The Message is Not Getting Through

[Lorraine]

The increase in penalties for using a mobile at the wheel doesn't seem to be working.I usually travel at the same speed as the lorries on the motorway and going along up the A1 to York yesterday in the motorhome we saw the lorries in front of us indicating and going into the middle lane.As we got closer we came up behind a white van which was causing the problem by doing around 50mph in lane 1 and sometimes straddling the white line for the hard shoulder.

I indicated to overtake the van and as we went past was astonished to see the driver texting with both hands on his mobile phone.He was driving with his forearms on the wheel and had the phone in the centre of the steering wheel looking down at it.He did eventually look forward as we overtook and saw us both looking at him but was totally unmoved and looked down again at his phone to continue his text.

It must have been a very important message.:O

Hi
I have seen at least 3 in the last 3 months, especially coming home from work, pulling out of side streets on to major roads

Lorraine

 

[Tim120]

Whilst we're on video clips, this one may be more relevant ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gtio4V1L3o

Although I do think the UK clip with the lasses in a Fiesta is more powerful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0LCmStIw9E

Cheers

H

I had seen the first one before.
The second one is very powerful and realistic too.
I heard recently one phone manufacturer has a phone that will refuse calls/texts if it senses motion as if in a car. Problem is I think it needs to be activated by the user.

 

[Tim120]

Obviously.... but don't go on the road. :Smiling_Emoji_with_

 

[maxi77]

The message will not get through until there are mass prosecutions. It would not be that difficult when I worked an cycled to work just waiting for my go at the local roundabout there were about one a minute. Just pull them over and make them wait in a queue till their turn comes up for processing and invite the tv news to attend. Do that every day for a week or two and get lots of publicity and that will discourage a lot of people there, repeat over the country and things will change. People do it because they get away with it not because the penalty is acceptable

 

[Robmac]

I read about one cooking spaghetti Bolognese....

A recipe for disaster.

 

[r4dent]

The actual number of police cars on the road hasn't changed in something like 30 years, but the number of civvie cars on the road has increased almost exponentially (ie doubling every year).

I hate to spoil a good moan with facts but ...
1987 cars on UK = roads = 22 million http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads...es-summary.pdf
2017 cars on UK roads = 31 million https://www.gov.uk/government/statis...#table-veh0202

which represents a growth of about 1% pa

Incidentally, if cars had numbers doubled each year for 30 years every man woman and child in the UK would have over 350 cars

 

[Rockburner]

I hate to spoil a good moan with facts but ...
1987 cars on UK = roads = 22 million http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads...es-summary.pdf
2017 cars on UK roads = 31 million https://www.gov.uk/government/statis...#table-veh0202

which represents a growth of about 1% pa

Incidentally, if cars had numbers doubled each year for 30 years every man woman and child in the UK would have over 350 cars

I think the original figures I saw for police numbers on the roads went back to the 60s, which is why there's such a huge disparity now, between the 60s and the 80s the number of cars climbed a lot more than 1% per annum.

 

[r4dent]

between the 60s and the 80s the number of cars climbed a lot more than 1% per annum.

http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads...es-summary.pdf
1967 cars on UK = roads = 13 million
1987 cars on UK = roads = 22 million

An annual increase of 2.5%

 

[rayc]

http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads...es-summary.pdf
1967 cars on UK = roads = 13 million
1987 cars on UK = roads = 22 million

An annual increase of 2.5%

Which was a very good thing. The western world, as well as the oil producers, have got rich on the income from petrol and diesel. Without the income from the motoring population the European governments would never have recovered from the war. It gave the masses freedom of movement something denied to all but the rich in previous generations.