On M4 London bound last Monday . I was nearly hit by a Range Rover with blaked out windows,making sudden , unsignalled lane changes. Eventually when alongside him I saw him on hand-held phone. Car worth £40K plus but too idle to get a hands-free.
I called on my hands free to report him , and was told I should go to a station to make a statement .As I was enroute to a business meeing I couldnt take the time to do that but I said I would if they caught him . I was told -in effect- that they wouldn't bother .
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M23 very late Tuesday night - E class Merc in middle lane 60mph drifting over the lane markings and no one else within miles except yours truly.
I overtook and glanced at the driver who was so busy looking down at his mobile trying to dial out I don't even think he noticed me....
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In my experience, having been on the receiving end, they send out a letter to the owner of the vehicle concerned, with a warning. At least that's what Staffs Police were doing in 96 when I got a letter!!
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My personal view on this is to report these hazards where possible. They may only get a letter, or at best a visit from plod, but that is an inconvenience to them. If CCTV is in use to back up your tale, or further up the road they do actually cause an accident and you can back up their bad driving, then perhaps (just perhaps) there will be one less idiot on the roads.
If only....
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no they wouldnt bother, but hey life is short these little things shouldnt drive you to calling police etc etc, for once they have a point it would be taking them away from catching "real criminals" he only cut you up, plus the fact he had a nicer car.
perhaps if you just chilled out a bit and watched out for reckless drivers your journeys would be more pleasing.
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Absolutely sp30. Good post and right on the button. This is typical British next-door-neighbour-busybody-telltale nonsense. Where I live if I thought that like that with the driving standrads here I'd be doing nothing else all day.
Get a life.
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Get a life.
Says the man who took offence when someone (TIC) called him a git !!
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Some would see such reporting as public spirited. The 3 wise monkeys approach could well be a cause of the current low standards of public behaviour, not just in driving. If the resident toe-rags were aware that they could be shopped, they might be more considerate in how they behaved towards others.
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Your reasoning is flawed.
To disagree with an opinion or criticise a behaviour is the purpose of a forum is it not? The recipient has every right to respond and debate the issue. If we are all here to play Happy Families then it's pointless.
To call someone a derogatory name (especially by a moderator who of all people ought to know better) is entirely unacceptable.
Let's see how long this post survives.......
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On many other forums (fora?) the moderators make their regular posting under another name.
Good idea?
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On many other forums (fora?) the moderators make their regular posting under another name.
And maybe we have alias's too!! (or even 3)
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And maybe we have alias's too!! (or even 3)
That would be gitish behaviour!
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i agree with the growler. and would like to ask peole who believe in "shopping" people , at what point does public order become public controll, life would be so dull if mad little events didnt give us somthing to talk about.
i find the attitudes towards my opinion typical of the phsycology behind the point attempted to be made.
i agree it may be irresponsible to chat on the phone whilst driving a better car than you, i also agree we cant live in chaos, but as i said how important is it really? "life is short"
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Its a question of degree isn't it?
I guess most of us would report a serious incident that we witnessed - say someone driving with a mobile, mounting pavement, hitting child, and driving off.
None of us would report someone driving at 80mph on motorway.
There have been threads in the Backroom about reporting untaxed cars. In itself a fairly minor offence but quite a few contributors feel justified in reporting them.
I personally hate seeing drivers using mobile phones, but wouldn't report them. However if I witnessed that behaviour causing an accident I would. Not saying I am right, just where I draw my line.
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"British next-door-neighbour-busybody-telltale nonsense."
"shopping" people
"life would be so dull "
What a pity no busybody shopped this guy and made his (and Mr and Mrs Evans)life a little duller.
news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2291397
Bet he had a better car than than the woman he killed - that will at least be a consolation to him during his time in jail. Pity he won't be able to drive it for ten years , won't his life be dull?
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Oh and Growler - I trust this has nothing to do with you??!!
www.techdirt.com/news/wireless/article/3143
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"British next-door-neighbour-busybody-telltale nonsense." "shopping" people "life would be so dull " What a pity no busybody shopped this guy and made his (and Mr and Mrs Evans)life a little duller. news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2291397 Bet he had a better car than than the woman he killed - that will at least be a consolation to him during his time in jail. Pity he won't be able to drive it for ten years , won't his life be dull?
well ok there are extremes in every case, what a terrible story.
however my argument is not to ignore law breaking, it is to adapt ones definitions of severity. the crux of this thread boils down to been "cut up" this is annoying and can lead to road rage and retaliation, so reporting the person is just another form of retaliation,not public spirited awareness , if this person had just driven past in the fast lane without the chop move i believe nothing would have been said. thats my point. this reply carries full respect for mr and mrs evans whom were needlesly effected and used as examples.
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If I ring the police and report someone for using a cell phone while driving, how will they ever know he was and it wasn't me being malicious ?
Ok, they could check the phone records, but that wouldn't show whether or not he was driving at the time.
If I report him for driving off after an accident there will either be corroborating evidence or physical evidence. Int he absence of both, he will get away with.
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I think that if someone actually makes the effort to go to a police station to report bad driving, then they really must believe that what they witness was truely dangerous. Afterall, these days people are lazy, and finding somewhere to park, then walking to the nick, and waiting to give a statement is a bit of a drag isn't it.
I've actually done it twice. The most recent was about 3 years ago. I witnessed an X5, with blacked out windows, intimidate vehicles on the M6 one wet winters evening. The vehicle was acting very aggressively, bearing down on other vehicles at speed, flashing lights at them, honking the horn, undertaking and weaving in and out of the heavy traffic.
I actually placed a call to motorway police to tell them I thought that an accident could occur, and then diverted off to the local nick to make a report. The way that I saw it was that if an accident did occur later in the X5's journey, then at least there would be a statement as to the manner in which it was being driven.
That diversion cost me 45 minutes, but I was genuinely concerned about the danger that the driver posed.
I wouldn't call that nannying, or dobbing on a neighbour, I would call it responsible citizenship.
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