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

Help Stop Child Abuse- Today

Completely off message from our usual topics but since I am about to launch myself off the roof of Skypark (140ft) in aid of the Barnardo’s Campaign to end child abuse. I thought I would take a page or so on the blog to write about it.

Barnardo’s make the strong point that child abuse is not just a Third World issue. It is happening right on our doorstep and the problem is growing. It is hidden by the shame and fear of victims but some times a light is shone into that world and we gain an insight into the terrible fear that many children are living everyday.
It is not a problem simply driven by poverty but I have no doubt that that the level of severe child poverty in Scotland goes a long way to exacerbating this awful problem.

Thousands of teens and children are subjected to sex abuse and trafficking in the UK every year. Barnardo’s has launched its Cut Them Free campaign to help tackle the appalling scourge.

It was reported in the press today that Nick Clegg’s wife (Who probably doesn’t appreciate being referred to as “Nick Clegg’s wife) is due to host a a reception at 10 Downing Street to raise awareness of an issue that should worry all of us. I am afraid that I do not have that political clout so I have elected to abseil off the Skypark building as the thought of a fat lawyer falling to an early demise might encourage a few people to put a few quid, in the good cause kitty.

I have never been moved to get involved in any such fund raising and campaigning over my 54 years on this planet but this truly is a frightening, shocking and distressing cause.

Kids leave (Run away) from impoverished homes in Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen and all over the country to head off for the bright lights of London, where we all know, that the predators and perverts take advantage of them but this problem is not something that just happens with homeless kids on the streets of London. It could and will be happening in a a nice middle class street, near you, as I write.

Any kids who are suffering need to know that this need not be in silence and that they will receive support and help to end the abuse. Yes, the Local Authorities and Social Services try to solve the problem but the truth is that the resources to tackle this problem are just not there.

Only last year Barnardo’s registered almost 1,200 children who had been sexually exploited across the UK.

This was 8.4 per cent HIGHER than the previous year but, unfortunately, that is only the tip of the iceberg.

A report in Today’s Sun Newspaper reported that “Most victims never speak up. Many don’t realise they are being sexually exploited and they even, unwittingly, help criminals recruit new victims.

Hundreds of victims are — unknown to their parents and friends — stuck in criminal gangs. In most cases the victims are teenagers but there are cases of 11-year-old children being sexually exploited.

There are no specific targets. It affects people of every race, gender and economic and social background, in both cities and rural areas. The criminals find their victims in shopping centres, parks or cafes.

They look for vulnerable children or teenagers in need of affection or not mature enough to distinguish between abuse and love. The abuse takes place in person or via social media, through the internet and mobile smart phones.

It can adopt many faces — girls exploited by older boyfriends who force them to sleep with other adults “as a proof of love”, young teenage males persuaded to give sexual favours in exchange for money, cigarettes or mobile phones, and “mysterious” internet friends obtaining pornographic material as a reward for “true love and friendship”.

As a criminal lawyer in Glasgow for more than 25 years, I have seen a great many cases, and cases of child abuse are always the most deeply distressing and upsetting.

Miriam Gonzalez Durante made the point that “The taboo surrounding sexual abuse makes it very difficult but ignoring the problem is not going to sort it.”

Parents, teachers, policemen, the media — we all play important roles: Detecting the signals, arresting the criminals, spreading the word and raising our children confident and strong.

I support Ms Gonzalez Durantez 100% when she says that “Local authorities are crucial and I truly hope those who haven’t signed up yet to Barnardo’s checklist to tackle this crime in their area do so in the very near future.”

More than 12,000 people have taken action to support the Cut Them Free campaign but we need many more.

Sign up to the campaign at www.barnardos.org.uk/cutthemfree

Have a look at my campaign page for a video and more information on the problem ( http://www.justgiving.com/Graham-Walker1 )and if you feel up for the fight please make a donation and considering lobbying your MP or MSP.

I contacted Bill Kidd MSP and he donated to my fund raising campaign today and I am aware he support the campaign in full.

Pssst…Want to know where the bus lane cameras are in Glasgow?

Locations of cameras:

• North Hanover Street at Queen Street Station looking north.
• Glassford Street at junction with Wilson Street looking south.
• Hope Street at junction with Waterloo Street looking north.
• West George Street at junction with Hope Street looking east.
• Duke Street at junction with Gateside Street looking west.
• Cathedral Street at junction with North Hanover Street looking west.
• Maryhill Road at Queen Margaret Drive looking east.
• Argyle Street at junction with Union Street looking west.
• Maryhill Road at junction with Dalsholm Road looking west.
• Great Western Road at Clevenden Road looking west.
• Victoria Road at St Andrew’s Cross looking north.
From Monday they will be on and ready to raise revenue. Sorry, I mean, help traffic flow in Glasgow.

The only saving grace is that we will not pick up penalty points if we stray into the lanes without checking our watches.

Brian Devlin, Executive Director of Land and Environmental Services, said: “The minority of drivers who abuse bus lanes are inconsiderate.

“Not only do they inconvenience others and cause frustration but they also threaten the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and other road users.

“We believe that civil enforcement will help lower the number of offences in Glasgow, improve the flow of traffic on a number of congested stretches and improve the reliability of bus journeys on some key routes.

“Introducing this new scheme is not about making money for the council. Indeed the scheme is designed to be self funding with any surplus income reinvested in local transport plans and initiatives.”

Bus lane enforcement used to be the responsibility of Strathclyde Police but new civil enforcement legislation allows the council to issue penalty charges.

The enforcement system uses automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology, where the camera will determine whether or not the vehicles entering the enforcement zone are on the approved list of vehicle registration numbers (VRN).

If the VRN is not on the list, an evidence pack is generated containing a video clip of the vehicle which is then reviewed by an enforcement officer.

If a vehicle is found to be in a bus lane illegally, a charge notice will automatically be sent to the registered keeper.

Digital images will be included to minimise challenges.

Anyone who feels they have been unjustly fined can register for an appeal and have it heard by an independent bus lane adjudicator.

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.

Ban Under 25 Years Olds From Night Time Driving !!

The Glasgow Herald Reported to day that Insurer’s have called for a ban on under 25 year olds from driving.

The Association of British Insurers said the measures would cut UK road deaths and help drive down policy premiums.

Its recommendations were made ahead of a report by the RAC which found the costs of motoring had soared by 14% over the past 12 months, with drivers now paying more than £6600 a year to own and operate a car. The latest hike means it now costs an average of £1556 more a year to own and run a new vehicle than it did in 2007, before the UK was gripped by recession and fuel costs rocketed.

The ABI’s proposals to take a “tough love” approach to drivers under 25 include introducing graduated licences which would carry restrictions on where they could drive immediately after passing a test, with further testing needed before a full licence was granted. The approach has been shown to reduce fatal accidents elsewhere in the world.

Similar curbs, including a ban on night-time driving, were recommended in a report published in March this year which was commissioned by Government agency Transport Scotland as part of a drive to achieve Scotland’s ambitious targets for cutting road casualties. They are still being considered by ministers.

My own view is that these insurance companies need to realise that they have a duty towards young drivers. They are not slow to take massive premiums from them and then they have the audacity to ask the legislature to sort the problem by introducing draconian legislation that inhibits the ability of young drivers to use their cars. Where would this unworkable nonsense take us? “Night” starts in the afternoon in some parts of the country in the middle of winter!

Driving at night is often the main reason parents want their kids to be able to drive to enable them to attend their many social functions, responsibilities and indeed jobs. Since this group of drivers have been identified statistically as presenting an increased risk then the appropriate way to deal with that is to reward good, young drivers and those that are willing to have devices in their vehicles that monitors their use. Lets start rewarding young drivers and increasing the level of training available to them instead of just hammering them with heavy insurance premiums and laws to keep them off the roads

Drink Driver- Electronic tags

The Glasgow Herald ran a story today regarding the electronic tagging of alcohol related offences.  Although the article relates to violent crime I wonder if the Scottish Government will consider using such devices for drink drivers. Does this mean that drink drivers will have the added stigma of wearing an ankle device that tells the world they are convicts?

The Glasgow Herald article stated..”Offenders with alcohol-related problems in the west of Scotland will be fitted with electronic tags that can detect whether they have broken a ban on drinking while serving a community sentence.

The “sobriety bracelets”, which are usually tagged to the ankle, record the wearer’s alcohol intake by measuring air and perspiration emissions from the skin every 30 minutes.

They detect blood alcohol levels as low as 0.02% and can tell when the alcohol was consumed before electronically transmitting that information to a base monitoring station.

The equipment is to be introduced to the west of Scotland if funding is secured from the Scottish Government and will be used as part of a pilot scheme for violent offenders receiving community sentences to be undertaken by Strathclyde Police’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU).

A study of prisoners by Strathclyde Police in 2007 found approximately two-thirds of those arrested at the scene of a crime were under the influence of alcohol, with the VRU spending the past year exploring ways to restrict alcohol consumption by offenders.

As part of the study, 200 offenders would be placed on a period of complete sobriety for 120 days, with an additional month dedicated to a “stepwise” programme to introduce moderate alcohol consumption, if the offender requests it.

The Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor, or Scram, hit the headlines when Freaky Friday star Lohan was fitted with one last year after she failed to show up for a probation hearing relating to a 2007 drink-driving case because she was in France.

American courts have ordered Scram devices on thousands of defendants released on bond and awaiting trial for alcohol-related offences, those on probation, and under-age drinkers.

Criminal justice professionals in the US report high compliance rates, at least while these people remain in the court system, and have claimed it has an impact on the size of the prison population.

However, many lawyers have argued that, despite widespread use, scientific information is lacking on the device’s reliability and believe false positive readings are also a risk.

Some have claimed baked goods such as sourdough English muffins can cause the body to produce its own alcohol, while online bloggers recommend “scamming the Scram” by placing luncheon meat, tape or paper between the ankle and the sensor or plunging the leg into an ice-cold bath to prevent perspiration.

Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc, which manufactures the device, insists such ploys do not work. A spokeswoman has described the devices as “like a breathalyser for your ankle”.

Details of the plans for Scotland emerged this week during a meeting of Strathclyde’s governing body, where Chief Constable Steve House said the force had applied for around £150,000 from the Scottish Government for the technology to run the scheme, adding it was “an exciting development” but without ministerial monies they would not be purchased.

Mike Nellis is emeritus professor of criminal and community justice at Strathclyde University and has a particular interest in electronic tagging devices. He said the authorities in the Netherlands and Sweden had considered similar schemes but this was the first he was aware of in Europe.

Mr Nellis said: “I welcome the fact this experiment is going to take place even though I don’t think the science is at all certain. It’s an extremely useful tool but not foolproof.

“There’s bound to be court cases in Scotland where any lawyer worth his salt will challenge the science. But the link between alcohol and violence is cast iron and we’ve got to be imaginative and adventurous.

“Electronic monitoring is only part of a strategy, but in this case I’ve got to question expectations of keeping hardened drinkers away from alcohol for 120 days.”

Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, co-director of the VRU, said: “Alcohol-related violence is a huge problem for Scotland and the VRU are fully supportive of all measures to tackle it.”

Drink Drive Law Reform In Scotland

Highlanders pay £2m In Speed Camera Fines

I am just off to Inverness for a case involving a local business man. I often hear clients claim that the speed cameras are just a method of taxing the motorist and wondered what the truth was in that assertion.
A recent article by Laurence Ford in the Highland News gives us all food for thought
In the article he stated the following

Parked vans are catching and dishing out penalties at a rate of around 95 per week, according to figures from the Northern Safety Camera Partnership.

SPEEDERS in the Highlands have been hit for fines totalling a massive £2 million on trunk roads across the region.

That’s the shock figure the Highland News has gleaned from statistics provided by the organisation responsible for conducting speed checks in the region.

Mobile speed camera vans are a regular feature on all main roads, and although the Northern Safety Camera Partnership says its aim is to promote safe driving, many view the cameras as cash cows intent on milking motorists’ hard-earned cash.

The partnership, which was formed in 2004, has issued an amazing 32,235 fixed penalty notices – which equals around 95 every week – over the last seven years .

With a minimum fixed fine of £60 a hit, that totals £1,934,100.

Many drivers, however, fail to pay the statutory penalty and are hauled before the courts where fines running as high as £500 are not uncommon, pushing the income for the Treasury till to past the £2 million mark.

Partnership manager Dougie Bennion confirmed: “The Northern Safety Camera Partnership does not receive any monies from the detection of individuals speeding on the roads in this area.

“The money in respects of fines is paid directly to the courts and goes to the Treasury.”

Not surprisingly the A9, dubbed Scotland’s killer road, is the most lucrative “hotspot” for cameras catching out motorists suffering from heavy pedal syndrome.

Between Inverness and Dalwhinnie, the Northern Safety Camera Partnership website identifies nine favoured speed van locations, and a further six on the A9 north of the city.

The statistics, obtained under a Freedom of Information request by the HN, reveal that 15,015 speeders were issued with tickets in Badenoch and Strathspey, 12,436 in the Inverness area, 2,110 in Ross and Cromarty and 1,855 in Lochaber.

Highlands and Islands SNP MSP John Finnie backed the use of the speed cameras from a road safety viewpoint.

He said: “I do not think there is any doubt that the evidence suggests it is not road design, rather than that it is driver error, that is responsible for the large number of tragic accidents, particularly on the A9.

“Given that, I do realise that some members of the public need some convincing why speed cameras are deployed, particularly when they are seen on straight stretches of road.”

Regarding the £2 million-plus the speed cameras had pulled in since the inception of the NSCP, Mr Finnie said: “This is a significant sum of money that has gone to the UK Treasury and clearly these are funds which could be accrued to the Highlands where it could certainly be utilised.”

Last month, one of the NCSP vans was transferred from its base in Dingwall to a new home in Lochaber where it will be put into full-time operation to allow for increased deployment at sites in the west Highlands.

Embarrassingly for the safety partnership, one of their camera vans was itself the subject of photographic evidence when it was pictured parked “dangerously” according to Inverness reader James Sim at the side of the A9, and featured on the front page of the Highland News.

When Mr Sim expressed his concerns to the police and showed them the photos to back up his claim, he got a follow-up call from the boys in blue a few days later.

But they were not there with regard to the camera van, they said they were there because he had no insurance.

A search of his house turned up the necessary insurance documents but it left James (27), of Inshes, feeling it was a form of police “payback”.

AA road safety spokesman Andrew Howard said a survey of members found that 70 per cent thought safety cameras were acceptable, and that the lowest figure they had recorded for this was 69 per cent.

He said: “I always like to make the point that they catch 100,000 motorists a year for drink driving, but no-one ever asks how much their fines makes for the Treasury.

“But as soon as it comes to speed cameras for some reason that is their first thought.”

My own view is that there is room for less speed cameras and MORE police officers on patrol. Speed cameras are part of the answer to reducing speeding behavior and making the A9 a safer place to drive but there is room for police discretion rather than an over dependence on automatic fine generators
After all these machines have no discretion and if you exceed the limit at 1:00am on a dry, clear road then surely that should be different than speeding at a busy time of day in wet conditions?