I was going to pop this one in "News" as it's the "Inside Story" in this week's "Auto Express"
However, it's more relevant to this thread
"Inside Story" this week is on page 44 - if you want to leaf through the mag racks
(I usually end up there whilst my wife dashes around the supermarket with a trolley
)
Anyway Headlined
YOU'VE BEEN SHAMED
It seems the police are putting photos of drivers copped on camera on the internet
(We do not do things like that - we just fine and read the riot act around here. But this law seems to be the one which we find most flout and I just cannot understand why chatting on the phone to this extent 24/7 is so
important in reality. )
Per the Auto-express article
Quote:
Merseyside Police have taken the groundbreaking step of shaming drivers into not using hand held mobiles on the move. Officers photograph the motorists using their phones illegally and then display the offenders on the force's website. Such was the success in Sefton that "Operation Mobile" is now going force-wide
Local papers published similar photos in the various regional rags up and down the country. I cannot say it worked given the numbers we cop "at it"
Anyway - the intrepid Auto-Express reported joined the police on a
Quote:
one and a half hour sting and stopped people making calls every three minutes. And according to the officers mounting the operation - this is the tip of the iceberg. They are prosecuting 900 per month.
We were prosecuting more at one point - but this seems to have dropped by 25% and continuing to decline as the message is out there that we are "omnipresent and mean lean discretion on this one"
since the points system came in and appears to be in line with GMP who per the Mad Cats claimed their figures dropped from 1400 per month pre-penalty to 950 post-penalty introduction.
Merseyside have been publishing mugshots of their customers on the website within 24 hours of returning to base and filing the reports
Merseyside's Inspector Woosey told the magazine that
Quote:
The police can get away with shaming people like this withoiut violating their rights because it is a public safety measure. But so as not to risk alienating these drivers - they do not name them and the photos appear only on the police web sites.
I bet those who are using these phones do not even visit the police website - nor do their pals?
As said - local press have published photos in the past and they still continue all the same
They got some more hits on the site apparently when the Liverpool Echo/Southport Visiter/Chester Chronicle carried the "PR" story in the "summer"
Inspector Woosey accepts that many see using a Mobile as a "victimless" crime - but I happen to agree with him that holding the device, crocked to an ear does undermine handling of a vehilce. I would also like to see a ban on using these imposed on cyclists too :roll;
Auto-Express describes how Merseyside are copping these drivers. Personally I prefer our "Campaign and press releases" as I think this makes people aware before they set off. We do find these campaign drives do chip away at the problem as a constant - and more positively long term..
But per the article - the "sting" was set up on the A5036 in rush hour. This road links the docks at Bootle to the M58/M57 .
Quote:
It works like this. Plain clothes spotters hang around by the roadside. They are dressed casually and look as if they are waiting for a lift, or simply a group of mates stopping for a chat. What motorists do not spy are their police radios.
As soon as these spotters see a driver using his mobile phone in his hand - they radio through a description of the car/make/model/colour and lane position to the next members of the team. These are usually armed with a camera on the next bridge (there is a pedestrian bridge apparently)
"I have to think of the safety of my officers. They cannot wear high viz as this would let the motorists know what they are up to and they would drop their phones. Besides we wnat photos to provce their guilt The bridge gives our officers something to hide behind " says Inspector Woosey
How to dig a big hole between you MoPs and us here
Our style? We make a press release - also on web site warning that we are on a campaign war path for a month. This does not mean we neglect other offences - it's just that we make a high profile stress on dangers to try to get messages across on a
regular basis. It's no accident that we have less incidents per the stats.
- though we are by no means "accident free"
all the same.
At least neighbouring Cheshire does warn of its aircraft doing this same job
You can only claim success that a law is working and people are complying to this rule if you take all measures possible to educate with carrots and sticks with some hard hitting facts to back why we need this law enforcing Letting people know they are likely to get copped at it does, oddly enough, deter
The final part is the pull to let them know they've been nicked. It seems a team of 6 officers pull in the offenders. An officer greets them and takes another photo which ties the driver to the scene at the time.
The drivers are asked to get out of their cars and are given a FPN
Inspector Woosey wrote:
About 95% admit their guilt. We do have some who spot the cameras and switch off their phones - but I've got cars parked in side roads to cop them. I even got one driver twice on the same day. He did admit he was an idiot
Statistics do suggest strongly that chatting on these phones affect concentration and reaction times.
AutoExpress asked some of those copped if they would give them a statement. Only two spoke to the reporters and neither wanted their name published nor their photograph taken even though it will appear on Merseyside's police website. One of the two copped told AutoExpress that he works as a chef - but his headset battery does not last long. He's now going to have a Bluetooth system set up and have the phone coming through the car's speakers. It's the first time he's been in trouble with the police in 15 years of driving since age 17. The other - a car mechanic - explained he was calling to say he'd be late for work. He's already been "pinged by scam" and this brings him to 6 points.
Car drivers were not the only ones copped - lorry drivers were also copped. The drivers refused to speak to AutoExpress but a company director did comment that all the fleet was fitted with "hands free" systems
Merseyside Police say they will continue their tactic until less are copped on the phone
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managed to upset some folk she normally all chums with over this issue.
We programme before we set off. If it advises of "recalculate because it detected a jam" - it bleeps and it's as simple as pressing windscreen wipers to OK this change of planned route in reality 
