GP Taylor: Police war on the motorist is fast lane to losing trust

Traffic ambled at the usual speed of 55 miles per hour. Without warning, I was suddenly faced with a sea of brake lights, vehicles swerving and a screech of tyres.

As a police-trained driver, I looked for the cause of this catastrophic near-miss. I soon saw that the culprit was parked by the side of the road: a gleaming, expensive and new North Yorkshire Police speed camera van.

The van was not clearly visible and had been secreted in such manner as to be only seen at the very last minute. Being hidden nearly caused a serious accident and could have resulted in the death of a motorist.

North Yorkshire Police, as well as many of our local forces, appear to be on a campaign against the motorist. It is as if drivers are seen as a cash cow to be squeezed until the pips squeak.

The old cherry is used every time to justify the existence of camera vans that they make the roads safe.

I don’t think that long stretches of dual carriageway are the most dangerous of places to drive. It is a well-known fact that dual carriageways and motorways have the fewest accidents and fatalities.

It is time for the police to be honest with the public if that were possible.

The words “police” and “honesty” are becoming an oxymoron. Public trust and confidence of the thin blue line is at an all time low. Yet the police forces of our county insist on alienating the public with the use of expensive camera vans that punish law-abiding people going a few miles over the limit.

Drivers gaining points on 
their licence are caused considerable distress. Jobs are often lost and insurance companies make a profit on penalising drivers caught by the thousands of cameras that litter the roadside.

It is time for an overhaul 
of the points system. Quite rightly, any driver travelling in excess of the speed limit in a 
built up area or near a school should be punished for their stupidity, but is it really fair 
to get three points for being a few miles over the limit on a motorway or open stretch of road?

When speed limits were introduced there was no hi- tech equipment to catch the speeder. Cars were more dangerous and didn’t have the safety equipment they have today.

In 1941, there were three million cars on the road and 9,169 people were killed. In 2014, there were over 30 million cars on the road and fatal accidents fell to 1,713.

Surely figures like that speak for themselves? This is the lowest number of fatalities since national records began in 1926.

If the police were really interested in reducing accidents and protecting the public from demon drivers, the camera vans should be placed outside schools and in residential areas.

This would then be a protection of life and property and not a sneaky way of lining the pockets of the Chief Constable so he or she can decorate their office. The public is more concerned with the lack of police officers on the streets and the refusal of some forces to turn up at a burglary.

Most people would prefer to see a bobby on the street corner engaging with the community and understanding their needs than a speed van on the outskirts of every village on the A64 as has been proposed.

It always comes back to the fact that it is far easier to catch a motorist than a burglar and now it is also more profitable.

If the police are going to continue the war against drivers, then the points system has to change. It would be far more sensible to give three points to a driver in a built up area and one point if caught on a motorway. The points could also be increased by the speed in excess of the limit.

Many police forces no longer give the 10 per cent discretion in excess of the limit. They say that detection devices are now so accurate the 70 mph means just that. Before, drivers could be caught at 77 mph before being prosecuted, but not any more.

I really love the way the modern police forces of Britain go out of their way to make honest people detest them so much. It is as if they all sit down together to work out how they can make themselves more unpopular.

The vast expense of fleets of camera vans could be put to better use fighting real crime and anti-social behaviour rather than being used as a fund raiser to offset Government cuts to police budgets.

GP Taylor is a writer and broadcaster and can be followed @GPTaylorauthor.