Tayside Police Say They Will Nab Your Car

Country Road Crackdown

The campaign, starts at 7 a.m. today (Tuesday) until 7 a.m. on Friday, May 11.

Offences that they will be looking out for are seatbelts,speeding and mobile phone use. Their main point is to get people to slow down and take care on country roads.

Country roads are generally roads outwith urban areas which have a speed limit, for a car/motorcycle greater than 50 miles per hour. Nearly 66 per cent of all fatal or serious road traffic collisions occur on these types of roads.

Chief Inspector Sandy Bowman, head of road policing, was reported in the Arbroath Herald as saying: “As the better weather comes to Tayside, vulnerable motoring groups will be taking to the roads again such as motorcyclists, horse riders, agricultural vehicles, etc.

“These are the type of groups that use country roads for the majority of their time on roads. It is important for all motorists to be aware of such hazards on these roads such as slow moving vehicles, mud on the road, hidden junctions, narrow lanes, etc.

“Ask yourself “do you know what is around the next corner?”, “can you stop in the distance that you can see to be clear?” When using country roads these are all questions you should be asking yourself.”

He continued: “Tayside has some of the most scenic and well maintained roads in Scotland which brings a large number of tourists to our region that may not be familiar with the road they are on. It is quite plausible that these motorists, being unaware of the roads may carry out sudden manoeuvres without looking because they are looking for something, such as a tourist attraction or their hotel. Be aware of vehicles carrying out unexpected turns in the road ahead and be prepared to stop if need be.

“This time of year traditionally sees an increase in the number of drivers and motorcyclists using our roads. Although the majority drive/ride responsibility, a small minority do not and this is the group which we will be dealing with robustly.We will also be actively dealing with any incidents of inappropriate use of vehicles, making full use of the powers given under Anti-Social Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 to warn drivers and seize vehicles when appropriate.

Yeah, they can seize your car, if they consider that an Anti Social Behaviour Order is appropriate. In our experience they tend to only use this type of order on young drivers who have a history of being stopped and failing to take warnings regarding their driving behaviour. I consider that it would be an abuse of process to simply start taking cars off people because they have been speeding or using their mobile phones.

The powers are there but we have to make sure that the guard dogs use this power in a manner that is appropriate in our modern society. It may be that the Chief Inspector was simply wanting to make a strong point about the increased danger of country roads a bit stronger. If so….job done.

If they want to take your car away then give us a call or get in touch online at www.roadtrafficlaw.com

Watch Out for a BIG police campaign in Scotland Tuesday till Thursday

From Tuesday May 8th to Thursday May 10th local police will be joining Scotland’s other forces to make country roads safer by targeting motorists who drive dangerously, carelessly or over the speed limit.

The ACPOS (Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland) ‘Days of Action’ form part of an ongoing National Campaign Strategy by ACPOS focused on reducing the number of casualties on our roads.

In 2010, 133 out of the 189 fatal road accidents in Scotland (over 70%) happened on ‘non built up roads’ generally with a speed limit greater than 40mph. A contributory factor for a significant proportion of these road deaths was one of the following: exceeding the speed limit; not driving appropriately for road conditions drivers and passengers; and not wearing seat belts.

Most accidents happen on country roads so it is good o see a targeted drive at lowering speeds and making people aware of the dangers on country roads. You never know if a family of unsteady cyclists are around that next corner so we need to get the message through, that people need to be aware on country roads and drive as the conditions dictate. Becauase it is a lovely sunny day does not mean that 60mph is appropriate remember that “lovely sunny days bring out other road users like cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists.

Speeding offences can result in a £60 fine and three to six penalty points or, in serious cases,a discretionary ban and a court appearance.

During this campaign Northern Constabulary will make use of marked and unmarked police vehicles to carry out static speed checks at specific areas of interest.

The Highlands and Islands have some of the most scenic routes in Scotland but don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security. A farmer might just be toddelling along that road with two great big spikes on the front of his tractor that can make a superb kebab of the unsuspecting, motorcyclist!

Northern Safety Camera Partnership will also be out on the roads to deter any motorcyclists or drivers who are putting people’s lives at risk due to excessive speed.

For up to date information on road conditions and all aspects of motorcycling in Scotland, please visit the dedicated website www.aroundthecorner.org.uk

Insurance Blast If Convicted of Mobile Phone Use

Driver using phone while driving. If you make the mistake of answering a call or using that mobile then give us a call on 0800 612 9597

The report claims that insurance companies are blasting up those insurance premiums by about 20 per cent, according to research by for AA.

AA Spokesman Ian Crowder said: ‘Insurers are taking mobile phone offences very seriously. Their opinion is a motorist might break a 30mph speed limit without noticing but no one sends a text message, email or makes a phone call behind the wheel by accident.

AA researchers tested insurers by seeking quotations for a 40-year-old man driving a Ford Mondeo. Three companies refused to cover anyone with a conviction for using a phone.

Premiums went up by less than ten per cent for a single speeding conviction, which carries the same penalty of a £60 fine and three points.

We deal with a considerable amount of such cases over the course of the year with a mixed degree of success. We can help you if assess your chances of successfully defending such a case and provide you with more information in our information sheet. Just get in touch

My own, perhaps, cynical view is that insurance companies are not likely to refuse to insure driers who have been convicted of using their mobile phone but much more likely to be hiking up insurance premiums.

I suppose this makes the costs-v- benefits equation of instructing a road traffic lawyer a bit easier to manage knowing that the insurance companies are going to fleece you for a few years if convicted of such an offence.

M90 at Halbeath in Fife Generates £200,000 in speeding fines

Average Speed Cameras Catch 3,500 Scottish Motorists

The 40mph limit on the M90 at Halbeath in Fife, is being monitored by a set of average speed cameras that I would guess have recouped their purchase and installation costs in the first 5 months of ownership but my sources tell me these average cameras tend to be subject to faults and this means a high cost for on going engineering and maintenance. I wonder what the net return really is but more importantly if they really reduce accidents at this location.

In general I would suggest that Average Speed Cameras do seem to have a real deterrent effect on the speeding motorist as they are not just limited to one small site footprint but cover an entire stretch of road.

The Scotsman Newspaper reported that
Labour MSP John Park said the figures were “extraordinary” and added that the news would anger those who already view the cameras with suspicion.

SNP MSP Graeme Dey, who lodged the parliamentary question, said the figures showed the speed cameras were doing their job. With the New Scotland Act allowing our Scottish Government to determine the law in relation to speeding we may see average speed cameras spring up all over the place and we might even see then reducing speed limits whilst the Westminster Government presently consults on increasing motorway limits to 80mph

No system is infallible and they deserve to be tested to the limit if your driving licence depends upon it so get it touch with us for a free case consultation if the average speed cameras have generated a court citation for you and we will try to help out.

BMW recalls 1.3m 5 and 6-Series models

BWM recall cars re fire risk

Fleetdirectory.co.uk recently published the warning on their website and we felt that it merited a repeat here to raise awareness of the problem.The problem affects all previous generation 5 and 6-Series models built between 2003 and 2010.

BMW explained that in some cases, the battery cable cover inside the boot may be incorrectly mounted which could lead to a malfunction of the electrical system and the vehicle failing to start.

In the most extreme cases, this has resulted in charring and even fire.

Owners can have their vehicle checked and repaired free of charge at any authorised BMW dealer within about 30 minutes. All owners will also be notified in writing.

The BBC claims that nine incidents of the fault have been reported but BMW insist that no injuries have been reported resulting from this fault.

The recall comes just as BMW announces that it has embarked on a research collaboration with Toyota in developing the next-generation lithium-ion battery cells.

The project aims to increase the performance and capacity of lithium-ion battery cells through the use of new combinations of materials for cathodes, anodes and electrolytes.

Mobile Phone Website-Dangerous Driving Advice

We are developing a mobile phone website. It is just in the “Beta”stages just now but we would really appreciate feedback from readers willing to take a couple of minutes to check it out. http://bit.ly/GJPzoB
It is my view that people will use their mobile phones and ipads, more and more over the coming years to find services such as law firms but also to engage with them. Expecting to receive “Facetime” or “Skype” calls and to be able to send and receive documentation online. The marvelous thing about this technology is that the barrier to entry is pretty low therefore a small business like our own can get involved without throwing a vast amount of money at the opportunity.
We bought the domain name www.dangerous-driving.com and got some hosting for less than £100 and then used a simple HTML editor to put together a one page site that contains a form and allows for easy subscription and follow up advice. We linked it to a subscription to “Mailchimp” and we now hope we can build a list of potential client prospects interested in our service. At present it looks to me like an easy way to engage with potential clients and to reach out to the market place.
We really would appreciate feedback on this. What do you think? Is it too pushy for lawyers to be marketing in this way? Does the site look too low cost? Does the sparce site detract from the intention to build a line of communication? Any views will be welcomed

80MPH Limit coming to a motorway near you…..in England

Recent news reports seem to indicate that an experiment will be rolled out over sections of motorway in the South of England to establish if an 80mph limit might work. There seems to be merit in a variable speed limit where overhead gantry signs can give motorists plenty of warning of when and where the limit is imposed. DDoes this mean that we can expect people to travel at even higher speeds.We all know that there are plenty of folk out there who look at a speed limit as the “starting price” in the speed -v– safety bargain

The performance of modern cars also argues for a higher speed limit. The average modern car cruises very comfortably at 70 mph, and equally so at 80 mph. In 1964 when the 70 mph national motorway speed limit was introduced, it was set at the “flat-out” speed of most cars on the road. I understand that the old stopping distances were calculated with very low tech components.

As for safety, motorways are the safest roads because they are designed for safety, as are the modern cars that use them. EuroNCAP crash testing has driven consumers to demand 4-5 star cars that make survivability in a crash much more likely than when the 70 mph speed limit was set.

So, at one level there is a compelling case supporting an increase in the speed limit, but of course it is not quite that straightforward. “Loophole Lawyers” might just have a field day with cases when they argued over evidence of the enforceable speed limits for particular cases. Personally I do not think that should stand in the way of a timely idea and it must be time to review speed limits on motorways, by now.

Country roads are a different beast altogether and the Scottish Government needs to be encouraged to keep up the work on educating drivers about the hidden dangers that exist on country roads like the unexpected family of cyclists (Me and my kids!!!) or a tractor or that motorcyclist coming round a corner at 90mph on cm of rubber.

A Labour spokesperson was reported in the Daily  Telegraph as saying “We will not oppose an increase in the motorway speed limit to 80mph in certain circumstances provided Ministers drop their blind spot on road safety,” Ms Eagle told The Daily Telegraph.

“However, rather than the blanket rise proposed by the government, the right way to implement this policy is to extend variable speed limits to allow increases as well as decreases depending on local circumstances such as traffic flow and weather conditions.”

Labour would also look for a change in guidelines applied by the Association of Chief Police Officers which normally means a motorist will not face prosecution unless caught driving at 10 per cent plus 2mph above the limit.

“Any new limit must be strictly applied with no speed creep allowing the de facto limit to head towards 90mph and Ministers must explain how they will enforce it at a time of cuts to the police.”

While backing a higher limit, Ms Eagle added that she also wanted the Government to reintroduce targets for cutting deaths and injuries on Britain’s roads. They were scrapped in the Coalition’s safety strategy.

However the policy shift was condemned by Andrew Pendleton, Friends of the Earth’s head of campaigns: ““Hurtling along at 80 mph will make our roads less safe, burn more fuel and make British motoring even more dependent on imported oil. With cash-strapped families and businesses struggling to pay soaring petrol bills it’s a bizarre policy to be championing.”

In the Sunday Times today ( 18th March 2012) the newspaper published a map detailing the expected areas of motorway that we canexpect this experiment to be tried out on.

In Scotland we will have to wait for the Scotland Bill to receive Royal Assent to see what the Scottish Government have in store or us. Personally I would like to see some flexibility on speed limits as there are plenty of motorway stretches up here that could be increased at times of low traffic flow. I recently acted for a man charged with 82mph on a section of motorway at 12:30am. Poor guy faced a “Totting Up” ban for pushing home after a hard nights work yet the powers that be still felt it appropriate to prosecute.

George Galloway’s radio phone in had some interesting comments on the debate. Unusually, perhaps Mr Galloway had little to add that was worth listening too but the callers contributed so I have posted it here for those interested in the points raised.

Bikers Warned About Speed

 

We should all welcome the electronic signs which detect speeding bikers and warn them to slow down now to be used in Scotland for the first time ever. If you can drive like these Japanese Police Bike riders then maybe you don’t need any type of signage to help you. Check out the video for incredible demonstration of ability.

We have all seen the “Smiley Signs” that give us a smile or a grimace depending upon our speed but these new gizmos light up with a biker logo and warn motorcyclists about their speed. They have been installed on the A85 west of Perth – a popular route with motorcyclists.

It was reported that they use electronic loops in the road which are specially programmed to detect a speeding motorcycles.

Once a rider triggers the loop, a sign further down the road flashes a Biker warning at them. I hope that the stats will demonstrate in time that they are a worthwhile alternative to speed cameras.

They come at a time when the Scottish Government is spending on a road safety campaign that includes TV ads highlighting the dangers of speeding on country roads. The ads seem effective as they highlight what all good drivers should be looking out for when on a country road. With Spring Summer coming this is the perfect time to make people more aware of the inherent dangers of driving on country roads.

One of the bike signs has been installed at Tynreoch, St Fillans, and the second is at Twenty Shilling Wood, Comrie. A further pair have been installed on the A82, at Sloy and Ardlui. Wonderful roads for a summer run on the bike. Let’s hope that the signs and the TV ads have the added benefit of making other road users aware of bikes and we get that old Think once, think twice think BIKE message across.

Bike riders should be aware of the potential hazards they encounter when out riding – for their safety and for the safety of other road users but car and van drivers need to be thinking about bikes as the pull out to overtake or as they come out from junctions. It is all too easy to pull out and THEN notice a bike heading towards you. Usually too late and the results are often utterly tragic

The warning signs have been placed at motorbike accident blackspots i.e. Folk have been killed or injured in these places. The signs are not memorials they are there stop more deaths and injuries so take care this Summer guys.

Scotland Bill Sections on Speeding and Drink Driving

I was reading some comments by Lord Forsyth in relation to the Scotland Bill and the new powers sought in relation to speeding legislation and drink driving legislation in Scotland. For the first time, I think in my life, I had to agree with something he said:-

“The Highway Code is complicated enough and the rules for driving motor cars are complicated enough without having different rules for different parts of the United Kingdom so I think this is just plain silly,”Scotland Bill in relation to Speed Limits and Drink Driving

He also is reported to have said “I cannot for the life of me see why we need to have different speed limits or different rules relating to drink driving between Scotland and England.

Personally I do think there is good cause to consider reform of speeding laws and limits ie Limits could be made variable and then changed at night to increase speed limits on Motorways. Drink drive limits could be reduced to hammer home the idea that there is no “Two drink limit” in the UK but do we need to go our own way on such legislation. Surely these things can be debated in Westminster and further scrutinised by Committee and the Lords before being imposed on us.

My own concern is that our own wee Parliament likes to experiment with us by trying out new things here before anywhere else in the UK such as the Smoking Ban (All for that one!) and increasing the price of alcohol. It is almost as if they feel that the Scots are a great test bed for any new ideas. I thought we had got over that when Margaret Thatcher tried the Poll Tax out on us but Mr Salmond and his co horts seem determined to keep up the experimentation. I can’t blame the SNP however as when Labour were in power you never quite knew what the next piece of knee jerk legislation was coming from.

Lord Forsyth reckons the Bill will complicate matters but I thought I would let you see what is in the Bill at present and you can make up your own mind.

section 20 Power to prescribe drink-driving limits
(1) The Road Traffic Act 1988 is amended as follows.
(2) Section 8 (choice of specimens of breath) is amended as follows.
(3) In subsection (3), for “The Secretary of State may by regulations” substitute
“Regulations may”.
(4) After subsection (3) insert—
“(4) Regulations under subsection (3) may be made—
(a) by the Secretary of State, in relation to cases where the
suspected offence is an offence committed in England and
Wales;
(b) by the Scottish Ministers, in relation to cases where the
suspected offence is an offence committed in Scotland.”
(5) Section 11 (interpretation of sections 3A to 10) is amended as follows.
(6) In the definition of “the prescribed limit” in subsection (2), omit “made by the
Secretary of State”.
(7) After subsection (2) insert—
“(2ZA) Regulations under subsection (2) may be made—
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(a) by the Secretary of State, in relation to driving or attempting to
drive, or being in charge of a vehicle, in England and Wales;
(b) by the Scottish Ministers, in relation to driving or attempting to
drive, or being in charge of a vehicle, in Scotland.”
(8) Section 195 (provisions as to regulations) is amended as follows.
(9) After subsection (2) insert—
“(2A) Before making any regulations under this Act the Scottish Ministers
must consult with such representative organisations as they think fit.”
(10) After subsection (4) insert—
“(4A) Regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under section 8(3) or 11(2)
are subject to the affirmative procedure.”
21 Speed limits
(1) The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 is amended as follows.
(2) Section 17 (traffic regulation on special roads) is amended as follows.
(3) In subsection (2) for “The Secretary of State may make regulations” substitute
“Regulations may make provision”.
(4) After subsection (3) insert—
“(3ZA) The power to make provision of the following kinds by regulations
under subsection (2) is exercisable by the Scottish Ministers—
(a) provision with respect to a particular special road in Scotland;
(b) provision for regulating the speed of vehicles on special roads
in Scotland.
(3ZB) The power to make provision of any other kind by regulations under
subsection (2) is exercisable by the Secretary of State.
(3ZC) In relation to special roads in Scotland that power of the Secretary of
State is exercisable only after consultation with the Scottish Ministers.”
(5) Section 64 (general provision as to traffic signs) is amended as follows.
(6) After subsection (2) insert—
“(2A) The functions under this section that are exercisable by the Scottish
Ministers instead of the Secretary of State include the function of
making regulations under subsection (1)(a) specifying signs for a
Scottish national speed limit.
(2B) The function of making such regulations is exercisable only with the
agreement of the Secretary of State.
(2C) “Scottish national speed limit” means any of these—
(a) a speed limit that, by virtue of regulations under section 17(2)
made by the Scottish Ministers, is to be observed—
(i) on all special roads,
(ii) on all special roads provided for the use of particular
classes of traffic,
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(iii) on all special roads other than special roads of such
description as may be specified in the regulations, or
(iv) as mentioned in sub-paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) except for
such lengths of special road as may be specified in the
regulations;
(b) a speed limit that, by virtue of an order under section 88 made
by the Scottish Ministers, is to be observed on all roads, on all
roads of any class specified in the order or on all roads other
than roads of any class so specified.”
(7) After subsection (6) insert—
“(7) Regulations made by the Scottish Ministers under subsection (1)(a) are
subject to the negative procedure.
(8) Before making any regulations under subsection (1)(a) the Scottish
Ministers must consult with such representative organisations as they
think fit.”
(8) Section 88 (temporary speed limits with power to continue indefinitely) is
amended as follows.
(9) For “the Secretary of State” in each place substitute “the national authority”.
(10) In subsection (1)—
(a) for “he” substitute “the authority”;
(b) for “his” substitute “the”.
(11) In subsection (4) omit the words from “made by statutory instrument” to the
end.
(12) After subsection (7) insert—
“(7A) The national authority in this section—
(a) in relation to roads in England and Wales, is the Secretary of
State;
(b) in relation to roads in Scotland, is the Scottish Ministers.”
(13) In subsection (8) after “subsection (1)(b)” insert “by the Secretary of State”.
(14) After subsection (8) insert—
“(9) The power of the Scottish Ministers to make an order under subsection
(1) is not to be exercisable by Scottish statutory instrument.
(10) The first order to be made under subsection (1)(b) by the Scottish
Ministers shall not be made until a draft of the order has been laid
before the Scottish Parliament and approved by it.
(11) The power of the Secretary of State to make an order under subsection
(4) is exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(12) An order made by the Scottish Ministers under subsection (4) is subject
to the negative procedure.”
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22 Speed limits: supplementary
(1) The Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc)
Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1750) is amended as follows.
(2) In Schedule 3 (functions exercisable after consultation), in the entry for the
Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984—
(a) omit paragraph (a) (section 17(2));
(b) in paragraph (f), omit “and 88(1) and (4)”.
(3) In the Schedule to the Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish
Ministers etc) Order 2000 (S.I. 2000/1563) omit the entry for the Road Traffic
Regulation Act 1984 (section 88(1)(a) and (4)).
(4) The transfer by virtue of section 21 of a function exercisable by the Secretary of
State to the Scottish Ministers (a “transferred function”) does not affect the
validity of anything done (or which has effect as if done) by or in relation to the
Secretary of State before the commencement of that section.
(5) Anything (including legal proceedings) which, at that commencement, is in the
process of being done by or in relation to the Secretary of State may, so far as it
relates to a transferred function, be continued by or in relation to the Scottish
Ministers.
(6) Anything done (or which has effect as if done) by or in relation to the Secretary
of State for the purposes of or in connection with a transferred function has
effect, if it is in force at that commencement, as if done by or in relation to the
Scottish Ministers, so far as that is required for continuing its effect.
(7) But an instrument containing regulations or an order made by the Secretary of
State is not to be treated as if made by the Scottish Ministers for the purposes
of section 64(2C)(a) or (b) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 198

Points discount leads to rise in road offence guilty pleas