Seize The Day

This driver's head isn't blurry due to high speed.

Despite driving a 186mph Ferrari Monza.

With no real windscreen. 

He is a very lucky policeman. 

And the car is one of many seized for antisocial driving/no insurance/no driving licence and/or several other naughty acts.

The BBC have the story here.

That particular car had been in the country for one day.

And was being driven on a provisional licence without insurance.

They estimate its value as £3.7million.

Unfortunately, the police don't get to keep the car - they just charge for its storage.

Unless it isn't claimed within 7 days.

Then they can dispose of it however they want.

According to that story, they also impounded a Rolls Royce, Mercs, BMWs and a Lambo or two. 

Bet they didn't impound any Luces.

1000 Not Out!

This is my 1000th Blog Post!

Number 1 was a bit serious - I hadn't got into my stride of  commenting on car news items at that point.

And I was right. 

That was November 2009 by the way - when the World was a better place but we didn't know it.

In fact, it wasn't until 2021 that the end of the World was announced.

By me.

And it was 2018 when I foresaw the end of Top Gear.  I may not have said it, but I definitely foresaw it.

Number 999, just last week, was an amusing electric Bentley story.

So, what have I got for today's Number 1000 story?

An amusing story about a Yorkshire cyclist who decided that a car had passed him too closely so sent footage of it to the Police.

That footage also showed the cyclist squeezing his bike through this gap:

(The car on the left is parked)

The BBC story is here together with the video. There is no news of the car driver that he reported.  But there is news that the cyclist ending up with over £1200 in fines for riding without due care and attention.

I have a vision of the police officer watching the footage then spotting this.

Poetic.

Dogs Loose on the Highway

Looks like some of them have been run over too.

But don't be too upset.

It's not the canine variety - although there was meat all over the road.

It was Interstate 83 in Pennsylvania.

The BBC have the story together with some (irritating) TikTok footage here.

It happened yesterday when a truckload of hotdogs spilled.

State police said the tractor trailer had an unspecified mechanical problem on Interstate-83 a few miles north of the Maryland line as morning rush hour was wrapping up, causing it to push into a passenger vehicle. When the truck scraped along a concrete divider, its trailer was ripped open and the contents scattered.

For some reason, they made the Fire Department clean it up.  Brad Dauberman, a local fire chief who helped with the clean-up, said: "I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery… I did not know that."

Not sure he quite cuts the mustard.

Manchester - Top of the League.

Many years ago, when computer printers were quite large and you only had one or two in a large area shared by many users, we had one sat outside a manager's office.

That manager didn't like large amounts of paper building up out there.

So he started to keep track of how much it was used and who was using it the most.

He would send out emails with the top users listed on them.

The main outcome of this was that everyone wanted to be top of the table so printed more.

This story reminded me of that.

Here are the Police Force areas with the fastest speeders in 2019:

A fine win for South Yorkshire there.

It will depend on the sort of roads you have in your area though - I don't imagine Dyfed-Powys will be troubling the scorer.  As it is, only 27 of the 45 Police Authorities actually took part in the competition.

And the title is a bit misleading given thatg only the winning score was over 160 mph.

In 2020 we had 3 over that mark and former champions South Yorkshire only just qualifying for the Champions League.

Covid obviously didn't have any impact - I assume there were no passengers in the cars though.

2021 saw an improvement from South Yorkshire missing out on the top spot by just 4 mph.

Then on 2022 they had a disaster but there was a very impressive performance from Kent.

Finally, because the final 2024 results are not in yet, we have 2023:

Manchester at the top - very disappointing for a Merseyside blogger like myself.

It might give Pep a boost though - he needs one at the moment.

The Policeman's Nose

 

Can AI catch drunk drivers?

Auto Express are reporting on a trial by Devon & Cornwall Police this month to try and find out.

It uses "cloud-based algorithms" so it must be good.

The idea is to plonk a policeman at the side of the road then get cameras to look at cars on nearby roads to see if there is any driving that could indicate an impaired person at the wheel.

It seems to be a possible solution to the issue of the loss of thousands of experienced police officers, including traffic officers, during the cuts of the last Government.  That's a lot of noses.

I hope they are combining the cameras properly though - I was following a car on the motorway yesterday that kept veering out of its lane - I have no doubt that the driver was using a phone - and probably sober.

So will it work?

Who nose?

Also Not A1

Unlike Monday's story, this is not about the A1.

Although it does involve cameras.

But not BBC ones.

No, this is about AI - which depending on your font, will look like A1.

This is about the Auto Express story about old enemies Devon and Cornwall (scone debate anyone?) getting together to use AI to view camera footage and catch drivers using mobile phones illegally.

I'm all for this - mainly because I never use a hand-held mobile phone while driving.

Now I just need a motoring story in a day or two about someone called Al.

Drink this in

Is it better to catch criminals or to prevent crime in the first place?

Prevention is allegedly meant to be better than cure.

I suppose you are in danger of putting a lot of prison officers out of work - it may be a while before that is the issue here in the UK though.

The Australians have a bloody good idea along this theme - and it's to do with drink-driving.

Just breathalyse the drivers BEFORE they get in their cars.

Drive.com.au have the story here.

Although the Brummies were doing it 10 years earlier.

Another good thing about this idea is it means that the cops can have a swift half while they are there.

Crashed Out!

We know that I like to hear about stupid criminals - my most recent post covered one.

And I do like a Norfolk story.

So one that combines them both is very welcome.

Now technically the guy in that Ferrari isn't a criminal (The Police said no further action would be taken) - but his driving certainly is.  And it looks a lot like he was speeding when he lost control on the bend.

The BBC have enjoyed putting out several crash videos lately and a later one from today is quite horrific.  It involves a motorcyclist and presumably a two-fingered salute (or middle-fingered salute) which led to him being forced off the road and thrown over a bridge suffering serious injuries.  The guilty party was was jailed for 4 years and 10 months.

They have also shown this story - looks just as horrific although the injuries weren't as bad.  The drunk criminal in that case got away with a suspended sentence which unfortunately doesn't mean that they hanged him.

The next story, from 4 days ago, is very unusual in that the guilty party is a Volvo driver.  He (or she) has driven into a bus lane that has "No Entry" signage at the start and a spiky trap at the end.  It looks quite tame next to the other videos.

Meanwhile, drive.com.au have a story that involved a crash, may or may not involve a criminal and, surprisingly considering where it took place, does not involve a video.

It involves this picture:

Two people were injured - that may be them lying down in the front of the picture.

The story, headlined "Electric BYD with teen inside crashes into Myer from shopping centre display" is here.

Why are they telling us it is electric?  Could it not have happened in a petrol or diesel car?  I think it could as long as the car was an automatic although you may have heard the engine start up.  Anyway, all BYD cars sold in Australia (and here come to that) are electric.

Presumably, someone gave a car key to a 14-year old boy - or just left it in the car.

The whole scenario was inevitable though, as soon as the those two crash-test dummies decided to visit the perfume department.

Cop Out!

Crime prevention is much better than having to catch criminals.

And while it is a tad harsh to describe people committing certain motoring offences as "criminals", it is better to stop them committing the offences in the first place - hence lots of signs around warning drivers about speed cameras.

So I figured that crime prevention was behind the headline in drive.com.au that reads,

Police thwart speed camera revenue by warning motorists

But when you actually read the story, a very different narrative emerges.

It seems that the local state government enjoy the profits from the speed cameras in question and the Police are happy for motorists to speed because they get caught and pay fines.

Although, at the  moment, they are getting motorists to slow down to cut the income from the fines going to a party that they are in dispute with.  The dispute is, as is often the case, about wage levels and since they can't take strike action, this has proven to work in the past so they are giving it another go.

Apparently, another tactic in the battle is "an automated voice when a police station is phoned" - not sure what the automated voice is going to say but given that the state in question is Victoria, I hope it mentions Victorian Values.

Now, as a bit of a Leftie, I tend to be on the side of the disgruntled employee - and as a motorist, I'm happy to be warned about the presence of speed cameras.  Although, as a Volvo driver, I am concerned about the safety element of wanting people to speed.  Although, if you are going to speed, you need to do it in a safe car like a Volvo.  Although BMWs are safe too - as long as you don't write slogans across the rear window.

Although the biggest take from this story is...

THEY ARE DEFINITLEY SPEED CAMERAS NOT SAFETY CAMERAS.

Booty Fool

Another excellent Ezra Dyer piece the other day.

And, like one of his pieces I highlighted back in Feb, it involves Florida Man.

This particular Florida Man has done up his truck to look like a Border Patrol vehicle with a slightly different message on the side.

His says "Booty Patrol".  Amusing enough except the local law enforcement didn't see the funny side and ticketed him.  They got a fair bit of stick for it too - including from Ezra.

I think I may have to disagree for once with the brilliant Ezra here though.

Gabriel Luviano, who according to Scottish Legal News is only 18, was actually charged, not with the wording but instead with having blue lights on the truck - and given that the Police had put out earlier warnings of someone impersonating law enforcement, I wonder if he had been stopping young women in their cars in the hope of seeing whether or not they had nice bottoms or not.

That would make him officially creepy.

And how the hell has he got such a nice truck at the age of 18!

The Police must have been a bit worried of getting a conviction though as Florida Man with a Chevrolet Silverado sporting a backside reference got the last laugh last time.

Falling for it.

That title would work better with American readers.

And it's taken an Australian site to point this story out to me.

It's a crime that only works in the Autumn.

A UK driver taped a leaf over one letter of his number plate in order to fool speed cameras.

Ingenious.

Until you think about it.

That last character must be a letter of the alphabet but can't be an I or a Q.

The remaining characters are visible and the colour, make and model of car will be visible too - I wonder if it was a Nissan Leaf.

So not surprising that he was caught and fined.

So no more Autumnal tomfoolery.

He'll have to wait for Spring now when the blossom is out.

Drink-Driver caught on the M6.

He only got a £100 fine though.

It's one of two short motoring/Police videos today on the BBC News site.

He also got a telling off!

Meanwhile, over in The States, a driver managed to get into the staff room of a New Jersey Police Station.

I can't believe how non-plussed the officers are to find him there - especially since one could have been badly hurt if they were in there at the time.  He was named as John Hargreaves of Belvidere, New Jersey and is facing charges of burglary; criminal mischief; possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes; aggravated assault; harassment; and terrorism. Nice chap.  The phrase "right-wing nutter" comes to mind.

And he's damaged a filing cabinet with his car door.

This couldn't happen in Britain.

Because The Tories closed all of the Police Stations.

Parrot Fashion

The BBC have reported today on a motorist being stopped by Police for driving with a parrot on his shoulder.

I don't suppose it was this chap?

Now, I don't actually see anything to  wrong with what this driver was doing - it's not like it was a cat or a Border Collie up there - but apparently "animals should be in suitable carriers or restraints"

Surely a shoulder is a suitable carrier for a parrot?

It is not reported as to what the parrot said.

Dead Dogging

An interesting story came to me from America via Australia today.

San Francisco and drive.com.au to be precise.

Now San Francisco is famous for The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and homosexuality - I have experienced at least two of these.

And it is also famous for Autonomous Robo-Taxis.  One of which ran over a dog.

Apparently, people get up to naughty things in these taxis.  There are rules that you can't smoke or drink alcohol in them but there isn't anything specific about sex acts.

Since one of the main robo-taxi companies is called "Cruise" I think they should have been specific.

Especially as they have cameras inside to make sure people aren't smoking or drinking alcohol.

Now, in Cornwall, rather than using AI to drive the cars, they are using it to spy on persons within the cars.

The BBC News story is here.  It'll be a good thing if it gets some dangerous driving habits discouraged.

So, at some point in the probably not too distant future, you could have AI watching people dogging while being driven about by AI and maybe running over an escaped canine - and no other humans would be any the wiser.

Would that negate the enjoyment for those doing the dogging?

Or just negate the dog?

Last Chance Saloon

If your Audi starts with a Q or your Volvo starts with an X then I'm not interested in it.

Today's Hagerty story has been on the cards for a while now - I reported precursors in March 2021 and again that September.

Volvo have stopped selling saloons and estates in the UK.

Maybe that will make my S60 a bit more valuable because if you want a new one now you will have to either...

a) Find a country they are still selling them to - or

b) Join the Police.

They will still sell them to law-enforcement officers - presumably because everyone knows that proper cars handle a damn sight better than bloody SUVs.

When mine was in for its first MOT, there was a Cheshire Police one in there:

Jolly nice.  I wonder if the mechanics get to test drive them.

I've just checked out the Volvo website and nobody's told them about not selling saloons and estates.

Yet - this could be your last chance to get one.

Get Me to the Church On Time

Bet this guy's Wedding Day was memorable.

He got himself arrested driving his M4 on The M4.

At 121mph.

With a dodgy tyre.

Here's the BBC News story which includes Wiltshire Police's Tweet on the subject.

And here is the car in Police custody:

What the story doesn't answer though...

...is was he driving towards, or away from, the church?

Spinning Wheels

 Talking of motoring misdemeanours, the BBC have reported two more this week:

They state that CCTV footage was used as "evidence confirming the lack of control by the driver."

Actually, I think it confirms total control by the driver.  I agree he shouldn't have done it and it is correct that he was fined.  But wow.

Meanwhile, this "unsafe lane change" was very accurately described:

George Michael Impersonator

Two different BBC car stories caught my eye today.

Ford have launched a car that can be driven hands-free on British motorways.

WHY!?

OK, so I suppose you  have to start somewhere - but not with this.

Apparently, you have to keep your eyes on the road ahead and "the driver is not permitted to use their mobile, fall asleep or conduct any activity that takes attention away from the road."

So what is the point?

Plus, this is a Ford Mustang Mach e that has a maximum speed of 80mph.

DON'T CALL SOMETHING THAT CAN ONLY DO 80MPH A MUSTANG!

I hate the way Ford are reusing classic car names on horrible SUVs - I'm looking at you, Ford Puma.

I don't normally like the comments under BBC stories - the ones I usually read tend to be full of angry Gammons still trying to defend Brexit.  But this one is lots of angry Gammons and angry non-gammons coming up with more and more reasons why this won't work in Britain.  Smart Motorways being a good one - this car is supposed to safely grind to a halt if the driver loses interest in the road ahead - you will have cars stopping all over the place on warm, Summer afternoons.

And will Police have to check whether or not it is the right age of Mustang when they see a driver doing jazz-hands while travelling at 70mph down the M6? And that his hands-free subscription is up to date?

Yes, you need to subscribe to this hands-free driving lark as well!

So why have I called this post, "George Michael Impersonator?"

Ah, well that's because of my second BBC story which combines my love of cars with my love of Swansea City Football Club.  Danny Graham made 54 appearances for us. This includes when we were in the Premier League, so I don't know why we are only a sub-note in the story of him crashing an expensive Jaguar-Land-Rover vehicle into a Co-op in County Durham:

Whilst over the limit.

I wonder if his hands were on the wheel at the time?

Pole-axed

Here is a Pole with a pole who got stopped by Polish Police:

The story is here. And here is a close-up:

It is apparently a Fiat Cinquecento - one with a knackered rear axle.  At least he's helpfully tied a hi-vis jacket to it so that you can't miss it.  Should have tried it with a Polestar.

Those wacky Poles eh?

You wouldn't catch anyone in Britain being that daft.

Would you?

He should have spread the carpet out - that would have hidden the boring SUV.

Two Horse-Power Police Chase

I don't think Police Horses have blue flashing lights and there isn't much to go on with the footage from this Police chase in Bristol so I wonder a) How did they actually stop him? and b) What would you do if you saw a couple of horses approaching you in your rear-view mirror?

Meanwhile, in Manchester (admittedly 2 years ago) we have this Police Horse who has taken a shining to a traffic cone.

The story (and video) is here.

Meanwhile, in The San Joaquin Valley (California) there is an Ezra Dyer story (with a video) that has absolutely nothing to do with Police or horses.

But it allows me to use the line...

DROVE MY CHEVY INTO THE LEVEE.