Out of Control Motorway Cops

HE KNOCKS

Getting to the truth is rarely straightforward.

It seems strange. Are these all your customers in here?

This guy owes you money and you're driving his car around?

SHOUTING

HEAVY BREATHING

-Sometimes the cops have a simple choice.

-Just get an ambulance.

Will you not take me to Greenfield Lane to see my daughter?

-I really can't.

-Can you go into the left lane, so I can see her?

Other times, they have to make difficult decisions.

It puts us in a massive... a massive predicament, to be fair.

Because on the roads, the stakes are high.

That car's come across that carriageway into the front of us.

-Suddenly, there's two headlights in front of me. There's nowhere to go, is there?

-No.

This is a very, very rare accident on the expressway when somebody actually has a head-on.

But we don't know why it's happened. We can only make assumptions.

There is always a good chance of fatalities for any collision that occurs on the motorway.

When things do go wrong, then they can go seriously wrong.

It's 7pm and Birmingham's rush-hour traffic

has been brought to a standstill.

PCs Jess Davies and Al Colman are fighting through it to get to an accident on the Aston Expressway.

When we started approaching the scene,

there was just nowhere to go. We were struggling

to make our way through traffic. It was just a sea of red lights.

This two-mile stretch of motorway is unusual

because there is no central barrier separating the opposing carriageways,

but there is a no-go buffer lane.

The reason the buffer lane changes day to day is for what they call the tidal flow,

so in the morning, you have more lanes opening into the city for rush-hour traffic,

and the opposite on the evening.

That's why there's no central barrier.

But no central barrier means that a head-on collision

between the fast-moving traffic is much more likely.

And as they arrive, the motorway cops fear the worst.

It's a massive scene.

It's looking serious at the moment.

I don't know the ins and outs of injuries.

The multiple pile-up involves a BMW,

a Mini and a Jaguar.

When I saw both the Jaguar and the Mini, both those cars were extensively damaged.

It was quite clear that there had been a head-on collision.

I thought there would be a number of fatalities from both vehicles.

The fire crews are preparing to cut out two injured passengers who are trapped in the wreck of the Jaguar.

Two people in the Mini have already been freed, but the news isn't good.

They're both in the ambulance now.

We've also been informed that one of the females within the Mini...

It's looking like it could turn into a fatality.

It hasn't at the moment, but there's a potential. She's a very elderly female.

A passenger from the BMW is also injured, but fortunately, it's not serious

and Al's giving what assistance he can.

-Do you feel any pain anywhere?

-My shoulder and my arm. And my head is pounding.

-Can you wiggle your fingers?

-I can, this one. This one's hard to move.

-It's quite hard to do. Feel that?

-No.

-No?

I'll just have a little look, all right?

-Can you recall whether your arm was hit at all?

-I don't remember.

-You don't remember.

She says she's got numbness down the back of her neck. She can't wiggle her fingers very well on this arm.

But she's in a comfortable position. Can't feel her toes, which is probably cold. She's a bit in shock.

While Al briefs the paramedic, Jess begins the investigation into what happened.

-Are you a witness?

-I'm the driver of the car.

-Has anyone taken your details?

-The gentleman has, yeah.

-That's your car there?

-Yeah.

The roof of the man's Jaguar has now been cut away by the fire crews,

so they can try to free the injured back-seat passengers.

-That car's come across that carriageway into the front of us.

-What, the Mini has?

-Yeah.

-So the Mini was the one driving the wrong way?

-Yeah. We were in the middle lane.

-Suddenly, there's two headlights in front of me. There's just nowhere to go, is there?

-No.

It seems that the Mini has veered right across the buffer lane into the opposite carriageway.

The Aston Expressway is a safe motorway, more than likely because the speed limit is 50 miles per hour

and they have that buffer lane in the middle.

Even at 50 miles an hour, a head-on crash is highly dangerous

despite having cars with modern crash protection.

Your seat belts and your restraint systems may hold you in the car, your body physically,

but the problem that you have, everything else keeps moving inside your body

and to survive an accident like that is quite rare.

The driver of the BMW has been lucky to escape injury.

He is being breathalysed as a precaution, but so far it doesn't appear he is to blame.

I think the back end swung round as he hit the car head-on

and we went straight into him.

While the injured woman from his car is taken to hospital with a suspected broken collarbone,

the fire crew are still battling to free the two passengers trapped inside the Jaguar.

I get really worried about people. We're human beings just like everybody else.

You can see people who are in terrible pain.

You see other casualties where you start to think,

"I don't even know if they're going to survive this."

15 miles south, motorway cops John Martin and Jim Alcock are responding to another emergency.

We're going to a report of a car crash, a road traffic collision,

on the entry slip at Junction 7 of the M5 North.

The report at the moment is one of the drivers may be out of the vehicle with a head wound,

lying on the actual carriageway.

There is always a good chance

of serious injuries and fatalities for any collision

that occurs on the motorway.

When things do go wrong, then they can go seriously wrong.

A Highways Agency patrolman has already arrived, but there's no sign of any ambulance.

-Is the blood wagon en route?

-They're en route. It's been ages.

-OK.

She's down there, Sophie, she's 21.

-Yeah.

-Got no known illnesses that we're aware of.

The gentleman there is your witness.

-Struck the barrier on the offside, came to rest here, got out...

-Yeah.

-Fell over the barrier and has just vomited blood.

-OK, mate.

The cops are trained to give basic medical aid, but her illness needs far more sophisticated treatment.

Hello, Sophie. It's the police.

There's quite a bit of blood there. Can you hear me all right?

You never like to see any person in discomfort and distress.

Part of you always feels a bit helpless

because you want to help that person to try and get them up and about and make them better,

but you're just unable to do so. You just have to wait until the medical crews get there.

Mike Alpha, one-three.

Have you got any time on when the ambulance is going to get here? Over.

I'm no doctor, but that don't look right.

A driver following behind saw the crash and came to her aid.

Despite her sudden illness, she's managed to steer across the lanes of fast-moving traffic.

She'd come off the motorway on to the exit slip. She'd first collided

with the right-hand barrier.

She'd then been pinballed and bounced back towards the left-hand barrier.

If she'd passed out on the main carriageway, the result could have been very different.

It was just potentially a recipe for disaster.

Vehicles start to brake and then people don't react in time

and bosh, you've got a multiple vehicle collision.

Her quick thinking probably avoided a major crash,

but she's barely conscious and still in danger.

Fortunately, the anxious wait for the paramedics is over.

It's a weight off your mind when the ambulance or the paramedic or any medical help turn up.

It's their profession. They know what to look for, they know what to test for.

Hello, Sophie.

No cuts, wounds, anything that I can see. She's as pale as a ghost.

She's got low blood pressure, so they've put her back down.

-Blood out of the stomach, presumably she's vomited?

-Yeah.

-That doesn't sound good. A bleeding stomach?

-No.

While the paramedics work to bring her round,

the cops are trying to find any information that could help them to treat her.

She's had a road traffic collision, but we don't know whether it's down to something that she's taken.

A search of her belongings could give them a lead.

Just looking inside the vehicle.

The paramedics are very concerned with the amount of blood that's been brought up by the young girl.

Just in case there's medicine in the car which could indicate what she might be suffering from.

But there's nothing that I can see.

-Nothing in the car, tablets or anything like that?

-No, just been through there - nothing.

-There isn't a smell of booze or anything?

-No, nothing. She's a bit of a horsey type by the looks of it.

I'd noticed that she'd got horse-riding boots on and also jodhpurs.

At that point, I thought, "Has a bang on the head occurred?"

-There's no marks on the helmet or anything, is there?

-No.

-No mud?

We just offer any support we can and if it means standing there like a tree holding something,

that's what we do, and if it means a life is saved or helped in that way,

then I'm sure we can put up with the pain of holding one of those up for a short while.

Her condition is now stable, but the reason for her sudden illness is still unknown.

We'll try and get her back over the crash barrier

and into the back of an ambulance and down to Worcester tout de suite.

Sophie, how are you feeling?

She'll be rushed to Worcester Hospital only three miles away

where the doctors will carry out a full diagnosis and treatment.

Thanks a lot.

130 miles north, PCs Mick Roffe and Jim Duffy

of the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Road Crime Team are out on patrol.

In Yorkshire, the night shift has a different set of challenges.

I prefer working at night because there's fewer people on the roads,

but there's a lot of criminals because they do their business

at that time of night, so they're much easier to spot.

The people in the green car they're passing now will be given a once-over.

There's three lads in quite an old, beaten-up car.

It's worth having a chat. They might not be doing anything wrong.

Have a stop, have a chat and just see who they are and what they're about.

Are you all right, mate? How are you doing?

Just put t'keys out for us. Nice one.

-Is it your car, mate?

-No.

-Whose is it?

-It's my friend's here.

-Your friend's there?

Right, so it's his car and you're insured to drive this?

-He's had a bit to drink, so I'm just dropping him off at his house.

-So you're not insured?

It looks like an open-and-shut case,

but it's the back-seat passenger who is making this stop more than just routine.

-What's up with your mate here?

-I don't know. I think he's had a bit to drink.

Have you owt on you you shouldn't have? Put these on, mate. Put these on.

He's acting funny, mate, isn't he?

He's acting well off, isn't he?

So you just sit tight there and keep your hands where we can see 'em.

What's up with this lad back here?

He's not in trouble. Just tell us what he's taken. He's taken something.

HE STARTS SHOUTING

-Calm him down, will you?

-Just tell him to relax.

-Just tell him to calm down.

-There's nowt to worry about.

-You're acting like that. That's why you've got the handcuffs on.

-Has he took summat?

-He's been drinking.

-Drinking what?

-Alcohol.

-Lighter fluid?

I was worried because of the way he was behaving.

The signs and symptoms were...

He was behaving completely irrationally, completely... incoherent almost.

But the two guys in the front thought it was amusing.

Jim and Mick, however, aren't laughing.

Lads, you're being detained for the purposes of a drugs search at this time, all right?

-He's took summat, hasn't he? He has took summat, lads.

-He's been drinking.

-It's not just drink, is it?

-I'm not sure.

-He needs some fresh air.

-Are you all right?

Pal, what's up with you? Have you got asthma?

What's that you're spitting out?

Is that blood?

What have you taken, my friend?

A search of his pockets could provide an answer.

Mick has already found some cannabis on the front-seat passenger, so now everyone is under suspicion.

Just put your hands out for us, pal.

I'll just handcuff you because you're detained for the purposes of a search.

And seeing as your pal here has got a bit of a green on him,

and obviously the lad in t'back looks like he's eaten a field of magic mushrooms,

we'll just handcuff you, all right?

-I've got a bag of weed on me.

-You've got a bag of weed. No bother.

-Keep your hands where we can see 'em and we'll get that sorted. Are you known for drugs?

-Before I was, yeah.

When were you last dealt with for drugs?

I've been in prison for juveniles about five years ago now.

Five years ago. What was that for?

Possession of Class A and supply.

-Supply. But for five years, you've got nothing to do with drugs?

-Nothing to do with drugs in five years.

Until now.

It's a small amount of cannabis - enough for a street caution for possession.

-Any more?

-No, no more.

The cops frequently encounter those who have had one too many, but this is a trickier problem.

It's not asthma. He's been trying to make himself sick by coughing.

We have to make a decision - why is he acting like this?

If you called an ambulance for everyone that was drunk, they'd run out of ambulances.

He's making himself sick. That's what he's doing.

-Do you want to go to his house?

-No, I don't want to go to his house.

-Kick him in the face.

-That isn't going to help him.

-Stand still.

-HE BREATHES HEAVILY

Do you understand English?

-No.

-No.

-My house...

-My house...

-No. You wait here, mate, all right?

Just wait here, OK?

Drink. Yeah, drink.

Drink, yeah? No drink. No like drink.

While the cops decide whether the man requires medical attention or is simply off his face...

..on the Aston Expressway in Birmingham,

the two injured passengers have finally been removed from the wreck of the Jaguar.

In my experience, I've been on the motorway for ten years or so...

It's one of the worst scenes I've seen on the Expressway, so...

People say it's always going to happen on the Expressway because there's no central reservation.

It's a very, very rare accident on the Expressway where somebody has a head-on.

Inspector Mark Fullwood is in charge of the crash scene

and has been waiting for news of the critically injured woman who was rushed to hospital over an hour ago.

I've just received an update from my officers at the hospital.

Unfortunately, the female passenger from the Mini,

she was rushed into theatre.

Unfortunately, she has passed away.

So, now, we are treating this as a fatal collision investigation.

And we'll do our utmost to find out the cause of the collision.

The scene will now be preserved until a collision investigation team has gathered enough evidence

to enable them to work out the sequence of events.

Witness accounts and photographs will be used to build a picture of just what happened.

The investigation will be helped by the roadside cameras which have caught the whole incident on tape.

As the Mini crosses the buffer lane, one driver has time to avoid it,

but the Jaguar driver has no chance to react as the Mini heads directly towards him.

The Jaguar was being driven by Paul Hills.

It was quite busy, but traffic was moving well into town.

And suddenly, this car appeared.

The last thing I saw was two headlights and that was it.

We couldn't go left. I didn't have time to brake or do anything.

We just took the impact. Bang, and that was it!

The evidence from the CCTV is crucial

because it reveals that at no point do the Mini's brake lights come on.

So it appeared that she hadn't even attempted to brake.

The first thing you do in any sort of...

Your first natural instinct is to slam on the brakes.

So we just couldn't begin to imagine

why the driver hadn't done that.

One possibility is mechanical failure,

but only by examining the wreckage can the cops hope to find out.

And as the investigation continues into the night, more news comes in.

It appears from our latest update that the lady who has died is the mother of the driver.

I just felt really, really terrible for that female...

..because she's lost her mum

and she's lost her mum in a situation where she was in control of that vehicle,

behind the wheel of that vehicle.

Back in Leeds, Mick Roffe and Jim Duffy are still trying to deal with the man who's acting strangely.

They don't think there's a medical emergency, but they can't take any chances.

Listen to me. Calm down.

-BREATHES HEAVILY

-Calm down.

Jim, just get an ambulance.

This guy was getting worse and worse as it went on, so we had to call an ambulance at that point.

That male I just passed to you, he's having some sort of episode.

He appears to be struggling for breath slightly.

Come take a seat here for us.

Nice one, pal.

Right, we'll deal with the rest.

With the situation seemingly under control, Jim is free to deal with the driver's motoring offence.

-In regards to your "no insurance", how many points are you on?

-How many points? In 2008, I'm not sure...

But now his mate in the back has made a remarkable recovery.

-Jim! Jim!

-Yeah?

I don't need to run. I've got a car to drive, whereas Jim is much leaner

and faster than me, so you play to your attributes and your skills.

One-seven, I've got an officer chasing on foot after a male. Can you see who's in the area?

Mick is definitely the man that you want driving the car,

not the man you want sprinting after the person that's run off from you.

He's, um... He's not built for running.

He's going to kill me!

-POLICE RADIO:

-'Are you able to assist?'

It's one of them things that you never, ever want to happen,

but in this case, in fairness to us,

there was never any indication that he wanted to run.

As he's not under arrest, it's not illegal to run from the police,

but the man's actions aren't helping the cops.

It's this lad who's having some kind of mental episode.

Is there an ambulance still coming to us? What were all that about?

-Just be careful.

-'Do you still require another unit?'

Look, look, what is all this carrying on?

Yeah, get us a van. We'll have to bring him in.

SHOUTING

Listen, listen, listen.

SHOUTING CONTINUES Relax. Relax.

He's clearly under the influence of something, but what?

Has he taken something that we need to know about because he's behaving...?

-It ain't just cannabis, is it?

-MAN CONTINUES SHOUTING

-That's it, just cannabis?

-That's it.

-Nowt else?

What's up...?

It's a light weight, isn't it?

-How much has he had to drink?

-He's had two bottles of Jack Daniel's.

-Two bottles of Jack Daniel's?

SHOUTING CONTINUES

-BLEEP

-up, man!

-While you've got gloves on, just go through his pockets again.

Mick has found something which could explain his bizarre behaviour.

What's this, mate?

Is it... Is it...

-Magic mushrooms?

-Magic mushrooms?

-I said he'd eaten a field of magic mushrooms!

-That explains a lot, doesn't it?

It does.

Judging by his behaviour, some kind of magic mushrooms, dried mushrooms or summat?

When I asked you, has he took owt, has he took some of these? What is it?

-I don't know how to explain that. How do you explain them?

-Betel nuts?

We have that in our tradition.

Betel nuts, they said it was.

It looks like he's got the remnants of magic mushrooms, then he's just taken off.

That's got to be some kind of herbal...hallucinogen, the way he's behaving.

HEAVY BREATHING

-It looks like dried mushrooms, doesn't it?

-It does, yeah.

Does anyone know about this? Will it go in two hours...?

The cops will establish later whether to charge him or not.

For now, the priority is to get him to hospital, leaving Mick free to deal with the insurance issue.

One-seven, this Mazda that these three lads have been in which has caused us this grief,

-we're seizing it under "no insurance". Could you put a log on for us?

-It is insured.

-Not when he's driving.

-But it's still insured. The car's insured.

-It matters not.

-You can't take it.

-I'm not giving you t'keys when you're drunk. I can take it and I am taking it.

The man's appeals are pointless. He has no insurance, so the car is being seized,

along with the cannabis they've found.

With more traffic on the roads, daytime brings a fresh set of problems for the cops.

But as PCs Andy Tucker and Matt Fleming head for the motorway,

they overhear a radio call for immediate assistance.

INDISTINCT RADIO MESSAGE

When the safety of a colleague is at stake, the cops put everything else to one side.

Suddenly to hear panting on the radio and obviously a foot chase,

it gets the blood going a little bit

and your first instinct is to get to that location as quick as we can to help out.

X-Ray Tango, one-eight, we're half a mile from him.

An officer has got somebody under arrest. We're not sure what the offence is.

He's just asked for some assistance, so we're going to make our way and help him out.

You don't know why he's chasing that individual, whether they've got weapons, who that individual is.

When they get there, the runaway has been caught and cuffed.

-Hello, mate. Are you all right?

-Ey-up!

Just have a seat in the car. We'll get it sorted out.

If prisoners let out on compassionate grounds don't return, an arrest warrant is issued.

He was wanted for recall to prison. We didn't know the details.

The priority is getting him in the car and back to custody.

But the prisoner has another priority.

Will you not take me to Greenfield Lane to see my daughter? I was supposed to be meeting her there.

We've been told to take you into custody, so we can't do anything other than that.

I was going to hand myself in this afternoon after I'd seen my daughter. I saw my son yesterday.

-I really can't.

-Can you go into the left lane, so I can try and see her?

-We can pull in the lane, but we can't pull up.

-Yeah, just pull in that lane.

-Right.

She should be just anywhere here now. She were going to walk round to the doctor's to meet me.

Look, she's there, just coming out now. Can you beep t'horn at all, please?

She's there walking with t'pram.

Despite what people may think, we are human somewhere underneath.

The rare occasion a human side slipped out, I started to listen to what he was saying.

-Can I shout to her out the window at all? Just shout...

-BLEEP

-Just shout...

-BLEEP

-You're not getting out the car, but I'll give you two minutes.

-Thank you.

That's all I ask.

When you're at work, the uniform goes on, you're in the marked car, it's...

You become not robotic, but there's a prescribed way things are expected to happen.

On this particular occasion, it would have been hard for me to say "no".

-BLEEP

-Yeah, she's there.

-BLEEP

Just shout at her.

He's got two minutes.

Is it your partner we've got in the back? He just wants a minute with his daughter.

Just put the window down, mate.

They were there in that red car waiting for me right outside L&D.

Get her out and let me give her a kiss.

Take her dummy out.

-Why have they put them on you?

-I tried running off because I wanted to see her.

'He knew full well that he was being recalled to prison.'

I didn't know how long that was going to be for, but potentially, a substantial amount of time,

so it was quite an emotional couple of minutes.

-Give me another kiss, baby.

-Give Daddy a kiss.

-I love you, darling.

-Say "love you"!

-Say "love you".

-Say "love you".

-I love you, baby.

All right, we'll have to go, Matt.

Let everyone know I'll be all right, yeah?

-All right?

-Thank you.

-It's not a problem, mate.

'It's the family, the people left behind that tend to suffer the most.'

A lot of the time, people go off and serve prison sentences and family left behind feel the pain more.

'It is difficult and it was difficult to watch. I could see both Mum and Dad were emotional.'

We do have a human side and we can show a bit of compassion.

One minute's better than none. At least I've seen them both.

-Yeah.

-Get it over and done with now.

With the goodbyes over, the mood in the car lightens up.

-That guy who chased me had some bollocks. I jumped down this massive wall and seen him

-BLEEP

-follow me.

-BLEEP.

-They were desperate.

-Must have been a young un!

-They've just run past and seen you?

-Well, I were walking to meet her and they were parked up

-just before. I seen both doors open and thought,

-"BLEEP

-this!" I just belted it, but...

I'm unfit.

I said, "All I want is to see my kids." He said, "I'll take you." So I stopped.

-That's all I wanted anyway.

-What offence are you in for, mate?

-Drugs.

-Was it?

-Yeah.

-Cannabis?

-No, it were crack cocaine and heroin.

-How long's your sentence?

-Three years.

-How much have you done?

-I did 14 months. I split up with her. I was just

-BLEEP

-depressed.

So that's why I didn't go back.

In the end, the decision to let him see his daughter seems to be the right one.

'It's always difficult going against the grain.

'We have professional discretion, but going away from the norm is sometimes difficult.

'It's a judgment call to make.'

His family were there. It's a decision I made and I stick by it.

Giving him that few minutes didn't do any harm, but it's always difficult.

35 miles away in Leeds, PC Mick Roffe has teamed up with PC Gary Panther.

There's something not quite right about the red Volkswagen Golf that's coming into view.

We'll have a look at this one.

'It's a bit of a gut feeling kind of instinct.'

There's something not right.

I'm not sure what it is, but you feel it in your bones.

Mick's checking the Police National Computer to find out who owns the car.

It comes back to Global Autocare.

The car belongs to a company, so Mick will check if the driver is entitled to be at the wheel

and if he's insured.

Hi, pal. Give us your keys, pal.

-A problem?

-No, just a routine stop, mate. Your motor?

-Yeah.

-Well, it's actually Global Autocare, but I'm insured for the day.

-For just one day? A hire motor?

-No, it's Global Autocare.

-What do you do?

-I'm a debt collector.

-Right enough. You got some ID, pal? Are you collecting now?

-I am.

If you're knocking on people's doors you'll have some formal ID.

-Put that tab off for us, mate.

-Get rid of my cigarette?

-Do you mind?

-No, not at all, mate.

-You won't do me for chucking it away?

-Don't throw it out. You can smoke it after.

-Got your rental agreement for this car?

-I don't. It's Global Autocare.

-Don't you get a copy to go with the car?

-No, well, it's my friend's...

-Is it yours or your friend's?

-My friend's, but I'm insured for the day with Insure Daily.com.

-Insure Daily.com?

-That's correct.

-So who's hired the car?

-It's a leased vehicle through Daniel Myers.

-Daniel Myers Global Autocare. The hiree is Mr

-BLEEP.

I'm renting it for the day. I'm basically hiring it for the day.

Gaz, he's saying that he don't lease this car. Someone else does.

And he's hiring it just for a day. He's paid this kid some money.

I haven't paid him. Just a deposit in case something happens to the car.

'When you first start,'

you are gullible to a certain extent

and many a time my tutor constable clipped me round the ear

and said, "Don't be so stupid." You take people at face value.

The worst thing about this job is you look for the bad in everybody.

-So you've rented it off

-BLEEP

-for today?

-Pretty much.

No markers for him, Mick.

-Interestingly, the driver's friend is actually listed in his book of debtors.

-Can I have a look at that?

-Yeah, of course you can.

-What are these documents in here?

That is Provident Finance Credit. He's one of my friends.

-He got a loan off them.

-It seems strange. Are these your customers?

-Correct.

-This guy owes you money and you're driving his car around.

We were sort of thinking, well, here's a debt collector,

driving around in somebody's car,

who owes him money.

Has he threatened or has he put any pressure on this gentleman to allow him to drive his vehicle...

..in payment for the debt that he owes.

-How much does he owe you?

-He owes...

£940 minus £35.

-And you've given him 200 quid to borrow his car?

-A deposit of £200.

-That's different from giving him cash.

-All right, pal.

It's this lad who owns it here.

Because the debt collector's story isn't stacking up,

Gary's going to contact the leasing company.

1-7 to back office.

-I know it seems dodgy...

-It does. From my point of view, it seems very suspect.

-There's a conflict of interest there.

-There's no conflict at all.

You said you rented the car off him.

We've got one of your vehicles stopped at the moment.

We just, basically, believe that the gentleman who's driving it

has not actually hired the vehicle from yourselves.

We want to confirm if he's entitled to drive it at all.

-How long have you been doing this job?

-About four years.

-Decent money?

Can be. Depends if people pay.

-Do you get paid on a commission basis?

-Yeah.

-So whatever you recover, you get a percentage?

-I get a basic as well.

It depends. I get 15% of what I collect.

Are you all right with this chap?

-Yeah.

-His phone keeps ringing. I've told him not to answer it.

-He's not been searched yet.

-OK.

-I'll just speak to Gaz.

Gary has just found out who IS allowed to drive the car.

They rent the car off Global Autocare.

-Then they've rented it out specifically to

-BLEEP

-and

-BLEEP

-only.

-Yeah.

-And then he's driving it.

They don't consent for him to drive that car.

If you lease a vehicle and there's a person who's not on the lease agreement,

you can't allow them to drive around in it.

It's, technically, leased to you only.

You're under arrest on suspicion of taking this vehicle without consent. All right?

-Just jump out. Is there anything in your pockets at all?

-No.

For some reason, he's chosen to leave a watch in the car.

-Whose is that watch?

-It's mine.

-Take it with you?

-No, leave it.

The car's not going back to you, so you need everything out of there.

Now, why would you take your own watch off and put it in a car going back to Global Autocare?

He's never going to see it again. It was 150 quid's worth of watch.

-The watch is mine.

-So, why leave it?

-I'll take it, then. I'll have it.

Whose is that watch?

All right, it's my watch, right, but it's not of any value, mate...

-Listen. What are you getting upset for?

-Because you're trying to twist everything I'm saying.

I told you to get everything out the car and you've took a watch off.

Because the watch is invaluable.

There's no value to it. I don't mind if I don't have it back.

So, why take it off? It just don't make sense. Do you understand?

-It does.

-I'm not being funny with you, but why would you take a watch off?

That cost me a fiver. I wouldn't throw it on t'floor.

I'll seize this from you and we'll make some inquiries about it.

-All right.

-If it's someone else's, we'll speak to you about that.

-Well, it's my friend's watch

-BLEEP

-and it's mine as well.

-So it's not your watch, is it?

-It doesn't matter.

-It does matter.

I was wearing it for today. Is there a problem with that?

-We'll have to speak to

-BLEEP.

-OK, fine.

-If you're taking people's possessions in payment for...

-what he owes you.

-I'm not taking possessions. He's my good friend.

-And he's also got his good friend's passport.

-I'll have that as well.

It was our reasonable assumption that he'd put some pressure on the guy who owed him money

and said, "I'll have your watch, your car and do what I want with it."

And there's another find that's not making sense.

How long have you had this car for?

-I've had it for...not long at all.

-How long's "not long at all"?

-A day. Today.

-Your nose is getting longer every time you speak.

-I've had the car today. Is that my licence?

-It is.

-I don't know why that's in there.

It's your licence, wrapped up with a train ticket from 21st September.

-I don't know why. Maybe I left some stuff in the boot.

-Yeah.

He's got this kid's passport, a watch that he says is his.

We need to go and have a word with this kid

and make sure nowt untoward's happened.

If Gary and Mick can track "this kid" down, then maybe they'll find out the truth.

In Birmingham, the cars involved in the multiple pile-up on the motorway are examined by Al Colman

and Jess Davies.

I just had a little walk around the Mini and you can see there's a shopping bag

with a couple of bottles of sparkly wine.

It just hits home to you, really, you know, looking at the state of the car,

it looks to me like they've stopped off at the shops,

bought a couple of bottles of bubbly, perhaps having a girly night in,

like me and my mum do that every other week.

It's quite sort of haunting to look at that vehicle,

especially when it's really mangled up and you know what the people in that vehicle went through

and what the end result was.

One person died, but seven people survived. The big question is

what caused the Mini to be in the wrong lane and crash head on into the Jaguar?

On CCTV, when the vehicle goes across into the opposing carriageway,

we can see that the brake lights aren't illuminated,

so our suspicion is that possibly the brakes weren't applied.

The brakes work. Just push real hard.

So that's telling us that the brakes are actually working.

If we can get power into the vehicle, we can check whether the brake lights actually apply.

I think while you're here we'll do that.

The car's powered up, so if Jess presses the brake pedal, we'll see what happens.

So the brake lights... are working. She never braked.

I think it's something medical now, I do.

I think she's felt unwell.

My personal opinion, I think she may have been unconscious

when this vehicle was going across...

going across the carriageway

because she hasn't made any attempt

to correct her steering or to apply the brakes.

As well as one fatality, four of the survivors were injured, but it could have been much worse.

Seat belts were the main reason why we only had one fatality in this accident.

In the Jaguar that night were Paul Hill, his wife and two friends.

I'd only had the car for three weeks and it was the first occasion

that I'd actually had rear passengers in the car.

They put their seat belts on because of the annoying buzzer

that prompts people to wear seat belts

that are usually fitted in the front, but on the Jag is fitted in the rear as well.

Wearing those rear seat belts undoubtedly saved their lives and, most likely,

the lives of those in the front, too. Paul's wife Siobhan was in the back seat.

She suffered severe bruising, but these were her only injuries.

It makes you look at your own mortality and you wake up thinking

it is good to be alive today. I thank God for that every day.

Since the accident, more than ever.

Time and time again, you'll stop someone for not wearing a seat belt,

you'll give them a ticket, they think it's beneath them.

They think why should they have to pay a fine, they think it's petty. They just don't get the point.

People get annoyed with us. "Can you not just give me a warning?"

This is the reason why I can't give you a warning. This is why it's £60. Cos it's your life.

It's your life that you're playing with and if you're the rear seat passenger with no seat belt,

you're also playing with the life of the people in front, the driver and passenger.

You're playing with their lives as well.

Not wearing seat belts and using mobile phones while driving

-are two of the most common motoring offences in the UK.

-Hiya. You're not wearing your seat belt.

Oh! OK, I'm sorry.

It's just cos I literally was just coming up the road and that's my house.

It's great that your child is in a seat belt, but where's yours?

-No seat belt.

-I just literally took it off to lean over to get her dummy.

I can see you've got it on now.

-Why isn't it on?

-I just took it off.

-You didn't have it on at the lights.

You didn't have it on.

For a second - that's all it takes to put a seat belt on - you're dead a very long time.

So it's really important that people wear seat belts.

It's a different story altogether now. I'll not let anybody sit behind me in a car

without wearing a seat belt. I won't get in a taxi without a seat belt on.

It's had... It's made a massive difference to us.

Keeping people safe on the roads is a major part of the job,

-but still a hardcore of drivers ignore the law.

-There's an "It'll never happen to me" culture.

"If I just go down to the shop with no seat belt, no-one will catch me." "If I just take this quick call."

And it's more than likely that's the time it's all going to go wrong.

Every year, 200,000 tickets for not wearing a seat belt are issued

and 150,000 drivers are prosecuted for using their phones at the wheel.

It's plain stupidity when people use a mobile phone. The message has been

out there for everybody to be aware.

Motorway cops Nigel Kearney and Martin Smith are on the M42 south of Birmingham.

They're in an unmarked car, making it easy to creep up on drivers who think they won't be caught.

He's on the phone, the lorry. DX61 AEC.

-He was holding the phone out in front. He's getting a ticket.

-He's catching on now, mate.

-He's a professional driver, he's got a 44-tonne truck.

-'It is a lethal weapon.'

They don't stop for things. If they travel at 55mph,

fully laden, and hit a car, they go over it.

-Very distinctive phone when you're holding it when you're driving.

-Sorry.

Like many drivers who are caught in the act, this man has a ready answer.

If you look, I can honestly say I was doing that.

-I swear I wasn't using it.

-But it's in your hand.

-I know.

-If something happened in front of you, you wouldn't have the same...

-I swear I wasn't using my phone.

But you had it in your hand. We're prosecuting you for not being in proper control of your vehicle.

-OK.

-You are driving a 44-tonne truck.

-Yeah.

What happens when that 44-tonne truck at 55 miles an hour

-ploughs into the back of a small family car?

-I totally appreciate what you're saying.

I've got a hands-free kit. I was looking at a picture.

When I open it, a picture of my daughter comes on. I look at it 50 times a day. Personal reasons.

I appreciate that, but you shouldn't do it when you're driving.

-So the way I would like to deal with you today is a fixed penalty notice.

-Certainly.

-Have you any points?

-Nine.

-How many?

-Nine.

-Right.

-That changes things somewhat.

Nine points is pretty much a critical turning point on anybody's driving licence.

It's one more hit and you're out.

We can't issue a fixed penalty for someone already on nine points.

That person could be disqualified.

For this trucker, a disqualification is likely to mean the loss of his livelihood.

I've just started work again. I've been through a divorce hence the picture.

-What's your nine for?

-I had a car in 2008

-and didn't give the police... Somebody drove it and I didn't...

-Permission.

-Six points.

-And I've got three for speeding.

-You're going to get disqualified.

He's just crawled out of this dark place he was in and was just getting sorted. That was my dilemma.

It seems quite trivial, but I really didn't want him to lose everything he'd worked really hard for.

I just... It was quite heartfelt.

We are human, aren't we? Same as everybody else.

-You've been disqualified before?

-He has.

-I've had a lot of problems, as you can probably gather.

I know where you're coming from, I can empathise fully because I have similar issues,

but I still can't do certain things whilst I'm at work.

It's a sorry time when marriages break up and when relationships between parents and children

'also break down. Sometimes there can be an awful lot of bitterness'

surrounding the break-up.

And it does get in the way of relationships with children.

Being on my phone looking at pictures of my kids, which I don't get to see very often, like yourself,

I'd end up in the same degree of trouble for the same offences.

I'm a professional driver, my colleague is, but we have responsibilities.

We've got no choice but to act because of what you were doing.

It puts us in a very, very difficult position.

We have many options. We can send people to court, endorse their licence,

send them on a driver improvement scheme. Or we can... give them a warning.

We've got discretion.

Sometimes I'd rather use discretion.

While the cops decide what path they're going to take,

back in Leeds the debt collector is being booked into Bridewell police station.

-Know how much should be here?

-He was driving a leased car without the leasing company's consent.

Do you have a solicitor or would you like me to contact the duty scheme?

-Can you ring

-BLEEP?

-Do you know what company he's from?

-Oh, he's from...

BLEEP

'Very upset, very emotional. More than you would expect of someone who hasn't done anything wrong.'

From start to finish, he's not told us a straight story. He constantly changes it.

He's asked myself and Gary, quite upset, if he'll go to prison.

To get to the truth about the hire car, Mick and Gary need to talk to the actual leaseholder

so they're going to his home address.

The blinds are down on t'windows. Surprisingly.

They've just discovered that the debt collector's solicitor has already "had a word"

about his arrest with the man they want to question. Mick and Gary are more than a little unhappy.

He shouldn't make his own inquiries, undermining our investigation.

I'm fuming about that.

The man has agreed to meet them - in a petrol station forecourt.

You'll have to move your seat forward, mate.

-You're pretty much aware of why you're here.

-BLEEP

-rang me.

-So that's what I'm aware of.

-He's rung you. Is he your solicitor?

-He's a family friend of my family.

He was careful not to drop anybody in it.

Do you owe any money to the gentleman you lent the car to?

-To Max?

-Yeah.

-No. Not a penny.

I don't owe him any money now.

-So he's not collecting any debts from yourself?

-No, he's not collecting any debts, not at all.

-That's nothing to do with anything.

-Ever lived at

-BLEEP

-in Leeds?

-Yeah.

So he is collecting money from you.

-No, he's not collecting any money from me.

-So you've never owed him 1,500 quid?

-Are you talking about Max Michelson?

-Yeah.

-I've never owed Max Michelson £1,500, no.

Oh, do you mean Max Michelson, Providence-wise? In the past, I've taken out a loan with him,

but not for £1,500, no.

He were tying himself up in knots, trying to come up with explanations.

-Sorry, I didn't realise...

-I said is he collecting a debt?

-No, he's not collecting a debt.

With his company, Providence, I have, in the past, taken out a loan, but it's separate.

When I were asking the questions, I was obviously thinking, "This is not true."

-Shall we start again?

-Yeah.

-Shall we start again, assuming we know more than you think we know?

-No...

-Do you want to tell us the truth?

-I'm not... I've got...

-Don't say, "I'm not lying."

-That never works.

-I understand that. I've got no reason to lie to you at all about anything.

-I don't agree.

-Has he given you any money today?

-He hasn't.

-Any money towards the vehicle, to cover any damage?

He's given me nothing. He's not given me a penny. I haven't taken any money off him at all.

There's still some questions to be answered. The stories you're both providing...

I'm pretty certain that one of you is lying.

-Well, I don't...

-We'll get the statement sorted.

We'll put it down on paper and he'll have to answer some questions.

They do always try to give you an account that's semi-plausible.

'But we have the time and resources and the tenacity'

to see things through to the nth degree, if you like.

The man will be formally interviewed on tape and released while they continue their investigation.

Back on the M42, Nigel Kearney and Martin Smith have made up their minds what to do

with the trucker they caught using his mobile phone.

I appreciate you've got your job to do and I suppose I've learnt about mine now, haven't I?

I've only just gone back to work Thursday. I had 12 months off,

with all the hassle I've gone through.

You'll be reported for driving whilst not in proper control.

I can't deal with you by fixed penalty notice because of your points.

The cops have the freedom to use discretion in dealing with every driver.

Discretion is important. We have to remember that we can make choices.

We're not forced down a particular route in terms of he should go to court or get a ticket

or we should caution or let an individual off. We have to take consideration of all of the facts.

It's not about letting people off. It's not about not taking any action.

It's about making appropriate decisions for that individual and the circumstances we dealt with.

Sometimes a decision that's right for one person isn't right for the next.

I hope it pans out. You'll get into your cab now with my colleague.

-I hope it pans out...

-Cheers.

-..with the kids. I'm in the same boat.

-Thanks very much.

The written caution he'll receive means he may avoid losing his licence, but he'll get a lecture.

This is your final chance and the reason being that what you're driving kills people.

You not looking what you're doing, you will kill somebody, right?

These things aren't forgiving. You promise you'll never do it again? You get hands-free

and never use that phone ever again when you're driving. You get caught again by us or another crew,

I'll make sure you go to court. I'll put in there that I have given you this chance

-and if you disregard it, I'll ask for the maximum sentence. You've been through hell.

-Yeah.

You don't want to put yourself through it again.

See you later.

-OK?

-Yeah. There will be a letter in the post.

If you can see what the guy is trying to do, trying to get on his feet,

and it's been a long road for him and he's lost everything,

I know cos I've been there. And you have.

We've still got to do the right thing in terms of our responsibilities to other motorists as well.

I can really empathise with him, but we can't let our hearts rule our heads in that way.

We haven't prosecuted him to the full letter of the law.

He hasn't gone to court, lost his licence, but you have to put yourself in that situation.

What would you have done?

The Crown Prosecution Service took no action against the driver of the Mini in which her mother died.

The inquest found that the driver may possibly have had a severe allergic reaction,

causing her to black out at the wheel. The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The young woman who crashed her car made a full recovery.

Doctors believe she became ill whilst driving due to a new course of medicine she'd just started.

Why the man who ran away from the cops was behaving strangely was never established.

The substances found on him were not illegal. No action was taken.

But the driver of the car had neither a licence nor insurance. He was fined £500, paid £85 costs

and received eight points on his licence.

The debt collector wasn't prosecuted for taking the leasing company's car without consent

and no further action was taken against him for borrowing his mate's watch and passport, either.

However, he was charged with driving without insurance. He pleaded guilty, paid £85 in court costs

and was given a six-month conditional discharge. No action was taken against his mate.

And the man who was looking at photos of his daughter on his phone while driving a 44-tonne truck

received an official letter of caution.

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