Mobile Phones whilst driving... 1078

I got done recently (£30 fine). Probably the first time I've been called while driving, ever. It was the wife, reminding me to buy something that was already on the shopping list. My car is an auto, I fail to see how operating a handsfree is less dangerous than holding a phone driving an auto. Anyway, I was of course alert to what was going on around me. As I pulled into the tesco filling station, I became aware of a car moving very unusually from the rear right, attempting to cut me off, as I lined up for the pumps. I think it was only due to my awarenes that there wasn't a small collision. The car turned out to be an unmarked police car.

Despite my obvious immediate avoiding action, I got all the bullpoo about how dangerous what I was doing was, and the officer started to fill in the paperwork. At that instant, a message came over his radio, anouncing a very seriously drunk driver last seen on the roundabout at the tescos exit. I'm not making this up, it really did happen!

Anyway, I thought this was one of those magical moments when you think you're going to be done, but something more important comes up. But must to my surprise, the officer was oblivious to it, he carried on asking me about birth date, place, inside leg measurement, etc, etc.

It seemed to go on forever, well at least 10 minutes anyway. After about 5 I mentioned that I was surprised that he felt that what he was doing was more important than stopping a dangerous drunk driver probably less than 100 meters away. I think he was expecting this as I got the " I don't think you realise how much of a problem this is, sir" bullpoo again.

Less than a week after this, I was pulled in leaving another store, while putting my seatbelt on, for not wearing my seatbelt! Would you believe, it was the same bloke! At least he had the decency to remember me and my tolerant response, and gave me a warning. But, there were no less than 6 officers involved in this operation, at a road position where the only possible offence would be using a phone, or not using seatbelts.

I'm really pleased to see some supervision of drivers by real police officers instead of only speed camers, but it seems to me that the efforts I have seen in the Poole area are seriously misplaced.

If just some of this effort had gone into watching dual carriageway sliproads, roundabouts, junctions, residential areas, boy racer racetracks, some real good could have been done.