fewer motorists fined for mobile use

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mercalia
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fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by mercalia »

rather depressing that there has been a fall in fines given out -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32337990

I dont think the softly softly approach that many polieforces doing makes a difference
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Vantage
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by Vantage »

They're getting away with everything these days it seems and they very well know they can.
The missus and I were on our way back to mine yesterday on the M61 where they are upgrading it to a 'smart motorway' and there is a 50mph speed limit because of the roadworks. We were doing according to her speedo, 48mph and some idiot using a mobile undertook us doing probably 70mph. It happens all the time.
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ANTONISH
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by ANTONISH »

It isn't an "easy pinch" - unlike a cyclist riding on the pavement.
iviehoff
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by iviehoff »

mercalia wrote:rather depressing that there has been a fall in fines given out -
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32337990

Often a reduction in prosecutions for something is given as evidence of reduced offending. Why do you think that this is reduced enforcement rather than reduced offending? My observation is that most people now think using a mobile phone is taboo, whereas not long ago it was thought to be the whole point of the thing.
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TrevA
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by TrevA »

But you still see plenty of people doing it. I count several on every journey i make, either by bike or car.
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eileithyia
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by eileithyia »

Best way to catch them would be via unmarked police van.... higher up so i can see all the 'held down by the gear lever / on the knee' mobiles....... 4 last week on a short stretch of M61 , another 3-4 this morning....... :roll:
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Psamathe
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by Psamathe »

TrevA wrote:But you still see plenty of people doing it. I count several on every journey i make, either by bike or car.

This is what I can't understand. I see the same and if we are both seeing this, how come a plain clothed Police car isn't as well and thus isn't booking all these people. They could be getting loads every day. And after a few weeks word would get around and people would no longer feel they wont get caught and will stop (or reduce) their use.

But as things stand, I'd expect we all see this regularly (I nearly got squashed by a van coming towards me on a to lane road because the driver was on his phone and not watching which side of the road he was on) and nothing will improve unless something starts to get enforced.

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reohn2
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by reohn2 »

ANTONISH wrote:It isn't an "easy pinch" - unlike a cyclist riding on the pavement.


Huh! :?
I'd say it's far easier to catch 'em.
A casual dressed PC stood at any busy TL/junction and a second or third uniformed officer up the road handing out the tickets.They'd earn their wages in an hour or two.
Do that enough up and down the country regularly enough and word will get around PDQ.
I'd also double the fine and it'd cost a one driving ban on a second ticket.
Of course you first have to be serious about stopping crime,rather than tolerating it.


I'm absolutely convinced mobile use is at the centre of 60%+ of RTI's.
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ANTONISH
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by ANTONISH »

The new Medway Police station (large glass fronted) overlooks a complex traffic light controlled system
I often drive through it. At the moment there is a lot of roadworks going on and there is a temporary 30mph speed limit which is routinely ignored.
I see drivers going through red lights and of course people driving whilst on mobile phones.
If the police can't be bothered to stroll outside or look out of a window to observe what is going on under their noses, I doubt that they would be prepared to organise a vehicle and actually attempt to gather evidence with a view to prosecution.
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gaz
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by gaz »

It is illegal to use a hand held mobile phone (in most circumstances) whilst driving, The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003.

IIRC that legislation was introduced because whilst the dangers of using a mobile whilst driving were proven, it was too difficult to prosecute the outcomes of mobile phone use at the wheel as careless/dangerous driving.

RoSPA sum things up extremely well:
Drivers who use a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free:

are much less aware of what's happening on the road around them
fail to see road signs
fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed
are more likely to 'tailgate' the vehicle in front
react more slowly, take longer to brake and longer to stop
are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic
feel more stressed and frustrated.

They are also four times more likely to crash, injuring or killing themselves and other people.

From my own observations there are very many drivers who are quite happy that being four times more likely to crash, injuring or killing themselves and other people is an acceptable risk. In fact I think most of them don't see it as any kind of risk at all.

It's illegal because it is so dangerous. It really shouldn't need to be illegal at all, it should be obvious that you just don't do it.
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iviehoff
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by iviehoff »

TrevA wrote:But you still see plenty of people doing it.

It depends what you mean by plenty. Plenty could still be a lot less than before. Some car drivers seem to see a lot of cyclists misbehaving on the roads. It sticks in their minds, while they overlook the compliant majority.

There's still plenty of drink driving. But prosecuting it has at least succeeded in making it a lot less common, and that is generally seen as the reason for fewer DUI convictions these days. With it now being well understood from prominent national news stories that if you are involved in a collision, and they can find you were doing something with your phone at the time, as is apparently fairly easy to show, they'll throw the book at you, has the attitude towards phone use while driving started to head in the same direction as drink driving? So - is it caught less often because there is less of it?
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hondated
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by hondated »

I put it down to having to be observant at all times when I ride my motorcycle because when on it I lose count of how many motorists I spot using their mobile phones.

You have to take my word for it but I actually saw a motorists going the other way to me on the M40 checking his Lottery Ticket.

It is probably a motorcyclist thing as I was once on a Bike Safe motorcycle course and the police officer following me shouted out to a motorist to put his seat belt on. That's one I hadn't spotted.
reohn2
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by reohn2 »

ANTONISH wrote:The new Medway Police station (large glass fronted) overlooks a complex traffic light controlled system
I often drive through it. At the moment there is a lot of roadworks going on and there is a temporary 30mph speed limit which is routinely ignored.
I see drivers going through red lights and of course people driving whilst on mobile phones.
If the police can't be bothered to stroll outside or look out of a window to observe what is going on under their noses, I doubt that they would be prepared to organise a vehicle and actually attempt to gather evidence with a view to prosecution.


Nail,head,on :wink:
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thirdcrank
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by thirdcrank »

All that these numbers show is a record of police activity. (And not a particularly scientific one.) A substantial chunk of alleged offenders have been offered the alternative of attending some sort of course on road safety. The big advantage for alleged offenders is that that route avoids a licence endorsement.

If there are data available on the extent of people illegally using a phone while driving eg by some sort of roadside observation-based surveys, then they are not in the link.

My own totally unscientific observation - including nearly being wiped out earlier today by a WVM whose entire attention was on something in his lap, possibly a phone, possibly his lunch, possibly his lunchbox - is that using a phone at the wheel is widespread and largely unaffected by the small amount of priority attached to this by the police. It's hard to know what people really think when they talk about something but I suspect that while many people might say this was obviously wrong, they would also accept it as a normal part of driving. There are, of course, doubts about whether handsfree phoning is any safer than handheld, but the former is not, in itself an offence, although it may amount to careless driving etc. There doesn't seem to be any big push towards the installation of handsfree kit.

The only certainty, IMO, is that no mainstream politician sees any mileage in the enforcement of driving offences.
===================================
Other posts while I've been typing. The suggestion that mobile phone use prior to a crash will lead almost inevitably to prosecution is simply wrong. Only a tiny fraction of all crashes is subject to any sort of investigation and drivers know this.
reohn2
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Re: fewer motorists fined for mobile use

Post by reohn2 »

iviehoff wrote:
TrevA wrote:But you still see plenty of people doing it.

It depends what you mean by plenty. Plenty could still be a lot less than before. Some car drivers seem to see a lot of cyclists misbehaving on the roads. It sticks in their minds, while they overlook the compliant majority.

By my observations 10%+ generally,but on the motorway with a tailback,not necessarily going slowly,that goes up to 20%+.

There's still plenty of drink driving. But prosecuting it has at least succeeded in making it a lot less common, and that is generally seen as the reason for fewer DUI convictions these days. With it now being well understood from prominent national news stories that if you are involved in a collision, and they can find you were doing something with your phone at the time, as is apparently fairly easy to show, they'll throw the book at you, has the attitude towards phone use while driving started to head in the same direction as drink driving? So - is it caught less often because there is less of it?

IMO DD is far more prevalent than is apparent,police only catch DDers when they're involved in an RTI or something is very obvious in their driving.
Mobile use at the wheel,is very obvious but conviction rates are poor.
Like this one:- http://www.ctc.org.uk/news/20150327-inc ... ty-justice
The reason?
There aren't enough police doing the prevention job,because they're undermanned,with low morale and too busy chasing the next job,leaving little time to notice what's going on under their noses.
And because the justice system in the UK is a diabolical sham.
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