Why we think we’ll get away with dangerous driving

MOST motorists think they can get away with dangerous driving – because there are not enough police on the roads.

Following a sharp decline in the number of traffic officers, 54 per cent of drivers believe they would escape prosecution if they used a mobile phone at the wheel, a poll has found.

And 55 per cent think they would not be stopped for driving a vehicle in a dangerous or defective condition. The poll of 19,500 drivers by the AA also found that 65 per cent believe they are unlikely to be pulled over for offences such as tailgating or hogging the middle lane.

AA president Edmund King said the findings were worrying and called for ‘more cops in cars’ to deter law-breaking.

Freedom of Information requests sent by the Press Association have revealed the number of traffic police fell from 3,766 to 2,643 between 2007 and 2017.

More than two out of five drivers now say the police have no visible presence on motorways and three in five say they are not seen on local roads.

At the same time fines for some minor offences such as driving in bus lanes and stopping in box junctions have soared as drivers are caught out by a huge network of CCTV cameras. Mr King said: ‘It is worrying that drivers feel that a lack of police officers on the roads means they think they can get away with careless driving and other serious motoring offences. What is clear is that camera enforcement is seen as an actual deterrent but Big Brother can only do so much – we need more cops in cars. With a significant drop in specialist traffic officers, it may prove to be difficult to ensure safety to everyone on our roads.’