Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Mike Waters' Blog: 10 March 2009 - No room for error
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Mike Waters' Blog: 10 March 2009 - No room for error

Date: 10 March 2009

Mike Waters is senior insight & consultancy manager at Arval, the leading vehicle leasing and fleet management company.

When it comes to driving offences there are some people who act so irresponsibly that they shouldn't be on the roads for their own safety and that of others.

I was shocked to read recently that the police in Ohio had charged a woman with child endangerment after another driver reported her for breastfeeding and talking on the phone while driving.

There are also cases of drivers who are caught and punished but the impact on their behaviour is nil. For example, a prolific motoring offender from the Bristol area has been jailed for six months after he was caught driving while disqualified for the ninth time with a history of driving offences dating back more than 30 years.

Fortunately the majority of drivers would agree that these people are totally irresponsible and a danger to us all. It is also fair to say that this blatant disregard for the law is rare. However, at some point even law-abiding drivers make slight mistakes or errors of judgement which technically amount to a minor offence.

That's why it's interesting news that in the near future, cutting out any kind of driving error will become more important. This is because there are plans to give police the power to issue penalty points for careless driving without evidence being heard in court. It is thought that police will be less likely to give verbal warnings and will instead issue fixed-penalty notices for minor offences, which could lead to thousands more motorists losing their licences.

Examples of these minor offences include failing to signal, ignoring traffic signs, passing too close to a cyclist or driving with a broken headlight. If caught, drivers will pay an automatic £60 fine and have three penalty points added to their licences.

The Government believes that allowing police to issue fixed penalties for careless driving will make roads safer because motorists will be more likely to face punishment. The opposing argument is that drivers will get a raw deal because the evidence for careless driving is often not clear-cut. Therefore police will have to use their own opinion to enforce this law and may be accused of using the power as a money-making scheme.

This potential change places a great deal of responsibility on the police to make a judgement call, which is bound to lead to conflict with drivers. I just hope that if this comes into force that a degree of common sense will apply to its enforcement.



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