South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

28 September 2016 • The Telegraph

The number of motorists caught using a mobile phone behind the wheel has fallen by almost half in four years, it has been reported.

Over two-thirds of police forces across the UK recorded a drop in the number of drivers being stopped for mobile phone use since 2011, with one of England's largest constabularies seeing stops fall by more than 80 per cent.

The figures were revealed after research suggested illegal mobile phone use by drivers is on the rise and ministers agreed to toughen penalties.

Police officer leaders have blamed the fall in those being caught on a reduction of traffic officers as a result of budget cuts, saying the two go "hand in hand".

I can't say that I've noticed a reduction of any kind in the numbers of drivers using hand-held mobiles in the last 5 years, it's more prevalent than ever at the moment. You'd have thought that with the proliferation of urban CCTV coverage it would be worth them paying a few people to go through the footage to identify the dozens of drivers per hour who will be blatantly using the phone and they've got them bang to rights - caught on camera, with exact date, time and location. If the suits are serious about cracking down on it they shouldn't just rely on the resource-strapped and cut-back Traffic Police to do it all for them and make them look good.

By the way MY, what does this news have to do with brakes?

A phone held to their ear seems de rigeur with the carrot crunchers and pasty munchers driving tractors around here

Less Coppers on the road so a fall in convictions, then re jigged by statitions to say less mobile phone users on the road, arn't the Government doing a wonderful job ;)