It’s a fare cop as bobbies on the bus catch drivers using mobiles

POLICE have been catching traffic offenders – by spotting them from the top deck of a bus.

A team of officers commandeered a double-decker bus to catch drivers using mobile phones or committing other traffic offences.

They found the top deck was the perfect vantage point to peer into cars.

In what is thought to be the first scheme of its kind in the country, officers from Devon and Cornwall Police spent two days on the bus being driven around Plymouth.

If a motorist was spotted offending, an officer alerted colleagues in waiting patrol cars or motorbikes to pull them over.

The operation on Friday and Saturday resulted in more than 130 motorists being caught.

Of those, 39 were using a mobile phone, 36 were pulled over for not wearing a seat belt and two vehicles were seized for not having insurance.

A further 53 drivers were stopped for speeding and two arrested for drug-driving.

One Range Rover driver was seen using his phone while stationary in traffic, while another spent 10 seconds texting.

Since March 1 the penalty for using a mobile phone while driving has doubled to a £200 fine with a six-point endorsement. PC Andy Llewellyn of Devon and Cornwall Police said: “The double decker bus is great to catch people looking down on their laps using phones.

“This is a great example of how we can maximise policing resources by working closely with partner organisations in the community.”

Citybus spokesman Mark Horide, said: “It has been very successful and we will be doing it again. We support any police initiative that addresses personal safety. Our drivers report back on a regular basis that they see people on their mobile phones while driving.” PC Andy Llewellyn looks for motorists breaking the law from his vantage point on the top of the red doubledecker Citybus in Plymouth