Police Use Double-Decker Buses To Spot Drivers Using Mobile Phones

It seems like common sense to keep full focus on the road while driving - but, oddly enough, some people don't and along with hitching a ride on lorries, police are now getting full use of the public transport by sitting on the top deck of buses to catch drivers on their phones.

BBC

The new technique was put to good use by West Midlands police who are also urging members of the public to upload videos of offending motorists.

Divers who were caught in the act were shown a VR video of the 'consequences' of their actions, in the footage they were shown videos of people suffering from accidents and injuries because the use of mobiles behind the wheel.

The BBC reported that offenders would be contacted prior by post with a £200 fine and six points on their licence.

A spokesman for the force said West Midlands Police is planning to continue with the initiative from the top deck.

A report from BBC News showed an officer catching a driver texting at the wheel of their Range Rover and another driver was brought back to a central zone - this one agreed to be on camera and even interviewed.

He said he was aware he was breaking the law when 'checking his emails'.

Of course the driver, Michael Neel, said he was surprised to be pulled over but added it would prevent him from doing it in future.

BBC

PC Mark Hodson, speaking from the top of a double-decker, said: "Most of the offending is done in their lap, so unless we have a vantage point we can't actually see if they're committing the offence or not because we actually have to see the phone.

"And so, this gives us the ideal position to that from and not only that but we can train up all our neighbourhood policing PCSO's and PCs to do exactly the same when they go on normal bus journeys in their own communities."

The West Midlands police are documenting their observations on social media, using #OpTopDeck.

One tweet said that in only three hours the police detected 41 mobile offences - some even just feet away from where the officers were sat.

This follows the news that police in Wales are using lorries in a similar fashion in order to catch drivers.

Topics: Police, News, UK

Rachael Grealish

Rachael is a NCTJ qualified journalist from West Cumbria, with a passion for news, features and journalism. Outside of work Rachael loves plenty of coffee, running and reading.

@RachaelGrealish