Don't lose it - report it.

Porgy

http://www.met.police.uk/roadsafelondon/

this is new in my intray - what appears, on the face of it, to be a quick and easy way to report dangerous drivers in London, including taxis.

Hopefully I won't ever need to use it, but next motorist / cabbie who nearly runs me over, cuts me up, left hooks me, forces me into the path of oncoming traffic, etc. will be my guinea pig for this.

il_principe

Nice idea, although it does have rather Stasi-like echoes...

greg66_tri_v2.0

Hmm.

we need you to help us crack down on these people by telling us about any illegal or anti-social road use. You can do this with the simple to submit report found at the bottom of this page.
# Have you been the victim of a dangerous or careless driver?
# Do you know about an uninsured, unlicensed or disqualified driver?
# Does someone you know regularly drink and drive?
# Do you have any road related information that you think we should know about?

Or: do you want to make someone's life unpleasant by making a false and anonymous accusation? Well now you can, courtesy of the Met Police + the Internet.

+1 to IP on the Stasi aspect of this. For all its good intentions, it leaves me feeling distinctly uneasy.

Porgy

I sort of agree, but then it's always been possible to make false accusations to the police about people. The way I intend to use it will be entirely legitimate, and hopefully, as it saves me a trip to the police station, I will actually get around to reporting the dangerous drivers I see on a weekly basis.

Sewinman

It should be re-named www.iamagrass.co.uk :roll:

Christophe3967

Thin end of the wedge... Making false accusations will be so much easier if you're able to do it anonymously. Don't like someone parking their car outside your house? Tell the police they're drink drivers and make their lives a bit harder. Just another small step towards a police state, sadly.

Porgy

I think you're all over-reacting slightly. there's been much worse in place for years now - Terrorist hotlines where you can shop your muslim neighbours for looking a bit funny.

As far as I can tell this merely adds another, and very convenient, method to the already existing mehods for reporting crimes to the police.

and Sewinman - you've been watching too much "Life On Mars" - Grass? - I hardly think reporting uninsured cars and instances of dangerous driving makes me a grass. :roll:

downfader

Crimestoppers is already used by some to report uninsured drivers, dealers vehicles and locations etc... I'm guessing the Police site wont be encrypted and therefore any false claims would be easy to deal with. :?

downfader

Sewinman wrote:

It should be re-named www.iamagrass.co.uk :roll:

Thats a bit low. If nobody reported this stuff in any means we'd all be worse off.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Porgy wrote:

there's been much worse in place for years now - Terrorist hotlines where you can shop your muslim neighbours for looking a bit funny.

downfader wrote:

Crimestoppers is already used by some to report uninsured drivers, dealers vehicles and locations

The fact that there are other opportunities for the public to make anonymous reports of what they think might be a crime doesn't make a new, online method any better (and how does one know whether a car is uninsured, I wonder?).

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out."

Ok, we're not that far down a long road. But it worries me that ideas such as this are welcomed with assumptions that they will not be abused, or allowed to be abused. History says otherwise.

Sewinman

Maybe grass was too strong, 'curtain twitcher' is probably more apt.

downfader

Greg66 wrote:

Porgy wrote:

there's been much worse in place for years now - Terrorist hotlines where you can shop your muslim neighbours for looking a bit funny.

downfader wrote:

Crimestoppers is already used by some to report uninsured drivers, dealers vehicles and locations

The fact that there are other opportunities for the public to make anonymous reports of what they think might be a crime doesn't make a new, online method any better (and how does one know whether a car is uninsured, I wonder?).

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out."

Ok, we're not that far down a long road. But it worries me that ideas such as this are welcomed with assumptions that they will not be abused, or allowed to be abused. History says otherwise.

People have reported their neighbours after they've walked past their car on the road and seen the out of date disc. Happened to my old neighbour (not by me but another neighbour he'd had a run in with) a few years back.

What do you want exactly? People to all shut up and have it ruined for all of us, or for people willing to say "this is unacceptable" and use the tools at hand? If you want "stasi" then look at the sec44 treatment of tourists, journalists and photographers. People trott out that poem too quickly imo and completely forget what it is actually about. :?

greg66_tri_v2.0

I'll repeat the question: how does one know that a car is uninsured?

I know exactly what the poem is about, thanks.

downfader

Greg66 wrote:

I'll repeat the question: how does one know that a car is uninsured?

I know exactly what the poem is about, thanks.

No tax = not legally insured as I said above.

greg66_tri_v2.0

downfader wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

I'll repeat the question: how does one know that a car is uninsured?

I know exactly what the poem is about, thanks.

No tax = not legally insured as I said above.

Really? So if I buy a 6 month tax disc with a year's insurance cover note...?i

lost_in_thought

Greg66 wrote:

downfader wrote:

Greg66 wrote:

I'll repeat the question: how does one know that a car is uninsured?

I know exactly what the poem is about, thanks.

No tax = not legally insured as I said above.

Really? So if I buy a 6 month tax disc with a year's insurance cover note...?i

If you've no tax or SORN, the car can be seized and crushed whether you've insurance or not... And you can't get a tax disc without insurance, obv.

You can't tell just by looking at the car that it has no insurance... but I guess you could suspect it. The Police Camera Something show I was watching earlier had the policemen pulling over 'cars that looked a bit dodgy', as well as using a rather clever computer, so that's essentially what they're doing.

As for the site, I think the spirit of it is good but it will become unmanageable and not work in the long run, the police won't have the time or inclination to investigate. Also, I don't have a problem with the 'shop your neighbour' thing, it's been going on for years with benefit fraud, illegal immigration etc.

Christophe3967

downfader wrote:

What do you want exactly? People to all shut up and have it ruined for all of us, or for people willing to say "this is unacceptable" and use the tools at hand? If you want "stasi" then look at the sec44 treatment of tourists, journalists and photographers. People trott out that poem too quickly imo and completely forget what it is actually about. :?

On the brighter side, it at least seems that the S44 powers have been rolled back, but why should it have ever gone that far?

http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/ ... righ.shtml

itboffin

Torture! - it's fun for the whole family

Too far? :roll:

I'll get me coat

Christophe3967

itboffin wrote:

Torture! - it's fun for the whole family

Too far? :roll:

I'll get me coat

Come the revolution... it'll be the IT Boffins first.

Obviously the lawyers won't be too far behind :roll:

itboffin

Christophe3967 wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Torture! - it's fun for the whole family

Too far? :roll:

I'll get me coat

Come the revolution... it'll be the IT Boffins first.

Obviously the lawyers won't be too far behind :roll:

I've just spent the last month or so actually engineering again, it's so much more enjoyable and satisfying than directing, after all who doesn't love a bit of "hands on"

Yes bloody lawyers worse than estate agents and x factor contestant combined, apart from those lawyer I know, all the other scum, should be burnt at the stake.

Porgy

Greg66 wrote:

Porgy wrote:

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out."
.

I've quoted that many times during my years involved in various political campaigns and if I felt that applied in this case, I'd be quoting it again. It seems that there's more of an outcry now that motorists are in the line of fire than when muslims, trade unionists, immigrants, council tenants, environmental activists, welfare claimants, peace campaigners, animal rights activists, ravers etc were. Wonder why? :roll:

You find out a car is uninsured when it hits you and then does a runner - a common event in south London.
I could have said untaxed too - a good indication that it is uninsured.

And have you ever tried to report anyhting to a south London police station? Expect to lose half a day - and be treated like cattle in the process - dehumanised and demeaned - i'll be glad not to have to enter a police station again.

There's an easy answer for motorists who feel their rights are being breached as a motorist. do what I do. Leave the car at home. Remember - before you cry "but I live in the country" this is for London.

Porgy

Greg66 wrote:

I'll repeat the question: how does one know that a car is uninsured?

I know exactly what the poem is about, thanks.

So do I - that's why I'm slightly worried about you uising it in this context. It does not apply.

Kiblams

Surely they will be unlikely to act on a single report against a person, but if that person has 5 verified reports agaist them; then the police will have more of a case and therefore more confidence to take action against the person!?!

zanes

Kiblams wrote:

Surely they will be unlikely to act on a single report against a person, but if that person has 5 verified reports agaist them; then the police will have more of a case and therefore more confidence to take action against the person!?!

This. +1