:00:09. > :00:12.from Oxford. In tonight's programme: Did eating while driving cause a
:00:12. > :00:15.motorist to knock down and kill a cyclist? Paul Brown denies causing
:00:15. > :00:20.death by dangerous driving, but lawyers claim he was distracted at
:00:20. > :00:23.the wheel. Also tonight, the pressures of
:00:23. > :00:29.public transport when you're blind or partially sighted. The campaign
:00:29. > :00:33.for talking buses to run in our region.
:00:33. > :00:43.And almost 200 years of tradition is on the brink of being scrapped - as
:00:43. > :00:48.
:00:48. > :00:52.one of the last men only clubs votes to allow women.
:00:52. > :00:59.Good evening. A man has denied he was driving dangerously when he
:01:00. > :01:03.killed an off-duty firefighter who was cycling along a country road.
:01:03. > :01:06.Oxford Crown Court has been told that Paul Brown was distracted by
:01:06. > :01:10.eating a sandwich when he knocked Joseph Wilkins off his bike on a
:01:10. > :01:18.rural road near Oxford in May last year. Angela Walker is at the Crown
:01:18. > :01:22.Court. Angela, what has the court heard today? We heard that
:01:22. > :01:29.firefighter Joe Wilkinson was cycling down a country lane when he
:01:29. > :01:34.was hit from behind by a card driven by Paul Brown. He was thrown into a
:01:34. > :01:40.ditch and sustained fatal injuries. The court heard from one of the
:01:40. > :01:49.first police officers on the scene? PC Richard Watts was the first
:01:49. > :01:54.uniformed officer on the scene. He said the that the defendant was
:01:54. > :01:59.shaken and traumatised. And he said that through the window of the car
:01:59. > :02:06.he could see a half eaten sandwich and sandwich wrapper on the seat of
:02:06. > :02:16.the car. The defendant said to him that it was hazy and he just did not
:02:16. > :02:20.
:02:20. > :02:24.see him. So what did Paul Brown say when he was questioned by police?
:02:24. > :02:29.Well he said that he had a sandwich in one hand and the steering wheel
:02:29. > :02:35.in another. But he said he had done it many times before and did not
:02:35. > :02:44.find it to be a distraction. He says he is denying the count of dangerous
:02:44. > :02:50.driving. The case continues at Oxford Crown Court.
:02:50. > :02:58.Oxford's only lap dancing club has been given permission to go to the
:02:58. > :03:02.court of appeal to appeal against a High Court decision not to renew its
:03:03. > :03:06.licence. The City Council refused The Lodge's application last year
:03:06. > :03:10.and that was upheld by the High Court. It had been denied a licence
:03:10. > :03:15.to operate next to St Ebbes church in 2011 and had moved to Oxpens
:03:15. > :03:18.Road. Now the owner will take his case to the Court of Appeal. Figures
:03:18. > :03:22.obtained by the BBC show that reported hate crimes in Oxfordshire
:03:22. > :03:25.have fallen by nearly 20% over the last year. The data from Thames
:03:25. > :03:28.Valley Police shows that between July 2012 and June 2013 there were
:03:28. > :03:30.264 crimes recorded against someone because of their race, religion,
:03:31. > :03:34.sexual orientation or disability. That's compared to 327 in the
:03:34. > :03:38.previous 12 months. People living near a busy main road on the edge of
:03:38. > :03:41.Swindon are hoping for a quieter life, with a fence that will cut the
:03:41. > :03:45.noise - and generate power. The barrier would be fitted with solar
:03:45. > :03:47.panels. A similar idea was put forward last year by residents in
:03:47. > :03:51.Oxfordshire who are campaigning for a solar-panelled sound barrier on
:03:51. > :03:56.the M40. Now businesses are being asked to help foot the bill for one
:03:56. > :04:03.on the A419. Scott Ellis has this report.
:04:03. > :04:08.The faster you go the Laudrup the noise and with lorries you can add
:04:08. > :04:13.the bracket of the diesel engine. To the east of Swindon you will know
:04:13. > :04:18.all about that. Sitting out sometimes in the back garden on a
:04:18. > :04:24.pleasant sunny day when it is no breeze, it is really loud. Sometimes
:04:24. > :04:29.we wake up during the night. In the early morning when they are all
:04:30. > :04:34.going to work. The current sound barrier is barely more than eight
:04:34. > :04:39.fence and has gaps in it. The Highways Agency agrees that the area
:04:39. > :04:43.needs an upgrade but roadside soundproofing costs up to �1 million
:04:43. > :04:49.per mile to build and maintain. Swindon borough council says that
:04:49. > :04:53.going solar could cut costs. solar sound barrier will comprise
:04:53. > :05:00.solar panels which generate electricity which we can then sell
:05:00. > :05:05.to local businesses. And we have a number of those in Swindon. If we
:05:05. > :05:10.can get them on board and raised the money necessary to build and they
:05:10. > :05:16.fought the maintenance of the barrier itself, it will work.
:05:16. > :05:23.other countries in Europe to have solar powered sound barriers. And
:05:23. > :05:28.the project does have the backing of the Highways Agency. In Swindon a
:05:28. > :05:34.business case is being put together. The town once solar powered
:05:34. > :05:38.soundproofing here in 2 years' time. Blind and partially-sighted people
:05:38. > :05:42.in Oxfordshire are urging bus companies to install talking buses.
:05:42. > :05:45.Every day 100 people in the UK start to lose their sight, and it's
:05:45. > :05:49.estimated that figure will double by 2050. Oxford Bus Company is training
:05:49. > :05:52.its drivers to be more aware of passengers with poor sight, but it
:05:52. > :05:58.could be a while before all its buses are fitted with spoken
:05:58. > :06:02.information. People who are blind or partially
:06:02. > :06:11.sighted are not allowed to drive so many use the buses. The problem is
:06:11. > :06:15.they often do not know which stopped to get off of which bus to get on.
:06:15. > :06:19.Paul has a progressive eye condition which has got much worse in the last
:06:19. > :06:23.few years. Because he has tunnel vision and is completely blind at
:06:23. > :06:32.night, he relies on buses to get around. He wants Oxford's buses to
:06:32. > :06:36.be talking buses. Whether in the daylight or especially in the dark,
:06:36. > :06:42.knowing what stop you want to get our fact, many times I have missed
:06:42. > :06:47.the correct stop. It is simply voice recognition and I think it is
:06:47. > :06:50.essential. All buses in London, more than 8,000 of them, have "next stop"
:06:50. > :06:54.announcements. In Oxford talking buses are being trialled on the
:06:54. > :07:03.park-and-ride service to help tourists. If successful they could
:07:03. > :07:09.be rolled out across the city. Oxford Bus Company does give
:07:09. > :07:13.disability awareness training to its drivers and other bus operators. Guy
:07:13. > :07:21.is partially sighted and Steve has been driving buses for more than 20
:07:21. > :07:25.years. What's it like when they swap places? There is a lot going on and
:07:25. > :07:31.they still have to be aware of the passengers on board especially the
:07:31. > :07:35.party decided once. I will be looking out for it a lot more.
:07:35. > :07:39.this month the National Institute of Blind People will ask the government
:07:40. > :07:42.to make training mandatory for all drivers.
:07:42. > :07:47.Smart phones, laptops and tablets are all bringing entertainment where
:07:47. > :07:51.people want it, whether that's on the street or in the home. But one
:07:51. > :07:53.cafe in Oxford is aiming to get us back to board games - sitting round
:07:54. > :08:00.a table, sharing the same experience. We've been out asking
:08:00. > :08:06.people about their favourite board games. We do play Monopoly a great
:08:06. > :08:13.deal and we know who cheats! I do like to play competitive games with
:08:13. > :08:21.my friends. Everybody wants to win. It is usually friendly but it was
:08:21. > :08:25.different when I was younger with all my brothers and sisters! Jeremy
:08:25. > :08:31.Stern has been to the cafe, Thirsty Meeples, where there are 1,500
:08:31. > :08:35.different games to choose from. If you like games you will not get
:08:35. > :08:43.bored here. There are hundreds to choose from at this new cafe in
:08:43. > :08:49.Oxford. I am just learning how to play this game. You are in a dungeon
:08:49. > :08:56.and random stuff happens to do with monsters. This is a simple tile
:08:56. > :09:04.game. I scored points by finishing a row. This is quite similar to chest
:09:04. > :09:09.but a bit more fun and fast paced. Five is a new game but there are are
:09:09. > :09:13.also classic. The owner quit his job as a social worker to set up in a
:09:13. > :09:19.macro. It has taken nine months to build up a collection which he
:09:19. > :09:24.believes can rival any computer console for entertainment value.
:09:24. > :09:28.Board games are going through a renaissance. There are around 300
:09:28. > :09:32.coming out every year now. We are trying to promote them so people can
:09:32. > :09:38.see which ones are good. For those who find instructions tedious there
:09:38. > :09:43.are games or was on hand to explain the rules. Some play for fun but for
:09:43. > :09:48.others it is all about the end result. The key to being good at
:09:48. > :09:52.winning, what everyone else is trying to grab, you find a different