Tickets, Credits and Consequences Traffic Cops


Tickets, Credits and Consequences

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Every year, more than 25,000 people are killed or seriously

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-injured on Britain's roads.

-It's just heartbreaking.

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-In order to reduce road casualties...

-See your tyres here?

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Hello, how are you?

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..the traffic cops in Bedfordshire are cracking down

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and giving tickets out for any traffic offence.

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You're wasting everybody's time, and your own.

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No matter how minor they may seem.

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If there is a collision, the dark windows could be

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a result of the fact he can't see who is coming either side.

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A lot of people that we stop, their only dealing with the police is

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when we stop them for the seatbelt, for the mobile phone.

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To them, it is quite minor, but they don't see the catastrophic

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incidents that we go to and what we have to deal with.

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Along the way up here, she was on the phone.

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In an effort to catch more motorists violating road traffic laws

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and make roads safer,

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the police in Bedfordshire have introduced an incentive scheme,

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where officers receive credit for the tickets they hand out.

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-And how much is this?

-£60.

-£60? And how much is that?

-£60.

-£120!

-Yeah.

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It effectively works on when you give out a ticket,

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for example, a fixed penalty endorsible ticket, which

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carries three points, and a £60 fine, that will give you five credits.

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Is this your vehicle?

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'If you arrest a disqual driver or somebody that's drink-driving,

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'that's 20 credits, because it's an arrest.'

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But you will generally find that we don't go out there and think,

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right, today we are going to give out ten speeding tickets,

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just to get those amount of credits.

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They naturally fall into place within your working day, anyway.

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The idea is to get people to understand the message that

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breaking the law can cost lives. But it's not only about road safety.

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With a monthly target of 300 credits to hit,

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the clampdown is also about keeping officers on their toes.

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To some extent, our discretion has been taken away.

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We can't just let people off with a verbal warning any more.

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This morning, PC Andy Scales is on patrol with

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PC Chris Norton in Dunstable town centre.

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Being able to spot possible offences in a flash is what being

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a good traffic cop is all about.

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A motorist waiting at the lights ahead has caught Chris's attention.

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That BMW, he's on the phone.

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The M3 at the front, he's got a black number plate, as well.

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Hang on to your hats.

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The black number plate Chris has spotted isn't regulation

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and it is one of their specific targets, worth a few credits.

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Oh, yeah.

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But it looks like Chris was wrong about the mobile phone.

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He's still on it. Oh, no, he's not, he's rubbing his ear.

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And that's not an offence.

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Under pressure to issue tickets for every offence, Chris and Andy

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are going to have a word with the driver about his illegal plate.

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'I could see the number plate quite clearly

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'and that's when I ran it through on the BlackBerry.'

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A quick check on Chris's hand-held through to the police computer

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shows the man shares his name with a mythological hero.

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Hercules. Kick him in the heel!

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HE LAUGHS

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Not Achilles?

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-Doesn't matter.

-THEY LAUGH

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Come on, get your gods right!

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-Yeah, OK, Achilles wasn't a god, though.

-He was.

-No, he wasn't.

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-He was the son of Zeus.

-He wasn't a god, he was mortal.

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We're not laughing and joking at other people's expense,

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this guy had a reasonably unusual surname and it just led us

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naturally on to discussing Greek mythology.

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-He can lift up the world, though, can't he?

-That was Atlas.

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Good man! Here's a thinker.

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-Jolly good.

-Hello, how are you?

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Thanks for stopping.

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Do you mind just joining me at the side of the road,

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so I'm not leaning into your car, talking to you like this?

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-Is it your car, sir?

-You know that, don't you, already?

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I've never met you before, so how would I guess that?

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-You ran a check on me already.

-I did a check on your car, not you.

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20,000 fixed penalty notice tickets are given out for traffic

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offences in Bedfordshire each year.

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More than a few recipients don't like the way they think

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they are being targeted.

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He had something to get off his chest

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and I was the person he was going to sound off at.

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-Why did you stop me?

-I'll show you. Here.

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You've got a black number plate on your car, front and back.

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-Didn't I see you pass me, going the opposite way?

-Yeah.

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So, how could you see I've got a black number plate on my car...

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Because you're at the front of the queue.

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But there was a queue, so you couldn't have seen through

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-the thing that I had...

-Front and back.

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-We saw the one on the front...

-Go and check the one on the front.

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-Because you are lying.

-If I'm mistaken...

-Go and check.

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There's no point being rude.

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You told me that you were going to be civil and honest.

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-So, be civil and honest.

-My mistake.

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So, you can't even tell me the truth about why you stopped me.

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-Because I saw where you guys came from.

-OK.

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And there is no way you saw the back of my plates.

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So I ask you again, why did you stop me?

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Why did you spin your car around and come and follow me? Why?

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Because I saw you had a black number plate.

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You could not have seen I had a black number plate.

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-I saw a black number plate on your car.

-Oh, you are so telling lies!

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-I'm not telling lies.

-You absolutely are telling lies.

-I'm not telling lies.

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As I say, you know what, I've got bigger fish to fry,

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so do what you've got to do, send me on my way. Thank you very much.

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Have you got the original plate

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-for the back of the car?

-It's in the boot.

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With all the things that are going on in the world,

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you can't find yourself something to do?

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Really and truly? You've seen me sitting there

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and you think you've seen a black plate on the back of my car?

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When you were coming from the opposite direction?

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There's not enough going on in the world for you not to find something to do?

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Stevie Wonder couldn't have seen a black plate on the front, do you understand me?

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Why did you turn your car around and come for me?

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Because I saw a black number plate on the vehicle.

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I thought there was one on the front, but there is one on the back.

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If you're not listening to me, don't ask questions, then.

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Your job is to go and do something constructive.

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My job is to enforce the law, road traffic law.

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And when you think about the things in the world that are going on,

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that you could be enforcing, you are wasting everybody's time,

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and your own.

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Right now, as you speak, some shit is going down of some consequence.

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You could not see the back of my car.

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-And you know it.

-How do you know what my eyes can see?

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How do you know what my eyes can see?

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Because your eyes are not any different than anybody else's.

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And as far as I'm concerned, human beings can't see around corners.

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No, but I can turn my head.

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'He got it wrong, in that he thought we were coming towards him.

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'We were at a 90-degree angle

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'and I thought I saw a black number plate on the front.

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'And as I turned round, I also saw the black number plate on the back.'

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And he's got a black number plate, as well.

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You would be more honest if you said to me,

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"I saw you in that car and I fancied...

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"What is that geezer doing in that car, does it belong to him, maybe? Let me go and check him out."

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You would be more honest if you said that.

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The rules from the DVLA are that you've got to have a white

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number plate to the front, yellow number plate to the back.

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Because you're wearing that sign

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and that makes you think you can do whatever you want.

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-That's what it is, isn't it?

-No.

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I think typically, loads of people that wear that sign are small men.

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Oh, I was expecting him to say that, I've been bullied at school.

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Because that's the common one.

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OK, yeah, well, I'm only five foot eight.

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You suffer with loads of issues and that's why you put that thing on.

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-That's exactly why.

-That's your opinion, thanks for it.

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I haven't got a problem with you as police, I think

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-you do a good service...

-Thank you.

-..most of the time.

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Just not when I'm stopping you?

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No, when you've stopped me for nothing!

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You've stopped me because you saw me in the car. Did my face not fit?

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Is that what you're saying? Can you not be that honest?

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-I wouldn't even con...

-It's not the first time it's happened to me.

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-Do you understand me?

-I think you've got issues about that,

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because it's not anything to do with that, for me.

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What, is the next thing you'll be telling me

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-that I've got a chip on my shoulder?

-No.

-I was born and raised here.

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Listen to what he's got to say.

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You can go on your way, sir, there's your licence.

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There's a £60 fine for failure to display the correct index plate.

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Is there anything you wish to say, finally?

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You don't have to, but it may harm your defence

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if you fail to mention now something you later rely on in court.

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Anything you say may be given in evidence.

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-Am I going to court for a £60 fine?

-If you choose to.

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If you fail to pay it within 28 days, it goes up to £90.

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Clamping down on motorists harder than ever is never going to be popular.

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He's got the correct one in the boot.

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This is the Marsh Farm estate in Luton.

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It's been perceived as a notorious trouble spot ever since

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riots took place here in the mid-1990s.

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Despite efforts to improve social conditions,

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the police often find themselves drawn here.

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Marsh Farm has historically had its problems.

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So it is a known area by a lot of the officers in Luton.

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That's not to say everyone in Marsh Farm causes us problems.

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We will go round there, because we do pick up a fair amount of

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vehicles without tax, insurance and drivers without driving licences.

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Sam and Shona have to get their monthly quota of credits, as well.

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That's worth a stop. That Mondeo.

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Not that they ever find it difficult to reach their target.

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The car and its occupants they have spotted this time

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ARE under suspicion because of the way they look.

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-Don't know what way they're going to go.

-There it is. The grey one.

-Yep.

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We had two males sitting in the front of the vehicle

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and something just didn't look right about either of them.

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And it seems the cops were right to be suspicious.

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They are making a run for it.

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It's the light blue Mondeo, it's gone for the overtake.

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The driver clearly clocked that we wanted to speak to him,

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so he turned into the car park area...

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We're going to have to decamp, Sam.

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-..and decided to go for a run in the sun.

-I'm getting out here.

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The passenger is nowhere to be seen, but if they are quick enough,

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there is still a chance of catching the driver.

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All I could see was the back of him, when we were running.

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This is a handicap race and the odds are not in Shona's favour.

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With my body armour on, it's like an extra stone in weight.

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And when you are running, your body armour bounces

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up and down and you can't get a really good run on,

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because you are constantly fighting the weight of the body armour.

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-Male, light blue jeans, yellow T-shirt.

-Shona?

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-Need a unit on the pub road. Sam, go back to the car!

-Sam's race is run.

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Any evidence of any offences that had been committed

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was going to be in that car, which was insecure and unattended.

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-We'll go back to the car. RADIO:

-'Proceed. Thank you.'

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'The driver knew the area.

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'The pathway goes, literally, straight back into Marsh Farm.'

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-RADIO:

-'He is running back into Marsh Farm somewhere.

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'He is going to be in the trees.'

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Luckily for Sam and Shona, help is close at hand.

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SIRENS BLARE

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Main description that has come out is light yellow T-shirt,

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blue jeans, trainers, with dark hair.

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It's quite handy we've got so much traffic here. Just, unfortunately,

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he has made off and left us.

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A search of the car shows the occupants were in such a hurry

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they have left behind the keys.

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Sam has found a mobile phone too.

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When I'd found the phone, I will obviously have a look to see

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if it's been used or has been used recently.

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-RADIO:

-'Just one hit on the mobile phone,

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'that is on 22 April this year

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'and that was for the vehicle.'

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Someone using this mobile phone has previously used it to call

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the police to report that the same car had been stolen.

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-PHONE RINGS

-Now it is ringing.

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Hello?

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Hello?

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Hello?

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Hello. Who are you after?

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You're after Abe?

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Abe is not here at the moment. Who is that?

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Who is that? Who is ringing Abe's number,

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because I have picked up his phone?

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Steve. All right, then. Steve, where is Abe likely to be going?

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Is he coming to see you?

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I thought it was perhaps a person that had run off from the car and he

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had realised he had left his phone in the car, to see who would pick up

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the phone, if anybody, and what was going to happen.

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Oh, right. Is Abe meant to be coming to you? Right. OK. Cool.

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OK. Not to worry. I will give you a call back once we find him.

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Cheers for your help, Steve. Bye.

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-Shona has returned empty-handed.

-Abe's friend Steve just phoned up.

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"Abe? Abe?" "No, it is not Abe."

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-I am his girlfriend.

-I went, "Who is that then?"

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He went, "Steve. I am in Barton. Where is he?" He went, "Who is that?"

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I went, "Abe, where is he?" "It's the police, innit?"

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MIMICS DIAL TONE

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-So it is from Barton then?

-Yeah, Abe.

-That is not who is on the...

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-Abraham

-BLEEP.

-But that is who they said they Camphored it with.

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A "Camphor" is a vehicle seizure under section 165 of the

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Road Traffic Act, meaning the driver was disqualified or uninsured.

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A disqualified driver most probably.

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'The vehicle had been seized under Operation Camphor

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'a couple of weeks prior,'

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and the driver at the time happened to be a male by the name of Abe.

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The question now is, is the man who phoned up really Abe,

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and is there really someone else involved called Steve?

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Because at the end of the day the person ringing could be

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a completely innocent member of the public,

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an innocent friend of somebody

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who has got his car for the wrong reasons.

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That is one less uninsured vehicle on the road then, isn't it?

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The car is going to be recovered, but the owner will be able to

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get it back as long as he can prove he has valid insurance.

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And we had a nice day out in the sunshine. A nice little jog. Some...

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-woodland walking.

-I've got clean trousers on, as well.

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You still have clean trousers on. I haven't.

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-I haven't got Abe, I have his phone.

-Steve has called again.

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He says the car is his, he is legal to drive and he wants it back.

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You are in that car park there.

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There is a unit that will sit here until you arrive.

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Good running skills, huh? Good running skills.

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Shame we didn't go on from there.

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-RADIO:

-'Be there in a couple of minutes.'

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You're a star. Cheers, mate.

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Sam has arranged for them

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to meet Steve at the nearby Marsh Farm tower blocks.

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-He just had too much ground on us.

-Yeah.

-But I am happy to run.

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So yeah, let's go for it.

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I didn't know if you wanted to get in the car and go the other way.

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Next door to Marsh Farm is another development that was

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built on what was once farm land around Luton -

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the Lewsey Farm estate.

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Traffic cops on the estate have pulled over a driver who was

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not wearing his seatbelt and are going to ticket him.

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-Have you got your driving licence with you?

-No.

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-Have you got any form of identification with you?

-No.

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-Nothing at all?

-No, I was just going somewhere.

-Was it your car?

-Yes.

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So you have nothing in your car that will say who you are?

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No, I don't keep nothing in the car.

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Giving people tickets is not always straightforward.

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Many do not care for the cop's clampdown.

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People see what you are doing is actually for the better

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and to try and improve people's own safety

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and at the end of the day, it could actually increase their life

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expectancy, should they be wearing a seatbelt.

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Other people just think you are doing it to generate revenue for

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the Government, or for yourselves,

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and they just don't like the police, full stop.

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-Yes, but I just came out of that road.

-I know.

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And I stopped before you stopped me to get my stereo.

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I took the seat belt off before you saw me.

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-You came out of that road, didn't you?

-Yes.

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I just pulled the seatbelt off so I could reach over.

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I couldn't so I stopped here, I was going to put the seatbelt on

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and get my stereo out.

0:16:220:16:23

So I wasn't driving, you never saw me driving, you weren't behind me

0:16:230:16:27

-or anything, were you?

-OK. Let me explain to you what I have seen.

0:16:270:16:30

You are travelling in a vehicle that's come across my path

0:16:300:16:33

and you did not have your seatbelt on.

0:16:330:16:34

After speeding, more tickets are given out in Bedfordshire

0:16:340:16:37

for people not wearing their seat belt

0:16:370:16:39

then any other ticketable offence.

0:16:390:16:41

The reason why we are stopping people for failing to wear

0:16:410:16:44

a seatbelt is not just to point things out to you, it is to make you

0:16:440:16:47

aware of the hazards involved by not wearing your seatbelt.

0:16:470:16:51

We obviously deal with RTCs, road traffic collisions, where people

0:16:510:16:54

are seriously injured as a result of not wearing their seatbelt.

0:16:540:16:56

People when get issued with a seatbelt ticket they think, "Why are the police stopping me?"

0:16:560:17:00

But when you have actually been to an accident yourself and you've seen

0:17:000:17:03

someone thrown from a vehicle and then crushed by their own vehicle

0:17:030:17:06

through not wearing their seat belt, you can see the reasons as to why.

0:17:060:17:10

I am going to contest it anyway.

0:17:100:17:12

Because you haven't got any form of identification with you,

0:17:120:17:15

I need to take a fingerprint from you, OK?

0:17:150:17:17

Which will be your right index finger.

0:17:170:17:18

It goes with the ticket and once the matter is dealt with,

0:17:180:17:21

whether at court or by you paying the fine then...

0:17:210:17:23

I am not giving you a fingerprint.

0:17:230:17:26

I have given you all my details,

0:17:260:17:27

-I am not going to give you a fingerprint.

-Let me finish, OK?

0:17:270:17:30

We can either take the fingerprint by your consent,

0:17:300:17:32

or we take a photograph, so it is up to you which one you want to provide.

0:17:320:17:36

The police are going to get proof of who the man is,

0:17:360:17:38

whether he likes it or not.

0:17:380:17:40

Powers introduced in 2006, mean they can take prints

0:17:400:17:44

or a mug shot and do it by force if necessary.

0:17:440:17:48

Sam and Shona have got an illegal car off the road,

0:17:530:17:56

but what they really want is someone to arrest

0:17:560:17:59

and they are hoping Steve is going to help them.

0:17:590:18:01

He knows something because he would not be phoning all the time.

0:18:030:18:05

Is that him?

0:18:050:18:07

Was he the one in the passenger seat?

0:18:090:18:11

No. Definitely not.

0:18:110:18:14

-Hello, my man.

-Sam is pretty sure he is not the man who ran off either.

0:18:140:18:19

'There was not much time for him to recompose himself

0:18:190:18:22

'and not be out of breath and not be hot and sweaty.'

0:18:220:18:26

He was very cool, calm, he didn't give me

0:18:260:18:29

an indication that he had been running.

0:18:290:18:32

I left my bloody keys in the car.

0:18:320:18:33

I left it parked off the road. As you can see, it has

0:18:330:18:36

no tax or anything on it at the moment, so I left it down here.

0:18:360:18:39

How long have you owned the car?

0:18:390:18:41

Er...couple of months.

0:18:410:18:43

I haven't sent the log book off for it, I've forgotten it.

0:18:430:18:46

If you were to leave your car with keys in the ignition in Marsh Farm,

0:18:460:18:49

I can guarantee you within several minutes that

0:18:490:18:53

car is going to be gone and it will be stolen,

0:18:530:18:55

so that did not ring true.

0:18:550:18:58

-How do you know it's Abe's?

-Abe?

0:18:580:19:00

-I used to work with him years ago.

-OK.

0:19:000:19:02

-So what are you doing ringing him then?

-Just to see what he was up to.

0:19:020:19:06

-Have you seen him this morning?

-No.

-Describe him to me.

0:19:080:19:12

-About yey tall, small, short dark hair.

-Yeah.

-Quite thin.

0:19:120:19:20

See, we have just had that car make off from us

0:19:200:19:25

and whoever was driving it run off from us.

0:19:250:19:27

-OK.

-So we have now seized that car.

0:19:270:19:30

The fact that he had rung his mate ten minutes after the driver had

0:19:300:19:36

run off and decamped from the vehicle made me

0:19:360:19:39

think that he knew who the driver was.

0:19:390:19:41

-Where do you live, sir?

-Me?

0:19:410:19:44

-I live in Luton.

-Whereabouts?

-I'm in-between houses at the minute.

0:19:440:19:48

-I am waiting for a flat to be done up.

-I am not happy with this chap.

0:19:480:19:52

Can you take a seat in our car? Just going to take some details.

0:19:520:19:55

Looking back now, he possibly could have been in the car,

0:19:550:19:57

however, at the time, I didn't believe he was in the car.

0:19:570:20:01

Where were you when you phoned us?

0:20:010:20:03

-Just round the corner at a mate's house.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

0:20:030:20:07

-Something is not quite right, is it, Steve?

-No, definitely not.

0:20:070:20:10

How about, what I think has happened, is you know that Abe has gone out

0:20:100:20:13

in that car and you know that Abe has not got a driver's licence?

0:20:130:20:16

I didn't know he went out in the car.

0:20:160:20:18

It seems bizarre that you don't know much about Abe but you are staying at Abe's dad's house.

0:20:180:20:22

I am not staying there, I have just been there. Can I go now, please?

0:20:220:20:25

-No.

-Not at the minute, no.

-Am I being arrested then?

0:20:250:20:27

No, you are being detained at the minute till I can make some further enquiries.

0:20:270:20:30

I tell you what it is, whether I don't know a lot or not,

0:20:300:20:32

I can't really help you.

0:20:320:20:33

I would help you if I could, that's why I have come out now.

0:20:330:20:36

I think you've come out now because you have a guilty

0:20:360:20:38

conscience and you would rather come to us or we come to you.

0:20:380:20:42

How do you know that he was driving the car or anything then?

0:20:420:20:45

Did you see him run off or something?

0:20:450:20:48

-We have our ways and means.

-Do you?

-STEVE LAUGHS

0:20:480:20:50

He was very woolly about where he was living

0:20:500:20:53

and then said that he had, literally, just come from Abe's house.

0:20:530:20:56

To try to add a bit of substance to his story

0:20:560:20:59

and because it is just around the corner,

0:20:590:21:02

Steve is inviting Sam and Shona to what he says is Abe's dad's place.

0:21:020:21:06

We found that the house was unlocked

0:21:060:21:08

and we believed that Abe was possibly in the property.

0:21:080:21:12

Hello? Police. Is anyone in here?

0:21:120:21:14

That's a nice little boy. Who does he belong to?

0:21:140:21:17

-No idea.

-So should we be arresting you for burglary then?

0:21:170:21:20

Because you don't seem to know anything about this house.

0:21:200:21:22

Obviously I know who the owner is,

0:21:220:21:24

I know the son and I have just popped round to see if he was here.

0:21:240:21:27

-How did you get in?

-Through the back door.

-With what?

-The door was open.

0:21:270:21:31

-Would that be Abe?

-No, that ain't him. That ain't a photo of him.

0:21:310:21:35

-Who is that then?

-I don't know.

0:21:350:21:38

I'm not sure but I tell you now, that is not Abe.

0:21:380:21:42

-But Abe's dad lives here?

-Yeah.

-So it wouldn't be unsurprising to

0:21:420:21:45

-find a picture of Abe lying around here somewhere.

-Course not.

0:21:450:21:48

There is still no sign of Abe at all

0:21:480:21:50

and still nothing to arrest Steve for at all.

0:21:500:21:53

'There was nothing in the house of Abe,

0:21:530:21:57

'which we found quite astonishing. We were thinking,'

0:21:570:22:01

"Are you Abe? Are you not?"

0:22:010:22:03

It was one of those. Still, right at the end,

0:22:030:22:05

we just couldn't really put our finger on it.

0:22:050:22:08

Steve, next time you speak to Abe, the worst that is going to happen

0:22:080:22:11

if it was him that has your car, we would've seized it anyway

0:22:110:22:14

for having no insurance and no driving licence.

0:22:140:22:16

Running off, he's just made a bit of the fool of himself,

0:22:160:22:18

made it bigger than it needed to, annoyed you

0:22:180:22:21

and got people involved that don't need to be.

0:22:210:22:23

If he needs the car, if he wants to be man enough to come up and stand up

0:22:230:22:26

to it and deal with it, like I say,

0:22:260:22:27

it can be dealt with very quickly and safely.

0:22:270:22:29

We are on duty until seven.

0:22:290:22:31

My collar number is 850 and my colleague's number is 928.

0:22:310:22:34

If he wants to go into Luton police station and be man enough to

0:22:340:22:37

-deal with it, pop in there and deal with it really quickly.

-No problem.

0:22:370:22:40

Back on the Lewsey Farm Estate, the man with no ID still doesn't

0:22:420:22:46

want his photograph of fingerprints taken.

0:22:460:22:50

For the cops, it is a necessity so if the matter ever goes to court,

0:22:500:22:53

there is no doubt about who the ticket was given to.

0:22:530:22:57

Basically, it's to reduce the number of people that are not paying

0:22:570:22:59

the tickets they are issued with.

0:22:590:23:01

Why are you lot doing this? Why are you wasting my time?

0:23:010:23:03

-We are not wasting your time.

-You are wasting my time.

-No, we're not. OK?

0:23:030:23:07

-They are the options.

-I have never done this before in a police car.

0:23:070:23:10

-"Give me your

-BLEEP

-fingerprint or give me your

-BLEEP

-photo."

0:23:100:23:13

Listen to me. I am not swearing at you so I would like you to show...

0:23:130:23:16

-I am not swearing at you.

-Yes, you are.

0:23:160:23:17

Now, I would like you to show me the same courtesy, OK?

0:23:170:23:20

Just let me out, man.

0:23:200:23:22

-I am going to ask you, can we take a photograph from you?

-No, you can't.

0:23:220:23:26

Well, we have the power to do it by force,

0:23:260:23:28

or we can take a fingerprint from you.

0:23:280:23:30

You ain't forcing me, I tell you, just let me out, man.

0:23:300:23:33

You've got everything you need.

0:23:330:23:35

James isn't letting the man out,

0:23:350:23:37

he's getting his camera out from the back of the car.

0:23:370:23:41

But before he does, the driver is going to have a quick fag break.

0:23:410:23:44

-Don't light that in the back of here.

-Let me out, then.

-James.

0:23:440:23:48

I'm not going to go nowhere, am I?

0:23:480:23:50

-Please.

-He's lit up in the back of the car.

-You what?

0:23:500:23:53

He's lit up a cigarette in the back of the car.

0:23:530:23:56

Just let me out, man. I'm not going nowhere, am I?

0:23:560:23:59

-Pass me the cigarette.

-I'm going to stand outside.

0:23:590:24:01

-No, pass me the cigarette.

-Listen, I'll give you ID, all right?

0:24:010:24:04

I've got ID, you're not taking no photos of me, all right?

0:24:040:24:07

That's criminal damage to the police car, mate.

0:24:070:24:09

Let me out, I'm standing here.

0:24:090:24:10

I'm not going go leave my car now and run off, am I? Flippin 'eck.

0:24:100:24:13

-Just please.

-It's criminal damage to the police car.

-I'm asking you.

0:24:130:24:17

-No, I'm telling you to put it out.

-Don't take my photo.

-Why not?

0:24:170:24:19

Cos I just said to you I'm going to give you my ID.

0:24:190:24:22

-OK, like I said to you...

-Did I not just say I'll give you my ID?

0:24:220:24:24

Where is it, then? Put the cigarette out, then.

0:24:240:24:26

-Let me out.

-Put the cigarette out.

0:24:260:24:28

-All right, I'll let it out. I'll do it.

-Put it out the window, then.

0:24:310:24:34

There isn't an ashtray, that's why I'm telling you to put it out.

0:24:340:24:37

You put it out and give it back to me, then.

0:24:370:24:40

Right.

0:24:400:24:42

-Did you just throw my cigarette away?

-It's on the floor, yeah?

-Why?

0:24:420:24:45

Why are you acting like an idiot?

0:24:450:24:47

Why are you not giving me any ID when you've got it in your pocket, then?

0:24:470:24:50

Well, I don't have to.

0:24:500:24:51

I've never had to do it. Why do I have to give it to you?

0:24:510:24:53

-It's an offence to fail...

-Do you know what,

0:24:530:24:55

I'm going to remember everything you've done here and said.

0:24:550:24:58

-OK.

-Everything.

-Can we just have your driver's licence?

-Yeah.

0:24:580:25:01

-I'm going to give you my f... driver's licence.

-Thank you.

0:25:010:25:03

But I'm going to remember everything you two done and said here.

0:25:030:25:06

-OK, it's fine.

-Here you are.

-Thank you.

0:25:060:25:08

'I knew he was anti-police from the start,'

0:25:100:25:12

but just the sheer audacity of the bloke

0:25:120:25:14

to light a cigarette in the back of the car

0:25:140:25:17

I found quite astounding, really.

0:25:170:25:19

That wasn't so difficult, was it?

0:25:190:25:21

No, you're just making things...

0:25:210:25:23

You're dying to take me to the police station

0:25:230:25:25

so you can go and sit and have your cup of tea. Do you know what I mean?

0:25:250:25:28

This is what happens - every time. You know what I mean?

0:25:280:25:32

Anyone asks you for anything, yeah? You lot have to be difficult.

0:25:320:25:35

This is what you lot are, you've always been like this.

0:25:350:25:39

The next generation comes along, it's the same.

0:25:390:25:41

You know. It's you lot, it's not us.

0:25:410:25:43

"We're in uniform, we never do anything wrong,"

0:25:430:25:45

you know what I mean?

0:25:450:25:47

I've asked you for your driving licence, you've then said you haven't got it.

0:25:470:25:50

-Yeah, but I didn't need to cos I'm going to give you all my details anyway!

-OK.

0:25:500:25:53

So, why isn't that good enough? Why isn't that good enough?

0:25:530:25:56

When the police officer asks for a driving licence, OK,

0:25:560:26:00

it is an offence not to produce it.

0:26:000:26:02

Do you understand that?

0:26:020:26:04

-No, I don't understand it.

-No. OK.

-Let me out.

0:26:040:26:07

The man's going to have to pay a £60 fine,

0:26:070:26:10

not wearing a seat belt isn't an endorsable offence for the moment.

0:26:100:26:15

-There's your cigarette then.

-You can keep it.

0:26:150:26:18

-Do you want it, or not?

-... off.

0:26:180:26:20

The smoker's decided it's time to quit.

0:26:200:26:22

Just get in the car and drive off.

0:26:220:26:24

There's a line that every police officer has

0:26:240:26:26

where they expect to be treated courteously in return

0:26:260:26:30

by the person that they're dealing with.

0:26:300:26:32

Myself or Ian hadn't sworn at him,

0:26:320:26:34

so there's no reason for him to start swearing at us.

0:26:340:26:37

Government statistics show that using seat belts saves lives.

0:26:420:26:46

Without them, it's estimated that around 300 more people

0:26:460:26:50

would die on Britain's roads every year,

0:26:500:26:52

yet 5% of all drivers still don't brother.

0:26:520:26:56

That Saab went through a red light.

0:26:560:26:59

Sam and Shona are spreading the word

0:26:590:27:01

to those who aren't heeding the message,

0:27:010:27:03

like the driver coming towards them who's easier to pick out than most.

0:27:030:27:06

'As he came past I could clearly see'

0:27:060:27:09

he wasn't wearing his seat belt, because he's got such a white top on.

0:27:090:27:12

Nice white shirt gave it away.

0:27:120:27:14

'He did put his seat belt on

0:27:160:27:18

'when he realised he was going to get stopped.'

0:27:180:27:20

Lots of people do try it,

0:27:200:27:22

but I've got a longer memory than a goldfish

0:27:220:27:24

and I can remember that they weren't wearing their seat belt.

0:27:240:27:26

That's it. Block the road. Great place to stop(!)

0:27:280:27:32

-Well done, that man.

-He's all yours, mate.

0:27:320:27:34

It's Sam's turn to pick up the five credits on offer for this one.

0:27:340:27:37

-Any idea why I stopped you, fella?

-No, no idea.

-No?

0:27:370:27:40

You weren't wearing your seat belt when you came past us

0:27:400:27:42

-on Cardiff Road. Is the vehicle all registered to you?

-Yes, it's my car.

0:27:420:27:46

-Cool, cool. Any ID?

-ID. No.

-You know what I was trying to say.

0:27:460:27:49

-Have you got any with you?

-No, I haven't.

0:27:490:27:51

What's your name, my friend?

0:27:510:27:53

-Andrew Clark.

-Andrew?

-Andrew Clark.

-Andrew.

0:27:530:27:55

Going to deal with this by way of a fixed penalty notice.

0:27:550:27:57

-It's no points on your licence and a £60 fine.

-What for? Seat belt.

0:27:570:28:00

You don't have to say anything but it may harm your defence

0:28:000:28:02

if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court.

0:28:020:28:06

Anything you do say may be given in evidence, do you understand?

0:28:060:28:09

-What, are you arresting me for not...

-No, no, no!

0:28:090:28:12

You were when you stopped it. You were when we stopped you.

0:28:120:28:14

You can go to court with it, it's not problem at all.

0:28:140:28:17

No, you can wipe your ticket up, I'm not taking it.

0:28:170:28:19

He needs three points and a £60 fine as well.

0:28:190:28:21

You'll end up getting yourself arrested for a seat belt.

0:28:210:28:23

Why am I going to get myself arrested?

0:28:230:28:25

-Cos you're writing out a ticket and I'm refusing to take it?

-Yeah.

0:28:250:28:28

There's more bad news for Andrew.

0:28:280:28:29

While Sam was speaking to him,

0:28:290:28:31

I went round and had a look at the vehicle

0:28:310:28:33

and noted two of his tyres had quite a few cuts in the tyre wall,

0:28:330:28:36

which is extremely dangerous.

0:28:360:28:38

What colour's your T-shirt?

0:28:380:28:40

-Why you being like that?

-I'm not.

-You know what colour my T-shirt is.

0:28:400:28:43

OK, your T-shirt's white and what colour's a seat belt?

0:28:430:28:47

-I don't know, you tell me.

-Your seatbelt's black.

0:28:470:28:50

So what do you think I'm going to see across your T-shirt

0:28:500:28:53

-as you're driving past me?

-I don't know, maybe...

0:28:530:28:55

Maybe the seat belt across your T-shirt, which I didn't see.

0:28:550:28:59

He quite liked Sam, and I think it helped,

0:28:590:29:02

the fact we were females, and we calmed the situation down.

0:29:020:29:06

Sam knows exactly how to keep people sweet

0:29:060:29:08

by using some well-known customer care tips.

0:29:080:29:11

Like always be polite,

0:29:110:29:13

and take the time to deal with the customer's problems.

0:29:130:29:16

-OK, that's fine.

-Jail time doesn't bother me, do you know that?

0:29:160:29:19

No, it's fine. Doesn't bother me, to be fair.

0:29:190:29:21

I'll do my 14 days, I don't pay the fine, is that right?

0:29:210:29:23

-Well, you can do 28 days and not pay the fine, if you want?

-I don't mind.

0:29:230:29:26

-You've got twice as long.

-I can do that standing on my head.

0:29:260:29:29

Always encourage a good relationship with the customer.

0:29:290:29:32

-What is that aftershave you're wearing?

-It is really nice, innit?

0:29:320:29:35

-It's Boss, it's a new one.

-Is it? Millennium?

-No, Midnight.

0:29:350:29:39

-That is very nice.

-What's your perfume, Sam?

-Surrender.

0:29:390:29:44

And mine's Poison.

0:29:440:29:45

Between the two of us, you've got no chance, have you?

0:29:450:29:48

I can smell your one, but I can't smell hers.

0:29:480:29:51

See, I haven't got that close.

0:29:510:29:52

And always give the customer more than they might expect.

0:29:520:29:56

What's she writing out now, another ticket?

0:29:560:29:58

Yeah, we need to speak to you about your tyres as well.

0:29:580:30:01

I just got 'em done, I just came out the tyre place.

0:30:010:30:03

Couldn't have done. And I'll show you how I know.

0:30:030:30:06

Listen, Andrew, let me finish first.

0:30:060:30:08

-What, you going to give me points for that as well?

-Let me finish!

0:30:080:30:12

-Let this lady finish and then I'll speak to you.

-You've got two women.

0:30:120:30:15

Come back down to the level you were on a minute ago.

0:30:150:30:17

You're not going to give me points for that.

0:30:170:30:19

Let's take it to the level

0:30:190:30:20

and then I'll explain to you what's going to happen.

0:30:200:30:22

One at a time.

0:30:220:30:23

After taking my ticket, he certainly didn't want the tyre ticket.

0:30:230:30:26

Come round here a second. This is an advisory.

0:30:260:30:29

See your tyres here?

0:30:290:30:31

That is through prolonged use of going up and down kerbs, yeah?

0:30:310:30:34

You need to get them changed,

0:30:340:30:36

because, effectively, it's affecting the side of the tyre wall

0:30:360:30:39

and it could have a blow-out easier than what you normally would.

0:30:390:30:42

Round here is my main concern.

0:30:420:30:44

OK, you've got a chunk taken out there, a nice big chunk there.

0:30:440:30:48

Fortunately it's the safety of your vehicle

0:30:480:30:50

that I'm more concerned about.

0:30:500:30:51

The fact you've got a kiddie at some point in that car

0:30:510:30:54

means that you should be above reproach

0:30:540:30:56

when it comes to safety of your vehicle.

0:30:560:30:59

Tickets for defective tyres may be worth credits,

0:30:590:31:01

but tyre safety isn't something Shona takes lightly.

0:31:010:31:05

'At the end of the day, he's not wearing his seat belt,'

0:31:050:31:09

he's travelling in a 30mph zone, built-up area,

0:31:090:31:12

and if that tyre were to blow because of the cut in the tyre wall,

0:31:120:31:16

he wouldn't be able to control that vehicle, he'd have a crash.

0:31:160:31:19

Are you serious? Are you going to give me another ticket,

0:31:190:31:22

another fine for that?

0:31:220:31:23

-How many points have you got on your licence now?

-I'm not taking that ticket, then. I'm not taking that.

0:31:230:31:27

-But that's no points on your licence.

-I'm not taking that ticket.

0:31:270:31:30

Do you think I've got money to throw away?

0:31:300:31:32

Arrest me, I'm not taking that ticket, man.

0:31:320:31:34

It's more down to safety than it is just us being pedantic

0:31:340:31:37

and giving them a ticket for the sake of giving them a ticket.

0:31:370:31:39

My colleague's already spoken to you and now I deal with you.

0:31:390:31:42

I understand what you're saying and you don't want to accept the ticket, that's fine.

0:31:420:31:46

I'll just send you to court for your details. But I still need you to fill out the ticket

0:31:460:31:49

and then you fill out the back bit that you want to go to court.

0:31:490:31:52

Don't pay the fine, don't produce your licence

0:31:520:31:54

and there'll just be a summons to court.

0:31:540:31:56

I enjoy situations like that where I can try and defuse them

0:31:560:31:58

just by talking to people so I can try and calm them down.

0:31:580:32:01

You're not going to arrest me if I don't turn my licence in?

0:32:010:32:04

-Oh, what a shame.

-Do you really want to be arrested by us?

0:32:040:32:06

-Yeah, by yous two, yeah. I wouldn't mind.

-There's your ticket.

0:32:060:32:10

-So you wouldn't mind if we stopped you again?

-No.

-Good man.

0:32:100:32:12

-That's what we like.

-Smiley man.

0:32:120:32:14

If you were two blokes, that would be a different story.

0:32:140:32:17

-But we're not. It's just us.

-We're not here to give you grief.

0:32:170:32:19

We'd probably be brawling in that bush or something.

0:32:190:32:22

He did say, "If you were men,

0:32:220:32:23

"this would have turned out completely different."

0:32:230:32:25

And I honestly believe that that would have been the case.

0:32:250:32:28

-How much is this now?

-120 quid.

-Did you pass Maths?

0:32:280:32:32

120 quid. What could I do with 120 quid?

0:32:320:32:35

That's a very open answer there... Question.

0:32:350:32:38

Sam and Shona have succeeded with the ultimate customer care tip -

0:32:380:32:41

always give memorable service.

0:32:410:32:44

We have to do our job at the end of the day,

0:32:440:32:47

and that's just part and parcel of it, unfortunately, for him.

0:32:470:32:50

It's good for two women, because, what can I say?

0:32:500:32:53

If it had been two blokes it would have been a different story.

0:32:530:32:57

'I have been called heartless before.'

0:32:570:32:59

I don't get credits for discretion

0:32:590:33:01

and sometimes a lot of people out and about that we stop,

0:33:010:33:05

they're only dealing with the police

0:33:050:33:07

when we've stopped them for the seat belt, for the mobile phone,

0:33:070:33:10

or for something to them that's quite minor.

0:33:100:33:12

But they don't see the catastrophic incidents that we go to

0:33:120:33:16

and what we have to deal with.

0:33:160:33:17

Reports are coming in of just such a catastrophic incident,

0:33:180:33:22

ten miles north of Bedford on the busy A6.

0:33:220:33:26

Rescue workers are at the scene.

0:33:280:33:30

Now traffic cops PC Matt Bill and PC Mark West

0:33:300:33:33

are being called in as well.

0:33:330:33:34

Go ahead.

0:33:360:33:38

RADIO: 'Can you take a three-vehicle RTC, please...'

0:33:380:33:41

Yes, yes, over.

0:33:450:33:46

'The information we had'

0:33:460:33:47

was that there was three vehicles involved

0:33:470:33:49

and it was believed to be serious injury to one of the occupants.

0:33:490:33:53

An air ambulance is on its way from Essex.

0:33:530:33:56

'When the paramedics are at the scene and they've called the air ambulance,

0:33:560:33:59

'then that means that they're concerned enough

0:33:590:34:02

'that it's usually pretty serious and it's one that we need to get to

0:34:020:34:05

'and deal with ourselves.

0:34:050:34:07

'Secure it and gain any evidence.'

0:34:070:34:10

Matt's an old hand,

0:34:100:34:11

but going to this kind of job never gets any easier.

0:34:110:34:14

There is a sort of trepidation

0:34:140:34:16

as to what you're actually going to see when you turn up,

0:34:160:34:19

but other than that you tend to switch into work mode

0:34:190:34:22

and not think about it.

0:34:220:34:24

The first thing you've got to do is get there.

0:34:240:34:27

The crash is on a 60mph stretch of the A6 at a T-junction.

0:34:360:34:39

It's a notorious accident black spot.

0:34:410:34:43

There have been 20 accidents here in the last two years.

0:34:430:34:46

Three cars have been smashed,

0:34:490:34:50

but the only serious injury is to a female passenger

0:34:500:34:54

who's trapped in the blue Honda Civic and fighting for her life.

0:34:540:34:57

Right, we've got...

0:34:580:35:00

We've got this lady, who's with this car. She's OK.

0:35:000:35:04

We've got... I'm not sure who's in the back in this Audi.

0:35:040:35:07

There's no-one in it.

0:35:070:35:09

The driver's got a cut on his head,

0:35:090:35:10

but the female passenger they're quite concerned about.

0:35:100:35:13

-Is the driver still in it?

-No, the driver's out.

0:35:130:35:15

It's the female passenger who's trapped.

0:35:150:35:17

They've got the air ambulance en route and the consultant

0:35:170:35:21

and his test as well.

0:35:210:35:22

What are they concerned about?

0:35:220:35:24

-Head injury?

-Yeah.

0:35:240:35:25

She was still in the car and there was lots of people around her

0:35:250:35:28

dealing with her, so it was difficult to actually see any level of injury.

0:35:280:35:34

It was a case of relying on information we were getting

0:35:340:35:37

from the paramedic service.

0:35:370:35:39

Certainly there was a serious head injury.

0:35:390:35:41

But I think that the main concern

0:35:410:35:43

was that they thought she may have fractured her neck.

0:35:430:35:46

And any sort of swelling on that could cause paralysis or death.

0:35:460:35:51

With the prognosis looking bleak,

0:35:510:35:54

a full-scale investigation into exactly what happened is going

0:35:540:35:57

to take place, just as it would for a serious crime.

0:35:570:36:00

The first step is to get the accounts of any witnesses.

0:36:000:36:04

As we approached here, right,

0:36:040:36:08

she just drove straight across,

0:36:080:36:10

turning into that garage.

0:36:100:36:12

The old boy coming the other way did not stand a chance.

0:36:120:36:15

He went like that, she went that way, he went that way,

0:36:150:36:19

he spun right round.

0:36:190:36:20

The man knows the when, the where and the why.

0:36:200:36:23

I was convinced that, all the way up here, she was on the phone.

0:36:230:36:28

Only at that roundabout did I actually see her on the phone.

0:36:280:36:31

One of the lads over there with a yellow high-vis on,

0:36:310:36:34

said she was definitely on the phone when it happened.

0:36:340:36:37

-And he clearly knows who.

-Yes, that middle aged woman standing there.

0:36:370:36:41

-She wants locking up.

-The taller one?

-The shorter one.

0:36:410:36:43

The male driver of the blue Honda had no chance of avoiding

0:36:450:36:48

the crash, but has escaped with only cuts and bruises.

0:36:480:36:51

Can you remember what happened, mate?

0:36:510:36:54

There was a queue of traffic this way... Well, I don't know.

0:36:540:36:58

-A lot of cars coming up the hill.

-Yeah..

0:36:580:37:00

One at the front just went. Just didn't stop, just went.

0:37:000:37:04

-Turned into the garage.

-OK.

0:37:040:37:06

You're saying the other car has

0:37:060:37:08

pulled across your path into the garage.

0:37:080:37:10

I was on the A6, came towards...

0:37:100:37:12

Remarkably, the woman suspected of being on her phone,

0:37:120:37:15

who turned into the young man's path, has escaped unscathed.

0:37:150:37:19

A collision like that, I think

0:37:190:37:21

you've got to try and remain impartial.

0:37:210:37:23

It's easy to let your own judgement come in.

0:37:230:37:25

You've got to try and make sure you get all the facts from people

0:37:250:37:28

as they're telling you

0:37:280:37:30

and then you can take a step back

0:37:300:37:32

and actually have a look at it when you've got all the information

0:37:320:37:35

and sort of piece it together from there.

0:37:350:37:38

The information needed is why

0:37:380:37:40

exactly did the woman not see the oncoming car.

0:37:400:37:43

I don't remember any more, really. Except for the big bang.

0:37:430:37:45

Right, OK.

0:37:450:37:47

I don't certainly remember seeing a car.

0:37:500:37:52

-Whether I turned or not... I suppose I must have done.

-OK.

0:37:550:38:02

But I certainly...

0:38:020:38:04

All I remember is the airbag.

0:38:040:38:06

She spoke as though, basically, it was just a normal accident.

0:38:060:38:10

She'd pulled across the path of this vehicle, she'd misjudged its speed.

0:38:100:38:14

There was no mention of any phone

0:38:140:38:16

or anything like that at all at the time.

0:38:160:38:18

But someone else also witnessed her using her phone.

0:38:180:38:21

I was coming down there,

0:38:210:38:23

we'd been following them for about three or four miles

0:38:230:38:25

and then that woman, she was on the phone, she's gone to turn into the

0:38:250:38:30

garage, obviously not concentrating,

0:38:300:38:33

turned straight in front of them. Spun them right round.

0:38:330:38:36

With the suspicion growing that being on her mobile phone was the

0:38:360:38:39

cause of the crash, it will be down to the traffic cops to prove it.

0:38:390:38:43

It's just so dangerous.

0:38:430:38:44

Like, if someone's not wearing their seat belt,

0:38:440:38:47

that's their life that they're putting at risk, but when you're

0:38:470:38:49

using a mobile phone, you're putting other road users lives at risk.

0:38:490:38:53

I think it's been said that it's something like being just over

0:38:530:38:56

the drink drive limit when you're on your phone.

0:38:560:38:59

The air ambulance has arrived at last,

0:38:590:39:02

but the emergency crews are still struggling to get

0:39:020:39:05

the casualty out from the wreckage of her car.

0:39:050:39:08

'She was conscious and breathing at the time,

0:39:080:39:11

'and obviously in a lot of plain.

0:39:110:39:12

'So, the last thing they want to do is drag her out

0:39:120:39:14

'and actually make anything worse,'

0:39:140:39:16

particularly with that sort of neck injury.

0:39:160:39:19

The force of the impact suddenly stopping,

0:39:190:39:22

so she'll whip her head back and forth.

0:39:220:39:24

The front A-pillar was bent down and that's where she's got

0:39:240:39:27

the head injury from, is actually the pillar itself.

0:39:270:39:30

While they worked to free her trapped legs, the driver,

0:39:300:39:35

her boyfriend, is going to be taken to hospital by ambulance.

0:39:350:39:38

So the intrusion has all come in and

0:39:390:39:40

basically dropped the engine on her foot,

0:39:400:39:42

giving her a foot injury, pushed it right back into the footwell.

0:39:420:39:46

-MAN:

-Well, I'm good friends with the driver...

0:39:460:39:49

Looking on anxiously, a friend of the injured couple has heard

0:39:490:39:52

the speculation about the cause of the crash.

0:39:520:39:55

It's just unbelievable. I don't know whether it is the case that

0:39:550:39:58

the woman was on her phone or not...

0:39:580:40:00

If she was, she needs to put her phone down

0:40:020:40:04

and take a look at what she's done. It's disgusting.

0:40:040:40:06

The mobile phone belonging to the woman has been seized.

0:40:090:40:12

It will have to be analysed by experts before any real

0:40:120:40:15

evidential data can be had from it.

0:40:150:40:17

Just to update you, she's going to be airlifted to Addenbrooke's.

0:40:170:40:20

-Addenbrooke's?

-Yes, they said she is stable at the moment,

0:40:200:40:23

but it is potentially nasty. They're going to airlift her.

0:40:230:40:25

Addenbrooke's is a head injury specialist hospital.

0:40:250:40:29

They obviously identified that that's where they wanted to send her

0:40:290:40:33

and the quickest way to get her there, by far,

0:40:330:40:35

would be the air ambulance.

0:40:350:40:37

Ready? Brace. Lift.

0:40:370:40:39

WOMAN SHOUTS AND GROANS

0:40:390:40:41

It's already been an hour since the smash and although now stable,

0:40:410:40:44

the casualty's head injuries are still being

0:40:440:40:46

classified as life-threatening.

0:40:460:40:49

For Inspector Matt Thompson,

0:40:490:40:50

it's incidents like this that vindicate the hard line

0:40:500:40:54

his officers take against drivers who ignore traffic laws.

0:40:540:40:57

If someone gets a mobile phone ticket and they get frustrated,

0:40:570:41:00

we're told we should be out catching burglars and robbers

0:41:000:41:03

and rapists, and people get frustrated with the ticket.

0:41:030:41:05

But we do take robbery, burglary and sexual offences

0:41:050:41:08

very seriously but when you come to something

0:41:080:41:10

like this, you realise, use a mobile phone,

0:41:100:41:13

that girl could be dead. That girl could have a serious injury,

0:41:130:41:16

and you think, "Where does it go from that?"

0:41:160:41:18

So, for us, it doesn't get more serious.

0:41:180:41:21

And if they'll use their mobile phone,

0:41:210:41:22

or speeding or not wearing seat belts,

0:41:220:41:24

we give tickets out, because this is the consequence of it.

0:41:240:41:28

Addenbrooke's is in neighbouring Cambridgeshire.

0:41:280:41:31

But, thanks to the helicopter, it's only minutes away,

0:41:310:41:35

though it's still going to be a race against time for the injured woman.

0:41:350:41:39

Back in Luton, Sam and Shona are

0:41:420:41:44

still on their mission to give tickets out.

0:41:440:41:47

We're like little Duracell batteries.

0:41:470:41:49

Once we're out there, we don't stop.

0:41:490:41:52

You do make your own luck

0:41:520:41:53

and you go purposely to places where you know you can find something.

0:41:530:41:57

There we go!

0:41:570:41:59

'Both of our eyes were drawn to'

0:42:010:42:03

an Astro that had very dark tinted windows.

0:42:030:42:06

Dark tinted windows are just the thing for people who are modest.

0:42:060:42:11

But installing them illegally can have expensive consequences.

0:42:110:42:15

-£60. Well, it's a £30 ticket, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:42:150:42:18

You can only let 70 % of light through your windows.

0:42:180:42:22

Anything below that, then you're illegal.

0:42:220:42:26

It's the front windows that matter

0:42:260:42:28

and Shona's got a special device for measuring how tinted they are,

0:42:280:42:32

called a Tintman.

0:42:320:42:34

-Right, is the car registered to you?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

0:42:340:42:38

He didn't understand why we'd stopped him.

0:42:380:42:42

Take a seat with my colleague in the back of the car.

0:42:420:42:45

-How are you?

-I'm fine.

-And are you with this chap here?

-Yeah.

0:42:450:42:49

What's in the back here, then?

0:42:490:42:52

Hello? There's a child!

0:42:530:42:55

To Sam and Shona, the back of their car is their office.

0:42:550:42:59

It brings a whole new meaning to hot-desking.

0:42:590:43:02

Is it your vehicle?

0:43:020:43:04

-No, it's my mum's car.

-Excellent. Have you got insurance to drive it?

0:43:040:43:07

Well, my mum has. I'm learning to drive, innit?

0:43:070:43:09

Where's your L-plates?

0:43:090:43:11

I didn't know I had to have them.

0:43:110:43:12

I thought if it was insured and had a person in the passenger seat and she's over...

0:43:120:43:16

What is it? 20 something. And she's had a licence for three years.

0:43:160:43:19

Oh, deary me.

0:43:190:43:20

This isn't going to go well, I feel.

0:43:200:43:23

So what? Because I haven't got L-plates on?

0:43:230:43:25

You need to speak to my colleague.

0:43:250:43:27

Just because I haven't got L-plates on?

0:43:270:43:29

-What's your name, my friend?

-Huh?

-What's your name?

-Adam Smiley.

0:43:290:43:32

Mr Smiley was the driver.

0:43:320:43:35

And he wasn't particularly smiley at all.

0:43:350:43:38

Shall I do this?

0:43:380:43:39

If you don't mind.

0:43:390:43:41

So it's three points, isn't it, either side of the window?

0:43:410:43:44

Right, the tints on your windows, front windows, are illegal.

0:43:440:43:47

People put them in because they think it looks cool with

0:43:470:43:49

the shape and style of their car when, really,

0:43:490:43:52

it actually looks quite ridiculous sometimes.

0:43:520:43:55

The tint machine measures how much light can pass through the window.

0:43:550:43:59

Any reading below 70 is a failure.

0:43:590:44:02

9.9. This one's 10.2.

0:44:020:44:04

Inside, they've got to let 70 % natural light in.

0:44:060:44:11

And that's quite clearly way below.

0:44:110:44:13

'They can't necessarily see out if the weather's bad.'

0:44:130:44:16

We can't see in, so we don't know who is driving that car.

0:44:160:44:20

People have them tinted for very different reasons, but it raises

0:44:200:44:23

our suspicion, because we can't see who is driving that vehicle.

0:44:230:44:25

So we want to know that the person driving is meant to be in the

0:44:250:44:28

vehicle and advise them accordingly with regards to their tints.

0:44:280:44:31

That's not fair, though, because I didn't know that I'm supposed to have L-plates.

0:44:310:44:35

If I knew I was supposed to have L-plates, I'd have them.

0:44:350:44:37

Right. Ignorance isn't an excuse.

0:44:370:44:40

OK? It's written in the...

0:44:400:44:42

I don't think it's fair I'll get points on my licence

0:44:420:44:44

when I haven't even passed my licence yet.

0:44:440:44:47

-I'll have to pay more on my insurance because of my mum. It's my mum's

-BLEEP

-fault!

0:44:470:44:50

-Adam!

-But seriously...

-Adam!

0:44:500:44:51

I'm sorry to be rude, Officer, but it's not my fault.

0:44:510:44:54

My mum's the one that wanted me to drive.

0:44:540:44:56

I didn't want to drive. I didn't know I was supposed to have L-plates or I'd have had them!

0:44:560:45:00

He was pushing his luck an awful lot,

0:45:000:45:02

blaming his mum for all sorts of things.

0:45:020:45:06

You're the driver of that vehicle, aren't you?

0:45:060:45:08

-No! I'm

-BLEEP

-learner driver of that vehicle!

0:45:080:45:10

-That's the same thing.

-I'm not the driver, I'm the learner driver!

0:45:100:45:13

I haven't even got a licence yet!

0:45:130:45:15

How can you give me points before I've got a licence?

0:45:150:45:17

The point of me driving now is so I learn to drive

0:45:170:45:19

so I can get my licence!

0:45:190:45:21

I'm getting three points on my shit cos of her!

0:45:210:45:23

My mum, you should give her points, not me!

0:45:230:45:24

She's told me to drive, she's responsible, not me.

0:45:240:45:27

He had no respect for his mum whatsoever, which really shocked me.

0:45:270:45:29

It's her car, yeah? She told me to drive,

0:45:290:45:31

she's the one that's got a licence, not me.

0:45:310:45:33

Why am I responsible for her? You could give her points!

0:45:330:45:36

You know, I think we need the air con on in here with

0:45:360:45:38

the amount of hot air coming out of this gentleman.

0:45:380:45:41

'I think certain women would be

0:45:410:45:42

quite intimidated by coming across somebody like him.'

0:45:420:45:45

But by us shouting and screaming back,

0:45:450:45:48

we're just lowering ourselves to his level

0:45:480:45:50

and antagonising a situation that really doesn't need to be there.

0:45:500:45:53

Adam, you were driving the car, mate.

0:45:530:45:55

But the car doesn't belong to me!

0:45:550:45:56

So how can you give me a ticket for shit on the car that ain't mine!

0:45:560:45:59

Yes. Adam, can you just pipe down for a second

0:45:590:46:02

because I'm trying to talk.

0:46:020:46:04

Can you just confirm who the RO is, please?

0:46:040:46:06

The RO is the registered owner.

0:46:060:46:09

-RADIO:

-'Did you say the RO?'

0:46:120:46:14

Yes, yes.

0:46:140:46:15

'Adam Smiley.'

0:46:170:46:19

Adam, the car's yours.

0:46:190:46:20

The computer has confirmed it's not his mum's, as he says, after all.

0:46:200:46:24

Oh, and no insurance in 2007. Six points.

0:46:240:46:28

So you, Adam, as a provisional licence holder, only have...

0:46:280:46:32

You have nine points on your provisional licence.

0:46:320:46:35

Exactly! Because of officers like you making it impossible for young

0:46:350:46:38

drivers to drive. So I might as well drive illegally.

0:46:380:46:41

Might as well continue to drive illegally.

0:46:410:46:43

He'd got nine points on his provisional licence.

0:46:430:46:45

So trying to tell me he was trying to drive legally

0:46:450:46:48

somewhat made me laugh.

0:46:480:46:49

If I was white, you'd let me go then, innit?

0:46:490:46:51

When you're black, makes your whole life harder.

0:46:510:46:53

Sorry, there's a gentleman that's accusing me of...

0:46:530:46:56

-Got a couple of

-BLEEP

-racist

-BLEEP

-coppers on you.

0:46:560:46:58

-Adam...

-What?

-I'm on the telephone trying to sort this out.

0:46:580:46:59

-Can you just...?

-Just tell them I'm

-BLEEP

-black

0:46:590:47:02

and they'll take my whole licence away, innit?

0:47:020:47:04

No officer discretion, like there used to be.

0:47:040:47:06

I've explained to you the situation.

0:47:060:47:08

You've done nothing but shout and be abusive to us,

0:47:080:47:11

-and you expect us to deal with that and listen to it?

-I don't care what you do.

0:47:110:47:15

-You might as well take my licence, take everything.

-Bye-bye.

0:47:150:47:18

It doesn't make a difference to me. I don't care.

0:47:180:47:21

-I need to ask your ethnicity. Out of that list, could you...

-Put

-BLEEP

-down, man.

0:47:210:47:24

-If you would like to...

-I don't care.

0:47:240:47:27

-You can write down whatever you like.

-I'll put down that you haven't defined your ethnicity,

0:47:270:47:31

and that's fine by me. I can do that.

0:47:310:47:33

'At the end of the day, we stopped him for how dark his tints were.

0:47:330:47:36

'They're meant to let 70% natural light in.

0:47:360:47:39

'His were letting between 9 and 10. I couldn't see what colour he was.'

0:47:390:47:42

I had no idea what ethnicity he was, or where he was from,

0:47:420:47:46

so I find it a bit insulting that he's suggesting I'm racist,

0:47:460:47:49

when I can't see who's driving that car.

0:47:490:47:52

-Adam?

-Why don't you have a heart and just let me go, man?

0:47:520:47:55

You've already got me, you've already charged me money.

0:47:550:47:57

What else do you want from me?

0:47:570:48:00

The heartless cops are giving Adam a £30 ticket for his illegal window tints

0:48:000:48:03

and a £60 ticket and three points for failing to display any L-plates.

0:48:030:48:08

Obviously, if you had a heart, you wouldn't have done me like this.

0:48:080:48:11

-I'm not going to help you tear it off, am I?

-I'll do it.

-It's your job, innit?

0:48:110:48:15

I'll tear it off, because I know that you won't drive round like this.

0:48:150:48:18

The tints are simply a film applied to the inside of the window.

0:48:180:48:22

Sam's making sure he doesn't carry on breaking the law.

0:48:220:48:25

You saw by his reaction - he peeled off the entire side of the tint the other side.

0:48:250:48:29

He won't drive round with half-tinted windows. He'd look silly.

0:48:290:48:32

They've given me a £90 fine and three points on my licence,

0:48:320:48:35

before I've even got a licence.

0:48:350:48:37

I'm trying to be in a driver's seat to learn how to drive,

0:48:370:48:41

so that I'm legitimate, and they've stopped me from doing that once again.

0:48:410:48:45

They've taken my money. They've taken the money I haven't even got. I've got to feed my son.

0:48:450:48:49

I've got two sons, and I'm on benefits.

0:48:490:48:51

I've got to pay for them to eat, and now I can't even do that, because they're going to take my money.

0:48:510:48:55

I just don't think he realises that us traffic officers don't actually have hearts.

0:48:550:48:59

-No, we don't have hearts.

-Do you care? No.

0:48:590:49:02

At the scene of the accident on the A6,

0:49:050:49:07

the road is still closed as investigations continue.

0:49:070:49:10

Following the witnesses' damning allegations,

0:49:100:49:14

the carnage caused by a phone call is clear to see.

0:49:140:49:17

With fears her life may still be in danger,

0:49:190:49:22

a specialist family liaison officer, PC Craig Baker, has been called in.

0:49:220:49:26

I spoke to the ambulance guy and he said it's purely head injuries, blunt trauma.

0:49:260:49:31

The badly injured girl, Lorna Foley, is just 20 years old.

0:49:310:49:35

It doesn't matter how much training you have, you've got feelings

0:49:350:49:40

and to get told someone could effectively die is disheartening.

0:49:400:49:44

A number of witnesses gave information that the driver

0:49:440:49:47

was on the mobile phone. We seized the mobile phone.

0:49:470:49:50

We've got to be careful what we tell people, and it was

0:49:500:49:53

decided that we wouldn't tell him about the mobile phone at that stage, until we knew,

0:49:530:49:57

because at that stage, it is only a possibility.

0:49:570:49:59

Craig's immediate task is to inform Lorna's brother and sister of her accident and get them

0:49:590:50:04

to her hospital bedside as quickly as possible.

0:50:040:50:07

I think the most difficult time is when you initially tell the family.

0:50:070:50:11

You get so many different reactions,

0:50:110:50:13

and you cannot predict what reaction you'll get.

0:50:130:50:17

Further back down the A6, approaching Bedford,

0:50:180:50:21

traffic cops PC Mark Atkins and Sgt Chris Smith have

0:50:210:50:25

come across someone else with a smoking problem...with their car.

0:50:250:50:29

Blue smoke, innit? Plumes of blue smoke everywhere.

0:50:290:50:32

We came to the top of the A6, we saw the Golf pulling

0:50:320:50:35

into the lay-by on the nearside, so we pulled in behind him.

0:50:350:50:38

And where there's smoke, there's fire.

0:50:380:50:41

Ooh, he's got a dodgy plate as well.

0:50:410:50:43

The numberplate isn't legal because its characters are a German style.

0:50:440:50:48

It doesn't meet British standards.

0:50:480:50:51

It's a different font to what our ANPR cameras

0:50:510:50:53

are used to recognising, so sometimes they can misread them.

0:50:530:50:57

The cause of all the smoke is under the bonnet.

0:50:570:50:59

It wasn't on fire, but I think if he'd had gone much further it would have been.

0:50:590:51:04

It had dumped oil on the exhaust and he'd blown the engine, basically.

0:51:040:51:09

But at least his kids are happy.

0:51:100:51:12

They can watch cartoons on the telly now,

0:51:120:51:15

which would have been illegal if he was driving.

0:51:150:51:17

It's all under the Road Traffic Act.

0:51:170:51:19

You cannot have a TV screen that is visible to the driver

0:51:190:51:22

that's likely to take the attention away from the road in front of them,

0:51:220:51:26

so it can be anything from due care to dangerous driving.

0:51:260:51:29

Obviously, with your dodgy numberplate and your TV

0:51:290:51:32

-in the car as well... Huh?

-They just turned it on.

0:51:320:51:37

-I told them to put it on.

-Yeah, whatever.

-I did.

-OK!

0:51:370:51:40

-My little girl's in the back. They're watching Alice In Wonderland.

-OK.

0:51:400:51:44

-And you're not?

-No, I just turned it on.

0:51:440:51:47

-Because obviously you've just stopped.

-Yeah, I just stopped and said, "Put the telly on."

0:51:470:51:51

I couldn't see if it was on or not when we were driving along

0:51:510:51:55

because of all the smoke, so I just have to

0:51:550:51:59

take his word for it, that he wouldn't lie to a policeman.

0:51:590:52:02

Just check how he has done the suspension.

0:52:020:52:04

-There's no give on it at all, is there?

-No.

0:52:040:52:07

I'm just a bit concerned about how low the car is.

0:52:110:52:15

-Do you find steering a problem?

-There's nothing wrong with the steering.

-Huh?

0:52:150:52:19

-There's nothing wrong with the steering.

-No?

-No.

0:52:190:52:22

-It's just because...

-It's rock solid.

0:52:220:52:26

-It's got anti-roll bars on it.

-Yeah?

-There's nothing wrong with it.

0:52:260:52:31

Apart from the engine, there's nothing wrong with the car,

0:52:350:52:38

he's insisting, as it has recently passed its MOT.

0:52:380:52:41

But there is with his numberplate.

0:52:410:52:43

-German plates, aren't they?

-You can't have them on the road in England, can you?

0:52:430:52:47

And it's not for the first time.

0:52:470:52:49

-We've had this chat before, haven't we?

-My numberplate was blatant.

0:52:490:52:53

-You can read it.

-It doesn't matter. It has to comply with the Vehicle Excise Act,

0:52:530:52:57

which means it has to have British Standard markings on it.

0:52:570:53:00

Where on that plate is the British Standard mark?

0:53:000:53:03

He didn't particularly want to look at Mark because Mark had stopped him

0:53:030:53:06

about two or three months before

0:53:060:53:08

and done him for exactly the same thing.

0:53:080:53:12

They're making sure it won't happen again.

0:53:120:53:14

What I'm going to do, because we have spoken to you before,

0:53:140:53:17

-I'm going to give you another 60 quid ticket. All right?

-Yeah.

0:53:170:53:20

All right? Cool. I thought you'd have learned...

0:53:200:53:23

But there's another problem.

0:53:230:53:25

-Does your insurance company know about these tints?

-Yes.

-Straight up?

0:53:250:53:28

They wouldn't insure you with them,

0:53:280:53:30

because that is more than a 30% tint, isn't it?

0:53:300:53:33

On our Vectra, that is the most tint you can have on the front.

0:53:330:53:37

That's the most.

0:53:370:53:38

Anything you see like this, they ain't going to insure you.

0:53:380:53:42

So, straight up, before we get the measuring device,

0:53:420:53:45

you're going to tell me you're going to get rid of that tint, aren't you?

0:53:450:53:49

-What, you going to do that as well?

-No, no, no.

0:53:490:53:51

-Because you're going to tell me you'll get rid of it.

-Yeah, I'll get rid of it.

-Good. Good answer.

0:53:510:53:55

At the end of the day, if you have a bash in this,

0:53:550:53:58

they ain't going to pay out, because that is illegal. Yeah? Cool.

0:53:580:54:02

I'll just do your ticket.

0:54:020:54:03

Mark is showing that sometimes a bit of discretion is still

0:54:030:54:07

-the order of the day.

-Quite a lot of discretion there, to be honest.

0:54:070:54:11

He could have gone to court for those offences, put together,

0:54:110:54:13

when you think of the numberplate, the tints,

0:54:130:54:17

the smoke billowing out the back,

0:54:170:54:19

but that's not to even mention the DVD player he had in the car.

0:54:190:54:24

The numberplates must be a recent addition,

0:54:240:54:26

as anything non-standard is an automatic MOT failure.

0:54:260:54:30

They now are included in the test.

0:54:300:54:33

Unless it's got a legal plate on it, it will fail.

0:54:330:54:36

Oddly, while numberplates are checked in order for a vehicle to

0:54:360:54:40

pass the MOT and meet road safety standards,

0:54:400:54:43

tinted windows aren't included in the test.

0:54:430:54:46

He knows what he's done. He knows the game.

0:54:460:54:49

I've pointed this all out to him before.

0:54:490:54:52

I was quite reasonable with him last time,

0:54:520:54:54

gave him the benefit of the doubt.

0:54:540:54:56

He had other defects on the car the last time,

0:54:560:54:58

but on this occasion... Your patience wears a bit thin

0:54:580:55:01

because you try and help these people,

0:55:010:55:04

because people may not necessarily know the law around the numberplate,

0:55:040:55:09

so you try and educate them a little bit, but he's just taking the mickey now, isn't he?

0:55:090:55:14

At the hospital in Cambridge, X-rays have brought good news.

0:55:140:55:17

Lorna, the young girl seriously injured in the crash on the A6,

0:55:170:55:21

is off the critical list

0:55:210:55:23

but she has bashed her head and broken a vertebra in her back.

0:55:230:55:27

-Where is that?

-It's in the lower part of your back,

0:55:280:55:31

so your back is divided into individual bones - vertebrae -

0:55:310:55:34

so just where the lower arch is in the back,

0:55:340:55:37

it's towards the bottom of that.

0:55:370:55:39

-OK?

-OK.

-And it's just...

0:55:390:55:42

LOUD BEEPING

0:55:420:55:44

..rather than being square, one corner's come in a bit. OK?

0:55:440:55:48

Once you're out of hospital,

0:55:480:55:50

one of my colleagues will be in touch with you.

0:55:500:55:53

On roads policing, we target people using a mobile phone.

0:55:530:55:56

And to be fair, so we should.

0:55:560:55:59

People don't get it, but using a mobile phone kills.

0:55:590:56:04

Seven months after the accident Lorna,

0:56:040:56:07

a full-time floristry student, and her boyfriend James

0:56:070:56:11

are still coming to terms with what happened.

0:56:110:56:14

I think, because everything was going really well, as well, before,

0:56:140:56:17

I had just got Student of the Year at college.

0:56:170:56:21

It put all of our plans and our future on hold,

0:56:210:56:25

to now deal with something that she's put in front of us

0:56:250:56:29

that we didn't ask for.

0:56:290:56:31

Lorna is lucky to be alive

0:56:310:56:33

but it's going to be a long time before she fully recovers from

0:56:330:56:36

the damage to her spine and a brain injury that's affected her memory,

0:56:360:56:40

all because of a minor traffic offence.

0:56:400:56:43

You're driving around at 60mph plus,

0:56:440:56:47

not in control of something that's in excess of two tonnes,

0:56:470:56:51

you should be punished.

0:56:510:56:54

I think it's people...

0:56:540:56:56

they don't understand why.

0:56:560:56:59

I think they know that you shouldn't do it

0:56:590:57:03

but they don't know WHY you shouldn't do it, really.

0:57:030:57:07

I think that's what it is.

0:57:070:57:08

Further investigation at the scene of the horrific crash

0:57:080:57:12

revealed that there might have been another factor

0:57:120:57:14

why the woman turned into the oncoming traffic -

0:57:140:57:18

her front windows were illegally, excessively tinted,

0:57:180:57:22

and further examination of her phone uncovered evidence that

0:57:220:57:26

pointed to her being on it at the time of the crash.

0:57:260:57:29

On the phone, it had a certain number of calls

0:57:290:57:32

and we had all those listed from the handset itself,

0:57:320:57:35

yet when we then got the subscriber records,

0:57:350:57:39

it showed that there was an extra call

0:57:390:57:42

that wasn't shown on the handset.

0:57:420:57:44

There's only two ways that that can happen.

0:57:440:57:46

One is that she's deleted it from the handset. Why would she do that?

0:57:460:57:50

That specific call that was made at or around the time of the collision.

0:57:500:57:55

The only other way that would be is if, mid-call,

0:57:550:57:58

the phone was turned off.

0:57:580:57:59

60-year-old Gillian Green pleaded guilty in court

0:58:030:58:06

to dangerous driving

0:58:060:58:08

and was sentenced to a nine-month suspended prison sentence

0:58:080:58:11

and banned from driving for a year-and-a-half.

0:58:110:58:14

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