Safe Speed Forums

3,250 drivers caught in Dorset's No Excuse campaign
1:00pm Saturday 27th March 2010
By Martin Lea »

A TOTAL of 3,250 drivers have been caught in the first two months of a hard-hitting safety campaign to reduce serious accidents on Dorset’s roads.
It works out to 50 people a day on average driving badly or dangerously.
Dorset County Council disclosed the figures as the No Excuse campaign entered its third month of operation.
And it also revealed details of some of the offences which have come to light.
Earlier this month the Echo revealed how police were amazed to find a driver had been at the wheel of a car in Weymouth with the bonnet up.
Other people caught over the last few weeks include a man spotted holding a map in one hand while using the other to drive, a man not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone at the wheel of his Ferrari and a man eating a sandwich at the wheel.
Police also seized a moped from a youngster who had come to their attention for the second time.
Hundreds of drivers have been caught using mobile phones while driving and not wearing seatbelts.
More than 2,000 have been reported for speeding.
Many drivers receive on-the-spot fines for their behaviour but could end up going to court if the offence is particularly serious, such as drink driving.

In certain cases drivers are offered the chance to pay £60 for a Dorset Police Driver Awareness Scheme course and avoid getting points on their licence.
Head of road safety at Dorset County Council Robert Smith said: “We have been greatly encouraged by the comments received from people in Dorset, nationally and internationally showing that the aim of ‘no excuse’ is understood and applauded.
“The team is committed to being out on Dorset’s roads continuing to use a mixture of covert and overt operations to enforce the message that there is no excuse for bad and dangerous driving.”

The year-long No Excuse campaign, launched in January by a number of different authorities, involves a combination of extra enforcement by police officers and speed camera operators and an advertisement campaign.
People may have seen the posters around the county which say ‘Caught? No Excuse.’ The county council says they are there to highlight the fact that drivers and motorcyclists who break the law and endanger themselves and others could be caught anywhere, at any time.

“The team is committed to being out on Dorset’s roads continuing to use a mixture of covert and overt operations to enforce the message that there is no excuse for bad and dangerous driving.”

The county council says they are there to highlight the fact that drivers and motorcyclists who break the law and endanger themselves and others could be caught anywhere, at any time.

What I am getting at is how many drivers, during this wildly successful initial fining period, were stopped for driving practices that can, in and of themselves, be identified as dangerous, rather than simply belonging to a group of prohibited behaviours?

.... A lot of those caught were not actually doing anything dangerous but this has been conflated with simply breaking a regulation. Was the criterion for prosecution really as stated in the second quote "break the law and endanger themselves and others" or just the first clause?

The only manifestation of this campaign I've observed is little boards saying "No Excuses" on all the bare poles the camera partnership use for putting VAS on.

Wondered what they were...

In certain cases drivers are offered the chance to pay £60 for a Dorset Police Driver Awareness Scheme course and avoid getting points on their licence.

I initially parsed this as

Some drivers can pay £60 to be trained how to be aware of Police Drivers which will help them avoid getting points.