6 points & £200 fine for phone while driving going live today

Soldato
Joined
23 Oct 2002
Posts
13,597
The point is they make it a week long campaign then ignore it for the rest of the year. They should have units doing nothing else and have Australian type units that go around to catch drunk/drug drivers. That would stop/hugely reduce the practice but one week campaigns do little.
 
Soldato
Joined
31 Oct 2011
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2,545
Location
Leyland
Hopefully with the new punishments and amendments people will use their phone less in traffic queues and a green light will mean "go" and not "quickly finish that text, put the phone down before dithering through as they change red again"
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Aug 2006
Posts
7,507
Oh on that front I quite agree with you :)

However he takes exception to people doing anything mildly wrong, eating a mars bar whilst in gridlock traffic for me doesn't warrant a similar response.

Sorry, that's a hand-held hunger-correcting device, and the rules are the same if you’re stopped at traffic lights or queuing in traffic.
 
Man of Honour
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26 Dec 2003
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Shropshire
To be fair if you're going to start lashing out at people or their property you've got to be fully prepared for a thump in return nevermind how worthy you feel your cause is.
 
Caporegime
OP
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24 Oct 2012
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Godalming
*steps over the handbags*



This needs to be enforced socially, it needs to become taboo and simply not acceptable. It's one of my pet hates, together with people who drive with incorrect lighting (no lights at night or ALL THE LIGHTS). Does my nut in.


Of course I'm a perfect driver in every way and never make mistakes ever so there.
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2005
Posts
22,947
Location
Glasgow
The point is they make it a week long campaign then ignore it for the rest of the year. They should have units doing nothing else and have Australian type units that go around to catch drunk/drug drivers. That would stop/hugely reduce the practice but one week campaigns do little.

They don't "ignore it" at all, the targeted campaigns are to raise awareness, more than anything.

There's no reason to have dedicated drink-drive units or whatever, there just needs to be more roads policing resources in the first place. As it is, they're dealing with all sorts of jobs.
 
Associate
Joined
22 Aug 2013
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1,000
Location
North East
We should have it expensive enough that the police can fund an unmarked car with cameras to drive around catching people. Surely if a car driver caught only 3 people a day and charged them £200.00 it should break even at least. If it doesn't, increase the fine til it does.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
29 Mar 2003
Posts
56,791
Location
Stoke on Trent
We should have it expensive enough that the police can fund an unmarked car with cameras to drive around catching people. Surely if a car driver caught only 3 people a day and charged them £200.00 it should break even at least. If it doesn't, increase the fine til it does.

This is what I don't get when they say they can't fund certain things.
If one car with a couple of officers drove around a City they would get way more back than the cost however a few months on it could end up that drivers get the message and they could remove the car without anybody knowing.
Every time I go on a motorway I just don't understand why there aren't more speed traps because anybody they put on that job would reap the rewards.
I was on the M6 the other day doing 75 mph and in 5 minutes at least 50 cars passed me going way over the limit!
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Jul 2003
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9,595
Having the police funded by fines is a very slippery slope, what happens to the cops if they can no longer fine enough people? No more job?
 
Caporegime
Joined
24 Dec 2005
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40,065
Location
Autonomy
The whole fine and ban is not to generate Revenue.

Its to make the roads safer...

However Speed vans in 30mph zones are there to generate revenue..And they generate millions for local councils....
 
Commissario
Joined
17 Oct 2002
Posts
32,997
Location
Panting like a fiend
This is where things gets fun. You know what the most common punishment I see for driving without a licence is? Being banned from driving.
That's because from memory, it's a more serious offence to drive whilst banned than without the correct licence type.
One is a pure motoring offence, the other is wilfully ignoring a court order, and if you're caught breaching any court order it tends to result in much harsher penalties.
So the initial ban is there in part to open the way for additional punishment options.

It's the same as the punishment for a lot of offences might only be a court imposed fine, but if you refuse to pay it you end up with the possibility of spending a few days in jail (for what might have been a £75 fine originally).

It seems slightly mad at first, but there is a logic behind it.
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Mar 2007
Posts
4,481
Location
Swindon UK
All in favour of this - my mobile phone is switched off in the car and kept in my coat pocket.

However there are a couple of issues. If I'm sat in a traffic jam, solid all sides not going anywhere to the point that everyone has shut their engines down (as we are now being urged to do), where is the harm in making a quick 30 second call to let someone know you are delayed?

How are they going to enforce this in the dark, which in the winter can be around 15 - 16 hours a day?
 
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