shaunyg Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 just wondering what people's opinions are of the new proposed police powers aimed at making Britains road a safer place! for those who have not heard they are proposing that if they witness any acts of bad driving they can stop you, fine you and give you points on the spot, instead of taking it through the courts. personally i think this is good and bad, firstly it might stop the idiots who like drafting on the motorways, undertaking, cutting people up and generally bad driving, however there are people out there who are good drivers who may just have a lapse in concentration who dont deserve to be penalised and just a warning needed! also think they would have to create a good set of 'standards' as some officers may class some acts of driving dangerous and worthy of being penalised where another may not i.e. judging the gap between two cars and deciding if its classed as tailgating, fair enough if someone is practically bumper kissing the car infront then thats a clear and shut case! but this scenario opens the argument, will those who lane hog or sit in the middle and outside lanes when they really shouldn't, will they be open to penalisation just the same as someone tailgating, both are classed as dangerous! dont know if it would the system for penalising drivers as all drivers would have the right to contest the decisions and would therefore go through the courts anyways, the same as what happens today!! just wondered what other think of this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRC89 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I think it's a great step forward, it'll reduce the amount of silly manoeuvres some drivers do. I think seeing less of these driving techniques will lower road rage, and increase concentration. Innocent people will be caught and booked, no doubt. But it's a small price to pay for the benefits of safer roads. The problem won't just go away though, hopefully it raises the standard of safe driving even by a little bit, however, just like speeding, many will disregard the law when there's no police around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p38fln Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 It sounds somewhat similar to the system used here - The police officer stops a car for speeding or improper lane change or some other 'minor' traffic violation - a citation is written noting the violation, and a court date is assigned. The driver is then sent on his way, with a choice to either pay a fine, or plead his case in front of a judge. Paying the fine is the same thing as going to court and pleading guilty, and carries the same penalties including points on the license and the fine. Most drivers will pay the fine rather than deal with the court system - the only ones who will actually show up either believe they had a good reason, or have so many points already that another moving violation will cause their license to be suspended. If the driver fails to pay the fine and doesn't show up for his court date, the license is suspended major violations like drunken driving or reckless / dangerous driving still usually wind up with the driver sitting in the back of the police car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Its got its ups and downs. Nowadays, if you go to court, you know your more likely to lose than to win. However, if the bobby pulls you, and you genuinely think you are in the right, you can contest it, and it would be down to the officer to prove that you were at fault (difficult if no onboard camera is present!), so you can still walk away. I suppose its good, and sometimes it will end up worse, but then again, its no worse really than being caught speeding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCJ Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 They need to address more issues then... how about the ones that sit in the middle lane doing 50-60mph on a dual carriage way / motorway? And then wonder why they are getting undertaken by lorries??? Many of occasions this has happened and you see drivers pulling up behind them wanting them to pull into the left lane so they can pass, but then continue to prance along... leaving the car behind to undertake.... So if they are sorting these things out, they need to sort out more too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnH Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 i can sort bad drivers in one swoop... get rid of Audi's (they are the worse...by far...i cant count how many times ive wanted to smack one with my tire wrench across the chops), Lexus (not going to say any more) and merc drivers. those 3 are the worst drivers i have ever seen. there cars must be that bad, they want to sit in my focus's back seat. anyways, i think its brilliant, those 3 types of drivers will get it...but as someone has already mentioned they need to sort out the 50mph crew! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunyg Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 They need to address more issues then... how about the ones that sit in the middle lane doing 50-60mph on a dual carriage way / motorway? And then wonder why they are getting undertaken by lorries??? Many of occasions this has happened and you see drivers pulling up behind them wanting them to pull into the left lane so they can pass, but then continue to prance along... leaving the car behind to undertake.... So if they are sorting these things out, they need to sort out more too completely agree with what you put there! surprising how many times you see this! sometimes i'll make a statement of undertaking to prove a point, i know i'm in the wrong but it may just get the message across to those sticking in the middle or outside lanes when they shouldn't be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeebowhite Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 They need to address more issues then... how about the ones that sit in the middle lane doing 50-60mph on a dual carriage way / motorway? And then wonder why they are getting undertaken by lorries??? Many of occasions this has happened and you see drivers pulling up behind them wanting them to pull into the left lane so they can pass, but then continue to prance along... leaving the car behind to undertake.... So if they are sorting these things out, they need to sort out more too worse still, all three lanes of a motorway being blocked by one HGV overtaking another, overtaking another... two lanes are bad enough... Other than that Minimum speed restrictions on motorway for different vehicles (i.e. 60 for a car) and hopefully they will up the limit to 80 as they were thinking about doing! Other than that, I say kit out our cars with CCTV and hand the footage into the police, and get the idiots off the road once and for all (now to find a cheap spycam!) I could guarantee getting at least 3 people shopped to the courts everyday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnH Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 under normal circumstances it is illegal for a HGV,LGV and PSV to be in the third lane of a motorway. unless its in an emergancy or because road work signs authorise it. thats coming from a 20 year exp PSV driver. so if they are there, the police will hand the driver a fine and a few points. but i know what you mean, near durham on A1 where it is 2 lane you always 100% always find drag racing lorries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p38fln Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Elephant races :) It doesn't matter what they do, someone will always break the law even if its just to save a few seconds. I seem to remember that even for a minor traffic ticket you have to show up in court over there even to pay a fine? I can understand why the police would be hesitant to write out a ticket if it means they'll be tied up for a day in a court room Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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