description of the driver. The police can determine if the driver was on the phone at the time and that with some identification or admission of driving should be sufficient to impose the fine (as pathetic as it is). Just don't use your mobile phone while driving to make the report. The number of "motorists" (more correctly irresponsible idiots in charge of a vehicle) who seem to disregard this legislation seems very high and I would support any increase in penalty to be equivalent to driving without insurance. Take away the car AND the phone and crush them. I think this is far worse than drink driving (and that is bad enough) and far far worse than speeding. It is probably the cause of more accidents than any of the other pursued offenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpion Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Phone use whilst driving, my plan 1st offence, offender chooses between having phone crushed or car crushed 2nd offence, both car and phone are crushed i'm still working on subsequent offences Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 3rd Offence, The offender is allowed to make a call from their car as all three are crushed..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenceb Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 3rd Offence, The offender is allowed to make a call from their car as all three are crushed..... You beat me to it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 16, 2012 Harsher penalties will make little difference, what is missing is "enforcement". There simply aren't enough Police officers to uphold the law these days (PCSO's don't count), therefore the chances of actually being caught are slim. Here we occasionally see coppers on the streets and we also see the PCSOs as they are on their way from the cop shop to the cake shop or returning. The really amusing thing to do with any of these upholders of the law is to point out to them vehicles which are illegally parked, and hope against hope that you are not arrested for wasting police time. Some (not many, well one actually) do agree with you and even get the tickets out, but the others are not at all happy to be told about vehicles obstructing the highway or - as I have done - being called out to deal with the driver of a van obstructing my exit from my own drive. Equally they aren't interested in being told about vehicles with out of date tax discs and I think the only motoring offence which interest them is catching old ladies doing 35 mph in a 30 zone (I wonder if that has anything to do with money?) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 16, 2012 Equally they aren't interested in being told about vehicles with out of date tax discs That's an easy one to sort out: https://www.gov.uk/report-untaxed-vehicle Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Here we occasionally see coppers on the streets and we also see the PCSOs as they are on their way from the cop shop to the cake shop or returning. The really amusing thing to do with any of these upholders of the law is to point out to them vehicles which are illegally parked, and hope against hope that you are not arrested for wasting police time. Some (not many, well one actually) do agree with you and even get the tickets out, but the others are not at all happy to be told about vehicles obstructing the highway or - as I have done - being called out to deal with the driver of a van obstructing my exit from my own drive. Equally they aren't interested in being told about vehicles with out of date tax discs and I think the only motoring offence which interest them is catching old ladies doing 35 mph in a 30 zone (I wonder if that has anything to do with money?) This may well be the case "round your way" stationmaster, but again, another sweeping generalisation I feel..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Illegal parking is a major menace in our town - blind bends are nothing for this lot as obstructing the view at junctions seems to be their real favourite. Apart from that some young female person nearly ran over me in Tesco's car park yesterday when she didn't even see me as she approached a pedestrian crossing far too fast (she was probably going too fast because she was nattering away on the 'phone which one hand was holding to her ear). TBH Mike I would have let her hit me (a glancing blow) and hit the deck, making sure I got the reg no just in case. Ambulance (and Police) out, police check mobile records etc, off to court with her and I can buy a few models with the proceeds, jobs a good un. The number of times I have thought about it, one day I will! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Equally they {the police} aren't interested in being told about vehicles with out of date tax discs and I think the only motoring offence which interest them is catching old ladies doing 35 mph in a 30 zone (I wonder if that has anything to do with money?) They are around here, "crime" solved easie peasie!Got to get those numbers up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mod5 Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 We have been here many many times before. Yes there are bad drivers out there but of course none of us are! There are a number of sweeping generalisations in here already virtually saying that all Police Officers (some of who are on here) are either not bothered or lack common sense. Such sweeping statements really have about as much foundation as all railway modellers/enthusiasts are anoraks. Let us be honest here there are idiots everywhere in life and there are always things that we see that could/should be done better. If any of you are perfect form a line and we can arrange for you to solve a great number of problems that we have and then you can go and sort out the Police and possibly achieve world peace in the afternoon! In the meantime could we try and discuss without making sweeping accusations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm81 Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 If we want to reduce the number of people "distracted driving" then we also need a ban on pretty ladies in short skirts and low cut tops from being within sight of a road, this is particularly a problem in the summer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 16, 2012 But the money they could have spent on putting around about 3,000 officers on the beat to enforce said laws has just been wasted on the PCC elections farce. 10% turnout for a vote for a political position that is uncessary, burecratic and (as far as the candidates are concerned, the most important part) attracts an annual salary of £85k+ per year plus expenses. True to an extent but you have fallen a little bit for a political sound bite. The elections will held every 4 years so even if it costs the same each time, you would only get 750 officers for the same money, because officers need paying every year. Still agree it's a pointless exercise and an un-necessary layer of beaurocracy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted November 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 16, 2012 If we want to reduce the number of people "distracted driving" then we also need a ban on pretty ladies in short skirts and low cut tops from being within sight of a road, this is particularly a problem in the summer As a bus passenger on my daily commute I protest very strongly at this suggestion. I enjoy looking out of the bus window at aforementioned ladies....... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanuts Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 If we want to reduce the number of people "distracted driving" then we also need a ban on pretty ladies in short skirts and low cut tops from being within sight of a road, this is particularly a problem in the summer nooo it would spoil; the view from my waggon at pedestraincrossings and in traffic ques Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.