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news
Is this a record? Helmetcam cyclist catches driver using 3 mobile devices at same time while driving badly (and in the bus lane) in London rush hour traffic
Is this a record? A helmetcam-using cyclist in London has filmed a motorist using THREE handheld devices while illegally driving in a bus lane at rush hour.
YouTube user Silvio Diego posted the footage, showing the motorist with a mobile phone in each hand and another on his lap, to the video-sharing website today, saying:
Untaxed vehicle, MGIF, Close Pass, Speeding, dangerous driving around cyclists, all of this while using 3 MOBILE PHONES!!! During my commute I see many drivers on their mobile phones, but this guy really takes the Mickey, 3 devices!!! One in each hand + one on his lap, possibly listening to music. To top that up he drivers dangerously around cyclists while using a bus lane which he's not allowed.
The video also shows a police van a couple of vehicles ahead, but asked in the comments to the video about why he didn't point out the motorist to the officers in the vehicle, he made it clear he has little confidence in the police taking action against cyclists drivers using mobile phones.
He said: "If I see one in three drivers on their mobiles on my commute into work, why would I bother telling the police that this idiot was on the phone?"
But one person commenting on the video said: "How do you know, you didn't ask the police or report it to them? Sorry Silvio that was one incident that should have been reported to the police and gave them the opportunity to do something about it."
He replied: " I see one in 3 drivers on their phone in my journey into work, what makes you think they're not aware of so much phone use? They're not tackling the issue at all!!! that is why this guy uses 3 devices, zero F given by authorities. I think is better to create pressure through social media than stating the obvious to a police man which is that most drivers is breaking the law using a mobile. ... also, the police are worse than you when it comes to cyclists, who's to tell."
Recent Home Office figures suggest that his cynicism may not be misplaced, with the number of drivers fined for illegally using a handheld mobile phone at the wheel plummeting in recent years, and in 2015 was a tenth of what it was a decade earlier - a period that coincides with the rise of smartphones and social media, meaning there are even more potential distractions nowadays besides voice calls.
> Number of drivers fined for mobile phone use plummets
While the government plans to increase the punishment for drivers who illegally use mobile phones to a £200 fine and six penalty points, road safety campaigners believe that many drivers continue to break the law because scarce police resources due to government austerity cuts make enforcement all but impossible.
When the increased penalties were announced in October, Jayne Willetts of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "Unfortunately, with fewer officers out on the roads, more of these offences are going undetected."
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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32 comments
Petition calling for realistic punishment for dangerous drivers
https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-deliver-stiffer-punishments-for-d...
When I'm driving and see dickheads in other cars using their phones, I often think it would be fun to have a small torch with a flashing blue light. You (or ideally a passenger...) could shine the flashing blue light through their side window and panic them into dropping their precious shiney iSheep 7 (or whatever the latest must-have sheep communication device is) into their footwell, hopefully breaking it in the process.
Beats what I observed a couple of years ago. Driving behind a car that had the wobbles and well under the speed limit, I knew the driver was on the phone. This near my home where many varieties of cyclists ride.
But wait! There's more!
When I was finally able to pass her, on the right (I'm in the States), there she was, phone in her right hand, cigarette in her left, steering with her forearm. Such talent. Such a menace. Such a lack of enforcement.
Simon MacMichael, from your journalist perspective, as an update to this article, maybe you could approach the police in Silvio's area to see if they would be interested in commenting on whether they can act on this type of solid video evidence?
I totally understand why he didn't bother reporting it. Maybe he will now, maybe events will take their own course, who knows
I've sent in plenty of videos in my time, eg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0utsOWO7z4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgmN4k12xEM
just an initial acknowledgement, then nothing
yesterday, I had a close run with a bus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0meZdXlGxjo
I sent it in to the company, who denied it was their bus (they claimed that it was another companies, in Essex. not Marlow), even though the very same bus, the actual vehicle, was photographed as part of their annual report;
https://twitter.com/TheGoAheadGroup/status/798883377650794497
so, I understand why he didn't report it ...
however, I have found that my local taxi licensing authority take matters quite seriously and promptly ....
3 phones, guaranteed dealer.
Vigilante Justice
No need as the Police now have video evedence of driving in a bus land whilst useing an electronic handheld device , and also No insurance
so a fine for driving in bus land .....£130 Transport fo London
fine and points for hand held electronic device...... £60 Licence endorsed
Fine for no insurance Licence endorsed .......£300 & 6 points
So if any London Plod out there wants to get an easy conviction watch the video
ask the 'lady' who upset Jeremy Vine ....... Plod presecuted her
so come on PC Plod do your job
A possible corrective measure for these driving dorks would be for magistrates to use creative measures to point out the error of their ways. For instance having to drive for a one year period with an illuminated sign attached to the roof pointing to the offending driver 'look at me i got caught ' . Enough of them on the road and enforcement would no longer be required and would provide the rest of us with a good laugh.
I don't understand this cam user. I get using a cam for things like being involved in accidents but he says he has no confidence in the Police to do anything and publishes the footage to his YouTube channel to bring about social pressure.
How exactly is this going to bring about social pressure. Like the driver (probably a drug dealer) gives a fuck and will watch the footage and learn the error of his ways.
No, instead our cam user passes a police van and does nothing then bleats about it online and bleats about the police doing nothing.
The clip is just novelty value. We all know it happens. Why waste time and effort in something potentially very serious if you are prepared to do nothing about. This is a case of choosing not to report this to police so one can then whinge about police inaction. Which may be the case but you have to try and make the effort. Society really is fucked.
Probably wants vigilante justice in whatever form it can gained. As you say, society is fucked with this attitude.
Have you ever attended a police station to report something like this? Talk about wasted time and effort, it takes at least an hour to get your statement done, only to be told later that the driver has been "spoken to" and no further action is required.
I don't blame him at all for not reporting it. It's a laborious, time-consuming process and if he reported every instance of dangerous driving he saw, he'd have no life whatsoever. A bit like you.
I don't think there was any need for the "he'd have no life whatsoever. A bit like you" comment!
I understand the filmer not reporting every single incident, but this is surely an exceptional capture that warrents reporting?
Having said that, maybe what is called for is a staged protest of all cyclists with such footage going to their local police station to report these issues on the same day. The overwelming influx of such footage would certainly highlight the issue and maybe even get things changed?
Just a thought.
I agree that the 'a bit like you' bit was unnecessary antagonism.
But you yourself threw in an equally unnecessary speculation that the filmer wanted 'vigilante justice' and blamed his 'attitude' for the ills of society.
That seems just as bad, to me.
He filmed it, that's something, be nice if he reported it but he presumably has his reasons for not doing so. If you don't like that he doesn't want to report it, you are free to go out there and film these guys yourself.
Edit - I suppose I feel like that because I don't believe that individually reporting every one of these guys, one-by-one, is really going to solve the problem, any more than filming them does anyway.
There's an unlimited supply of them. The benefit of either filming or reporting them is merely that its a data-point to illustrate the futility of promoting 'sharing the road' and talk of 'personal responsibility'.
It illustrates why we need to get motorised vehicles off of more roads and away from everyone else. Human beings can't be trusted to use them safely.
When I refer to "Vigilante Justice" I mean the online shaming in a hope that it reaches someone who knows the person in question and confronts them. I was not sugesting that someone needs to don a mask and patrol the night. I appologise for any confusion there, I admit that I was quite ambiguous.
He did say "I think is better to create pressure through social media than stating the obvious to a police man which is that most drivers is breaking the law using a mobile" which would support my assumption.
I also stand by the statement that the attitude of dealing with matters like this through hope and chance rather than through the correct channels is not the way to progress society, quite the opposite.
I do actually film my commute to work and back but don't encounter these issues as 99% of my commute is through parks, along canal paths and river sides. If I do encounter such as this I will do as you suggest and report it.
I don't see it the same way. I would argue that "reporting every on of these guys, one-by-one" en-mass would certainly get the attention of the police and hopefully others too. This I would see going towards solving the problem through awareness and forced action through the correct channels. At the very least, if the police were overwhelmed with such reports and footage they would be forced to make it easier to report such things.
Well, I could be wrong. I'm just deeply pessimistic about the idea, given how commonplace this sort of crap driving is (not to mention the lack of police response others have mentioned).
I tried a camera once, after I suffered a hit-and-run and failed to get the licence plate. But the only one I could afford only had like 15 minutes battery life! If I had a good camera it would likely cost nearly as much as the bike, and I'd then have to worry about that getting damaged as well.
I think these sorts of clips do illustrate how badly so many drivers drive, and the absurdity of claims that 'personal responsibility' and 'situational awareness' by cyclists will keep them safe, and of claims that having licence plates and insurance and a testing regime makes road-users behave themselves..Its an implicit retort to things like that idiotic petition.
I agree that one would want to see this particular knobhead have the book thrown at him and its frustrating to think he's going to get away with it. But that's an individual morality thing - I don't believe reporting him will change the bigger picture.
If it's untaxed, there's a good chance it's not insured either, which makes it all the more galling that he's not reported it as it'll probably get seized.
I'd assumed that he was a dealer using a copied reg plate or stolen car.
Either way I don't think he cares what happens to the car.
Three phones? Bigamist or drug dealer.
sw11avu
tax run out on the 3rd june 2016
whoops
The easy way to enforce the law would be to simply confiscate a driver's mobile phone (or, in this case, phones).
No, you don't get to keep your SIM card, you don't get chance to backup your progress on Candy Crush, and those photos you took today? They're gone too.
And if you're dodgy, as someone with three phones obviously is, all your texts, call history and contacts are now in the hands of the police.
Simple and effective.
In Walworth Road? DEALER what do you expect!
Be a good lad and sent it in. If the police don't act, then create some pressure on social media. Don't be a whinger, act.
they should give him 3 points per device in use, a fine and 3 points for the hell of it for driving in a bus lane while everyone else is queuing.
Please tell me that's not a "Baby on Board" sign in the rear window...presumably the mental age of the driver allows him to use it!
it was nice of Silvio to move over and let him squeeze past though
Setting a level of fine that is a fraction of the list price of such devices is not a sufficient deterrent. Promising to rectally insert such devices into anyone found using them at the wheel would. Of course, such a policy wouldn't be possible in a civilized society, even if it would turn this chap into a walking WiFi hotspot.
"Jayne Willetts of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "Unfortunately, with fewer officers out on the roads, more of these offences are going undetected." "
Which just tells drivers they can get away with using handheld devices.
Police officers I've spoken to all agree that stopping people for mobile phone and seatbelt offences not only saves lives but often leads to arrests for more serious crime. eg. discovering drivers are wanted for other offences or finding drugs in the car. I'm sure some forces are better than others at this, as are individual officers.
The Police should be courting press coverage around any mobile phone offenders the do get, to hopefully convince joe public they do have a good chance of getting caught (even if statistically they don't). Hopefully this will also convince people like Silvio Diego to actually do their civic duty and report crime to the Police.
Oh, give him a break. He probably has a good reason for his behaviour ... late for a big deal or on the run from the police.
If you vote for poncey political parties who have no interest in enforcing the laws of the land - what do you expect?
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