Re: Careless drivers set to face jail


"Doug" <jagmad@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:49c728ba-7fac-4dca-b827-e7dffba5dd69@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
....
What makes you think that the police do not also have a very low
opinion of the public at large, including cyclists and peds?

I have, for various reasons, known a number of them socially over several
decades.

The mere
fact though that they themselves are mainly motorists will inevitably
tinge their opinions.

True, but IME always in the way of them expecting motorists to be capable of
being better than many are.

....
As I said, we must have quite different viewing habits. Nevertheless,
however spontaneous it might appear, anything that the Police say to
camera
has almost certainly needed several takes and quite possibly has had to
be
passed by a senior officer, if not the Police Force lawyer. If they
blamed
the kids, it probably was their fault. If it were not the comments would
severely compromise any chance of charging anyone over the incident.

Its the old, "They ran into the road from behind a parked car,
officer." So why are cars allowed to be left at the side of the road
as a danger to kids? The reason is simple, motorists are allowed take
priority over more vulnerable road users.

The reason is that parents no longer take responsibility for the safety of
their own children. I lived in London when any car in our road, parked or
moving, was a rare happening, but I would still have got a good hiding for
running into the road without looking.

So how do you try to justify the motorist who was fully exonerated by
police after hitting a kid but who admitted to putting his foot on the
accelerator instead of the brake?

I wouldn't try. I didn't see the programme, so I don't know what you are
omitting to tell us, or failed to observe though your blinkers. Howeve, the
Police Officer was in full possession of the facts and if he says the driver
carried no blame, then I am inclined to believe him.

....
That is obviously what the proponents of this Act hope, but, most people
adopt the 'it can't happen to me' approach. Unless the careless drivers
are
caught before they have an accident, they will continue to think they are
somehow different from all the other people doing stupid things while
driving.

Road deaths are dropping, obviously due to all the many safety
measures which have been introduced over the years and despite the
ongoing proliferation of vehicle journeys on our roads. I am sure that
the mere threat of a mandatory prison sentence must modify driving
behaviour.

I am sure you have insufficient understanding of normal human behaviour, if
you think that is the case..

....
An interesting point made on TV this morning
was that roadside advertising billboards are such a distraction so
such commercial graffiti should obviously be removed in the interests
of safety

That problem was first addressed in the 1948 Town and Country Planning
Act
and Councils have the power to refuse or order the removal of any
advertising hoardings that may distract drivers.

So why don't they? It could be argued that if Councils don't remove
them they are complicit in any deaths they contribute to by causing
driver distractions.

If you see any advertising hoardings that you believe are a hazardous
distraction to motorists, then you are quite free to report them as such to
the planning department. Personally, when I'm driving I ignore them, as I
ignore anything that isn't on the road or that has the potential to enter
the road ahead of me.

Colin Bignell


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Advice Needed - Car Scratched while travelling
    ... thinks the other driver is in the wrong if some form of offence is ... >>> not give it to the police. ... >> person, vehicle, structure or animal, the driver of the motor vehicle ... >> motor vehicle for any reason does not give his name and address to any ...
    (soc.culture.singapore)
  • Re: ANPR guilty until proven innocent?
    ... The police have asked for this. ... They did this for a very good reason - to ... that peson's insurance. ... uninsured - and if the driver is unable to demonstrate otherwise, ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Accident claim against me.
    ... The driver was on>> the 'phone to the police by the time I ... four in the car I hit denied it had braked for no reason. ... the drivers address or insurance>> details. ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Accident claim against me.
    ... The driver was on>> the 'phone to the police by the time I ... four in the car I hit denied it had braked for no reason. ... the drivers address or insurance>> details. ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Langham: a victim of gross injustice
    ... doubt as to whether he really is turned on by the images but should have known better than to risk downloading the stuff, ... He has never claimed that he didn't know that downloading the stuff was illegal - just that he had a reasonable excuse. ... Langham with a journalist or a police officer and your doubts ... There is no question that the material he had was illegal for him to possess, without good reason. ...
    (uk.legal)
Loading