Gearing up Rid roads of antisocial behaviour
IHAD barely joined the motorway when my rear view mirror was completely filled with the image of another vehicle on my tail. That’s why they call it tailgating. I should confess I am coming around to the view that it is time to think about raising the limit on motorways to 80mph.
Car technology is now so sophisticated that a 10mph increase seems reasonable, especially for zero emission vehicles.
For the record, I also think 20mph is a sensible limit around schools and in builtup areas, providing it is enforced in a reasonable and proportionate manner.
On the occasion in question I was driving at 65mph and maybe that is what provoked
my shadow. To make matters worse, when the driver overtook I could see he was clearly distracted with only one hand on the steering wheel and the other on his mobile phone.
Tailgating is intimidating and highly dangerous. At the very least it’s antisocial and characterises those who drive with little or no thought for other road users.
It is why there is an emphasis on driving sociably as well as safely in my overall strategy for policing – the police and crime plan.
Since my office took over responsibility for the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme just under a year ago, 20,094 errant motorists have gone through the system locally and more than half of them for offences committed in Gloucestershire.
The majority were for breaking the speed limit but since I invested in a long-range camera, officers are picking-up other offences including the use of mobile phones while driving, tailgating and non-use of seatbelts.
More than 400 of those offences were detected in the last quarter.
Ministers have been urged to introduce penalty points for drivers caught not wearing their seatbelts as it appears that thousands are now flouting a law which we had thought was second nature.
In a recent survey, more than half of the 2,000 people questioned thought it an appropriate punishment and the same as the penalty for lesser speeding offences which includes attending an awareness course.
It is not bashing the motorist, but tailgating, mobile phone usage and driving without a seatbelt displays a lack of respect not only for the law but for other road users.
And where education fails, enforcement follows - however regrettable that might seem.