There was much discussion on the radio today about people using their mobile phones whilst driving. Research suggests that almost a third of motorists do just that. Driving around Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset every week and I’m surprised it’s that low.
On the Avon Ring Road this morning, it looked like everyone was at it. People in the usual morning gridlock, people overtaking at high speed, driving Audis, of course. Some people appeared to be playing games on their phones, others were texting or just on the phone. It is not difficult to spot. As I drove past our local estate agent tonight, a young lady drove away towards the main road on the wrong side of the road – that is to say heading towards me. She swerved to avoid me in plenty of time but that’s not the point. There is a children’s nursery literally across the road from where we were. What if someone had emerged with a young child at that very moment? Lives ruined, lots of them. For the driver, hardly the victim, a ruined life in terms of career prospect and the outside possibility of prison. For potential victims, well, you know, don’t you?
A campaigner who had lost his daughter in an accident where a mobile phone user drove his car onto the pavement said it was not enough to talk about punishment. I am not going to argue with him on that point – there is a huge educational aspect to this – but the nine year sentence imposed on the driver was unusually severe given some previous sentences we have heard about before. But as well as the educational aspect – how do you do that? – there has to be a serious disincentive to using a phone whilst driving, doesn’t there? How about 12 points on your driving licence and a £1000 fine?
If you think using your phone whilst driving is bad, a copper I worked with once told me that a major problem with some lorry drivers was that they watched DVDs en route. Yes, you read that right: watching DVDs whilst driving massive great lorries. Whatever is the matter with us?
But bringing in new punishments is irrelevant if there is little going on with the policing of traffic. Other than the revenue raising scamera vans, I cannot remember seeing any form of traffic policing for years. It is far easier and far more lucrative to catch motorists straying a few MPH over the limit than trying to stop a lot of idiots doing some very stupid things.
It’s probably one of those things where the genie is out of the bottle and people won’t change their bad habits. If those using phones when they shouldn’t think they can get away with it, they will. And if we keep slashing police numbers, no one will be able to stop them anyway.
