[visordown.com] - Cops not cameras

[Ninjette Newsbot]

A SHORT while ago we ran a ‘top 10’ of the driving offences that wound Visordown readers up most and a piece asking whether police were focussing on the right offences. Now a ‘crackdown’ by Thames Valley Police has shown that, funnily enough, it doesn’t take much effort to catch plenty of bad drivers that would sail past ‘safety’ cameras.

Operation ‘Tramline’ in Surrey and Hampshire focussed only on the motorways in the region and, despite its grand-sounding name, involved just two marked police cars, one marked police bike and one unmarked police Scania lorry cab (no, we didn’t know they had those either – apparently it was hired for the job). But despite its small size, and the fact it happened over just five days, the operation has resulted in 88 prosecutions for driving while distracted.

The main focus was on truck drivers, and 63 of the 112 vehicles stopped were commercials. As well as 55 mobile phone offences and 33 ‘distraction’ offences, the operation caught a host of other offenders from overweight trucks to red light jumpers. And, as picked up by BBC News, one car driver was spotted using FaceTime on his iPhone (he was caught by the officer in the Scania, who’s high driving position allowed him to see the video call happening despite the driver having the phone in his lap.)

Surely the message here is that even with minimal extra expense or effort, policing the roads with a few more real officers instead of the ever-increasing reliance on cameras results in offenders getting caught?



Related Content

Moto Guzzi rider issued with 383mph speeding ticket
Driver caught on his mobile: I was keeping my ear warm
Staffordshire launch biker road safety campaign
Police hunt motorbike flasher
New court costs ruling creates uproar


Click here for full story...