BBC ambush

I have just seen the BBC ambush a bloke from the British Association of Drivers.

They were 'selling' a new scheme in Manchester where the Police send a Community Support Officer to sit in a car with a CCTV camera on the top. They use it's telephoto lens to video drivers from a distance who are 'using mobile phones, eating or who are driving carelessly'.

Any drivers filmed are then sent a letter and sometimes a fine.

Back in the studio the two presenters sit opposite a man there to speak out on behalf of motorists (but only mumbles something about drivers being fined for eating a mint) and a man whose daughter was killed by a 'hit and run driver'.

"But surely ANYTHING that stops careless driving is a good thing' says the presenter.

Well if I had been in the studio I would have pointed out that these careless drivers are merely filmed driving badly, and if any of them go on to kill anyones daughter the letter and the fine will arrive far too late to help in actual fact.

It annoys me to see bad driving and there are times when I wish there was a Constable around to see it, but we don't need less than useful measures and a marketing campaign that ropes in the BBC Breakfast News team.

Filming from a distance (the fact the cameras have an ability to 'zoom' great distances was mentioned) serves to catch people out unawares which whilst good at generating revenue does little to deter or prevent crime.

I suppose what we need is a public who think about the issues for themselves rather than a public who seem to be happy to have headlines washing over them presented in one dimensional terms that appeal to their emotions more than anything else.