Brilliant News!

[anaxcrosswords]

At long last it appears a tougher line is going to be taken:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/texting-drivers-face-90-fine-044525107.html#oIF5XnI

As I began reading this I feared that one of the most important issues was going to be ignored yet again but, further in the article, there it is. Drivers WILL BE FINED for hogging the middle lane of the motorway. About damn time!

[sir.prize]

Good points; but this is a big mistake - the current drink-drive limit will not be lowered.

Drink driving is illegal.

Zero tolerance should be introduced.

[anaxcrosswords]

Yeah, I'd agree with that sir.prize.

[Hopkirk]

If £60 doesn't deter mobile users, then £90 won't either.

A short term disqualification is needed.

[Zacs-Master]

Drivers WILL BE FINED for hogging the middle lane of the motorway...

Great news but v difficult to police efficiently.

[sir.prize]

Cope are too busy chastising a young girl for chalking hopscotch numbers on a pavement - suggesting it is criminal damage.

Keystones come to mind.

[sir.prize]

^^^Cops . . . .

[ChuckFickens]

"driving at an inappropriate speed" is a nice one to see too seeing as that will cover people who seem to think it's OK to drive at 35mph on a motorway.

[Hopkirk]

They would struggle to make that stick, Chuck.

[sunny-dave]

Nothing on Elephant Racing though chuck :+(((

[ChuckFickens]

Although people have been prosecuted already for driving too slowly, they get charged with driving carelessly and without due consideration for other road users.

[jake-the-peg]

Eating a sandwich or lighting a cigarette at the wheel too!

Easy to say zero tolerance for drink driving (and as a Teetotaler I'd like to agree) but there are practical issues

If you go and have 5 or 6 pints the night before how long before you are at 'zero'?

Looking at the relative risk

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Relative_risk_of_an_accident_based_on_blood_alcohol_levels_%28linear_scale%29.jpg/800px-Relative_risk_of_an_accident_based_on_blood_alcohol_levels_%28linear_scale%29.jpg

(our limit here is .08)

There's not actually a huge gain from 'zero tolerance'

Most of the rest of Europe is 0.05 - aligning with that might not be a bad idea

[ChuckFickens]

Most countries that state zero tolerance don't actually have a zero limit because of the practical problems, the limit is often something like 0.02

[Hopkirk]

A lot of the people caught for drink driving are well over the limit, so dropping our limit may make little difference.

[mushroom25]

//Drivers WILL BE FINED for hogging the middle lane of the motorway...

Great news but v difficult to police efficiently.....//

indeed. already round here, the police don't enforce "No HGV" lane restrictions on the M42, they don't enforce use of motorway lane 3 by vehicles towing trailers - so this will just be something else they won't enforce.

[Bazile]

hogging the middle lane -what exactly is that ?

If traffic is doing less than 70 in the inside lane but is doing a steady 70 in the middle lane - so you stay in the middle lane - is that hogging the middle lane ?

[anaxcrosswords]

Yes it is!
The middle and outside lanes are FOR OVERTAKING ONLY. Once you have overtaken you move to the inside lane - end of.

[Bazile]

who are you shouting at ?

' end of ' - that's so naff

[douglas9401]

I remember a public information office film about 'the weaver bird' that flitted from lane to lane on the motorway.
This will be another instance where 'expert opinion' of traffic bobbies comes into play.