Police armed with video cameras have started hiding away in double-decker buses in a bid to catch distracted motorists using their mobile phones while driving.
The scheme, the first of its kind in the UK, is being rolled out across the West Midlands with police able to spy on motorists from any bus in the region.
Operation Top Deck has been launched by the force's Road Harm Reduction Team and will see plain clothes officers peering down at passing motorists.
It has already been hailed a great success, with officers recently catching 41 offenders in a two and a half hour period - all from the top deck of a bus.
Police (Safer Travel officers are pictured) borrow the buses from National Express. But instead of their usual drivers they will be driven by Safer Travel officers. While the passengers will be police officers or PSCO's equipped with video cameras
The borrowed buses are driven by specially trained police officers. While on the top deck upstairs, police pose as passengers to catch out distracted drivers
PC Mark Hodson, who has helped spearhead the scheme, said: 'Using mobile phones while driving is proven to be as dangerous as drink driving; it can devastate lives and people need to understand this isn't acceptable.
'We want to create a credible, constant threat of prosecution to induce wholesale driver behavioural change and make our roads safer.
'The buses are 'borrowed' from National Express and will look like any other bus in service – but they will be driven by Safer Travel officers who are qualified bus drivers and the passengers will be police officers or PSCO's equipped with video cameras.'
PC Hodson was yesterday featured in a video highlighting the scheme, in which he outlines the benefits of the initiative.
It quickly garnered significant attention on Twitter, being re-tweeted more than 80 times and like more than 300.
PC Mark Hodson (pictured in the foreground) is one of the officers behind the scheme. He argues that being on your mobile phone is simply not worth the risk of causing a collision or potentially being banned from the roads
Describing why the force uses buses, PC Hodson said: 'They give us a perfect vantage point into cars and also the cabs of lorries and trucks.
'Offenders will be given a roadside educational input on the dangers of distracted driving and also face the prospect of a hefty fine plus six points on their licence.
'We will look at particular circumstances but there will also be some drivers, ones who've been particularly reckless, who we will charged and take to court.'
Should police proceed with a prosecution, motorists will be handed a £200 fine and have six points adding to their driving licence.
But on some occasions, police bikers will be sent to provide guidance to offending motorists.
This will include watching a hard-hitting, virtual reality video highlighting the potentially devastating consequences of using a phone while driving.
Operation Top Deck was been launched to coincide with National Mobile Phone Week in September which saw traffic cops in police forces across the country targeting dodgy drivers.
On the day it launched, police caught 45 motorists using phones behind the wheel in just a few hours on the A34 Birmingham Road near the Scott Arms pub.
Thirteen of them – ones who were using devices in stationary traffic – were given an on-the-spot education input on the dangers.
A West Midlands Police officer peers out of a window on a double-decker bus to catch out any unsuspecting motorists who may be using their mobile phone
PC Mark Hodson (pictured left and right) released a a video on Twitter yesterday outlining the scheme and why it works so well. In the video, one of his colleagues can be seen in action peering out of a window at passing motorists
Their details were taken and they face prosecution should they be caught a second time.
The rest faced the prospect of a £200 fine and six licence points adding to their licence.
One man was caught using his phone while on route to a speed awareness course, while a woman was prosecuted for driving without due care and attention after officers found her eating from a bowl of cereal in her lap.
A disqualified driver was also pulled over and arrested.
Describing the launch run, PC Hodson, said: 'It was really successful – and has shown that despite all the warnings and public safety messages there are still drivers who can't resist picking up their phone at the wheel.
'Most offenders were reading or sending text messages. Being online and staying in touch seem to get in the way of people's driving.
'It's simply not worth the risk of causing a collision or potentially being banned from the roads.
'Our plan is to up-skill neighbourhood PCs so that whenever they're on a bus they can use their mobiles to film offenders and secure prosecutions.'
Police are even encouraging fellow bus passengers to catch offending motorists out by supplying their own video evidence of via a dedicated self-reporting site on the West Midlands Police website.
The initiative, a joint project with National Express and Transport for West Midlands, was launched in the wake of numerous fatalities on the roads.
Between April 2017 and March 2018, a total of 990 people were killed or seriously injured on roads in the West Midlands – during the same period 1,251 drivers were prosecuted for using phones at the wheel.
Offending motorists face the prospect of a £200 fine and six points adding to their driving licence
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, who brought in the original ban on driving while on a mobile phone back in 2003 as a Transport Minister, added: 'The reason the ban was introduced was to keep the public safe.
'Motorists who use their mobile phone while driving are four times more likely to crash. This campaign is about saving lives.
'Those who continue to use their mobile phones whilst driving are in a minority, but they put the lives of every road user at risk.
'I am glad West Midlands Police are leading this campaign. It will help us stop drivers who choose to endanger not only their life, but the lives of other drivers and pedestrians.'
Linkhienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/11/28/now-police-are-spotting-drivers-using-mobiles-at-the-wheel-from-inside-a-double-decker/
Main photo article Police armed with video cameras have started hiding away in double-decker buses in a bid to catch distracted motorists using their mobile phones while driving.
The scheme, the first of its kind in the UK, is being rolled out across the West Midlands with police able to spy on motorists from any...
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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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