Millions of motorists face £100 FINES when new laws come into effect on FRIDAY !!

[tomtubby]

New powers come into force on Friday that could lead to millions of fines handed out to motorists by police for committing driving offences they did not know existed !!!

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2391203/Millions-motorists-face-fined-range-sweeping-new-police-powers-tackle-careless-drivers.html

[outlawla]

With the revenue this is going to rake in, I can't see the logic behind making cuts in the police force if supposedly it's to save money.

 

With the traditional role of a police officer being unrecognisable and it now primarily being about making profits, the logic would be to have an increase in officer numbers to boost fines revenue.

[sequenci]

Flame me if you like but I welcome these new rules. I'm sick to death of people who demonstrate staggering levels of stupidity/ineptitude on the motoways. Middle lane hogging especially.

[outlawla]

Where did the government get its money from before the invention of the motor car?

[danmcr]

Nothing wrong with this. I'm sick of lane hoggers, aggressive drivers and people trying to skip queues by forcing their way into traffic.

[citizenB]

Flame me if you like but I welcome these new rules. I'm sick to death of people who demonstrate staggering levels of stupidity/ineptitude on the motoways. Middle lane hogging especially.

 

I agree with you sequence. There is also something very irritating about drivers who see the signs for lane closures who continue right up to the actual closure and then try to force their way into traffic that made the move over earlier.

[Grotesque]

Exactly- John Peel once said about them, "People who voted for 'Law and Order', as long as it didn't apply to them".

[sailor sam]

I'm all for tackling middle lane hoggers who tootle along under the speed limit. After all, they reduce a 3 lane motorway down to a two lane one.

 

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[j66]

If they've got a driving license, they should know what the Highway Code states about driving too close and keeping to the left unless they're overtaking. Copping a £100 fine will help them remeber which will be a good thing for those drivers who take notice of the Highway Code.

[Surfer01]

Although I agree with them I wonder how they are going to enforce them? To avoid hogging the middle lane, hog the outer lane as it seems that is not an offence.

I can see a lot of people going to court and spreading payments over a few months. I have always maintain that fines should be relevant to your income, i.e. 10% of your annual income as £100 is nothing to a fat cat, but a hell of a lot of money to someone on JSA. Sometimes no matter how good you are, you make a mistake because you are human, but being human costs you!

[Ganymede]

New powers come into force on Friday that could lead to millions of fines handed out to motorists by police for committing driving offences they did not know existed !!!

 

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2391203/Millions-motorists-face-fined-range-sweeping-new-police-powers-tackle-careless-drivers.html

 

 

 

 

Good.

 

Especially the middle lane hoggers on the motorway.

[renegadeimp]

Personally, i would have liked to see another punishment. If you get caught 3 times in breach of the highway code, you are forced to sit an advanced theory test. This requires the participant to get a much higher score on the test than anyone else would normally be required to. If they fail the test, they get one more chance ( the participant has to pay for the tests themselves). Fail the theory a second time, and another fine is incurred, or depending on the score, a driving ban.

 

The government NEEDS to come down HARD on bad drivers. It is that simple.

[sequenci]

I wish the would prosecute those lorries that take about 10 minutes to overtake other lorries on dual carriageways. VERY annoying.

[renegadeimp]

Lorries are meant to stay in the left hand lane and only overtake when its safe to do so and upcoming traffic is slower than the lorry.

 

Unfortunately many lorry drivers and regular drivers took their test years ago and think current rules dont apply to them.

[mr_mastiff]

On the spot fines have been used in Germany for a great number of years. With very few problems you can appeal but if found guilty then the fine is increased. But then again the German system of M.O.T, car insurance and traffic regulation is very strict and they had written tests and first aid tests twenty years before we changed our laws

[maroondevo52]

They should bring in a ban for folk using mobiles whilst driving, roads would be empty, maybe that's why they wont.

[T.C.]

Personally, i would have liked to see another punishment. If you get caught 3 times in breach of the highway code

 

The problem you have there is that the Highway Code is not law, but simply a set of rules and guidelines (except of course where the rule is backed up by a traffic order or regulation), apart from which not all aspects of the Highway Code are factually correct or enforceable.

 

But back to the original point is the fact that it is not the rules that have changed, it is the way these rules are enforced. Centre Lane hogging has always been an offence, in particular under a sub section of section 3 or the road traffic act, driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, and i was booking people for this offence back in the 70's and 80's.

 

A recent survey (I think by the IAM) has revealed that 1 in 10 drivers believes that lane 1 is for HGV's only. That goes to show how lazy and uneducated the motoring public are by and large.

 

I was the guest speaker a few weeks ago and the subject was raised and I was asked for my opinion. I threw it back and asked them what they thought the Highway Code said, and the number that responded that it said Slow, fast and overtaking was astounding. 99% did not realise that lane 1 is the driving lane and lanes 2 and 3 were simply overtaking lanes, and then I pulled out a few pictures of Motorway crashes I have dealt with over the years which have occurred as a result of drivers hogging lane 2 and it made a few people take notice and a few cringe.

 

The same with hand held mobiles. The number of people I see with a phone glued to their ear, which is not only a giveaway, but also causes a physical reduction in the control of their vehicle, and yet for 5 or 6 quid they could get a Bluetooth, but they are quite happy to put themselves and others at risk by continuing to use a hand held, not to mention that it is usually these morons who are the first to moan when they get caught and fined!

 

Sorry, I will get off my soap box now, rant over

[ericsbrother]

If the government wanted to change behaviour of motorists all they have to do is make all motoring offences arrestable offences. This makes for a slightly higher burden of proof for prosecution but then enables the police to remove the miscreants from the road that very instant.

15% of accidents are caused by people driving too slowly for the road conditions so addressing driving without due care is a good thing as many fo those who get clobbered wont believe they are actually doing anything wrong as they have just got into bad habits.

[citizenB]

It isn't just mobile phone users that are a nuisance. I was astonished to see a female driver applying makeup whilst in the outside lane !!

[sgtbush]

im all for all this legislation.

[renegadeimp]

It wont achieve much. People think its more of a money making exercise than the actual reality of preventing accidents.

 

I have an ex-friend who shocked me a few months ago. She was caught speeding. 50 mph in a 30 mph zone. SHe had the nerve to scream and shout saying the police were no good and should be out chasing real criminals than picking on motorists. She soon shut up however when she went to court and the judge told her that within the last 3 years there were 4 major accidents and 2 deaths caused by speeding. She was then handed penalty points and a hefty fine. She still complained about it weeks later saying she was unfairly treated.

[vicmeldrew]

Every time I wake up, I have the potential to inadvertently kill someone.

 

Does it mean I will?

[Kiki1]

I have the potential to kill someone.

 

Does it mean I will?

 

Corrected

[vicmeldrew]

Not corrected at all...inadvertently remains thank you.

[banjo67xxx]

But back to the original point is the fact that it is not the rules that have changed, it is the way these rules are enforced. Centre Lane hogging has always been an offence, in particular under a sub section of section 3 or the road traffic act, driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, and i was booking people for this offence back in the 70's and 80's.

 

Well said, and well done for taking the trouble to prosecute (or atleast stop and give warnings) for this offence before the enforcement policy changed.