:00:00. > :00:07.Today's main headlines in the South East:
:00:08. > :00:09.Make a decision now on the new Thames Crossing
:00:10. > :00:15.or the South East will grind to a halt, business leaders warn.
:00:16. > :00:19.He was killed by a driver who'd been texting, the mother of a teenager
:00:20. > :00:21.says new penalties for mobile phone use at the wheel
:00:22. > :00:28.We're live at Kent Police headquarters tonight.
:00:29. > :00:32.And after today's rain, we have a dry, bright and mild day on the way
:00:33. > :00:43.for two morrow. -- tomorrow. The South East could
:00:44. > :00:47.grind to a standstill unless the government makes
:00:48. > :00:49.an urgent decision on where a new crossing over
:00:50. > :00:52.the Thames should be built. That's the warning to the Chancellor
:00:53. > :00:54.tonight in a letter signed by the Federation
:00:55. > :00:56.of Small Businesses, the Port of Dover and the London
:00:57. > :00:59.Chamber of Commerce. Last year, ministers promised
:01:00. > :01:01.an announcement "in due course". A crossing that can't cope, causing
:01:02. > :01:05.gridlock on the region's roads, That's why the Federation
:01:06. > :01:08.of Small Businesses say, in addition to the Dartford Crossing, a new
:01:09. > :01:16.Lower Thames Crossing is needed now. There's a real problem
:01:17. > :01:18.with traffic congestion, particularly here in Kent,
:01:19. > :01:20.but not just Kent - London, Essex, too -
:01:21. > :01:23.that'll only be solved when we have So we do need the Chancellor,
:01:24. > :01:30.Philip Hammond, to seize the day in the budget and take some
:01:31. > :01:33.action on this. In January last year,
:01:34. > :01:35.Highways England chose a multi-billion pound tunnel,
:01:36. > :01:44.east of Gravesend, as its preferred option, rather than another
:01:45. > :01:45.crossing at Dartford. It even produced images
:01:46. > :01:48.of what it would look like. A public consultation
:01:49. > :01:49.attracted 40,000 responses, but still no final decision
:01:50. > :01:51.from the Government. In a letter to be published
:01:52. > :01:54.in tomorrow's City AM newspaper, the Federation, along
:01:55. > :01:55.with the Freight Transport Association, the Port of Dover
:01:56. > :01:58.and the London Chamber of Commerce say
:01:59. > :02:00.the Dartford Crossing is creaking under the pressure
:02:01. > :02:02.of 50 million crossing a year. That threatens to bring
:02:03. > :02:05.the South East to a standstill. The Government's promise to make
:02:06. > :02:07.a decision in due course I think it's disgusting that
:02:08. > :02:17.they've never made it good. How much do you think
:02:18. > :02:19.a new crossing is needed? No-one wants it on their doorstep,
:02:20. > :02:23.but it's definitely needed. As soon as you get a snarl
:02:24. > :02:28.on the M25, an accident, that's it, it just snags all the
:02:29. > :02:31.way back for hours. The people in Dartford are held up
:02:32. > :02:36.for hours and hours. There have been protests
:02:37. > :02:38.against the possible The Department for Transport
:02:39. > :02:41.said today it recognised But said, again, a decision will be
:02:42. > :02:48.taken in due course. I'm optimistic that we'll actually
:02:49. > :02:50.get a decision this month. It's important we get
:02:51. > :02:52.the right decision that Soon as we get the decision,
:02:53. > :03:02.we can get on with building it. Whichever option meet governing
:03:03. > :03:04.choosers, it's going to be The Dartford MP said
:03:05. > :03:08.a new crossing here with simply bring more traffic into Dartford,
:03:09. > :03:20.it should go into Gravesend. The mother of a teenage cyclist
:03:21. > :03:27.who died after being hit by a van says tough new penalties
:03:28. > :03:29.for motorists who use their mobile Daniel Squire was just 18
:03:30. > :03:34.when he was killed near Deal, by a driver who admitted he'd been
:03:35. > :03:36.sending text messages From today, the penalties for
:03:37. > :03:40.drivers caught using their phones have been increased to a ?200
:03:41. > :03:42.fine and six points. Cyclist Daniel Squire died
:03:43. > :03:50.after was hit by a ban The driver, who was cleared of
:03:51. > :03:54.causing his death, admitted in court he had been texting
:03:55. > :03:56.earlier in his journey. From today, penalties
:03:57. > :03:58.for using a phone at the wheel Six points on your driving
:03:59. > :04:01.licence, and a ?200 fine. But Daniel Squire's
:04:02. > :04:03.mother believes the new I do believe that there
:04:04. > :04:15.has been a step forward I think it should be
:04:16. > :04:21.an instant ban if you're caught using your phone,
:04:22. > :04:24.particularly texting, it should be For me, it's worse -
:04:25. > :04:27.not possibly worse, but it comes in According to the AA trust,
:04:28. > :04:39.nationally, texting at the wheel caused 440 crashes at the wheel,
:04:40. > :04:41.resulting in 22 deaths. In a single week-long
:04:42. > :04:43.crackdown, the police issued Today's tougher punishments come
:04:44. > :04:50.alongside a hard-hitting advertising If people do need
:04:51. > :04:55.to use their phones while driving is all they feel
:04:56. > :04:57.that they need to, today, the modern cars have everything
:04:58. > :05:02.built into them so The people who feel generally
:05:03. > :05:10.obliged to use their phones, that the phones do a huge amount
:05:11. > :05:13.for them automatically It is a needless death and selfish
:05:14. > :05:18.act when you're driving. You're potentially
:05:19. > :05:20.in charge of a vehicle She says she's keen to see
:05:21. > :05:23.if that tougher new rules will have an effect in reducing
:05:24. > :05:40.the number of road accidents. And Charlie is at Kent Police
:05:41. > :05:42.headquarters tonight. It seems the police
:05:43. > :05:44.continue to have a big job on their hands stopping people from
:05:45. > :05:56.using their phones at the wheel. Well, listen to this, the latest
:05:57. > :06:00.report from the RAC shows that 31% of drivers admitted using a
:06:01. > :06:04.hand-held device and that compares to 8% two years ago. Clearly the
:06:05. > :06:10.police have a big job on their hands. The AA say a big problem is
:06:11. > :06:15.that too many of us are addicted to these things and the best way to
:06:16. > :06:17.break that addiction is to go cold turkey, lets them off and put them
:06:18. > :06:21.in the glove box. Thank you. Kent Police are to use special hoods
:06:22. > :06:24.to protect officers from bites The force's Chief Constable had
:06:25. > :06:28.previously opposed their use but has changed his mind,
:06:29. > :06:30.persuaded by fears officers are being put at risk
:06:31. > :06:33.of injury or infection. Tens of thousands of Southern Rail
:06:34. > :06:36.commuters could miss out on compensation for the poor service
:06:37. > :06:39.they've received over the last year because of the way they
:06:40. > :06:41.bought their ticket. Labour members of the London
:06:42. > :06:43.Assembly say a government scheme to refund passengers on the Southern
:06:44. > :06:45.network will only benefit season ticket holders
:06:46. > :06:47.and some Travelcard users. Nearly 60,000 Southern trains
:06:48. > :07:00.were cancelled last year. The equivalent of all
:07:01. > :07:02.services being at a When the Government stumped up
:07:03. > :07:05.a multi-million pound compensation fund, it wasn't a moment too
:07:06. > :07:07.soon for passengers. Now there's concern that many
:07:08. > :07:09.passengers won't get a Everyone uses their Southern rail
:07:10. > :07:21.service, you may be commuting from London Bridge to Brighton, it is
:07:22. > :07:25.the basic principle of fairness, everyone uses the same train,
:07:26. > :07:28.they should be entitled for the same The issue was that the compensation
:07:29. > :07:32.was only for those who have season A year's ticket got
:07:33. > :07:35.a month costs back. But those who pay on the day get
:07:36. > :07:40.nothing from the Government pot. One MP says there's simpler way
:07:41. > :07:50.to compensate everyone. My view is that there should be
:07:51. > :07:52.a straightforward fare reduction until they have the service back
:07:53. > :07:56.into the shape they desire to be, perhaps when the London
:07:57. > :07:58.Bridge work to complete. That should be away giving
:07:59. > :07:59.across-the-board compensation to Pay-as-you-go passengers can still
:08:00. > :08:06.claim on a journey by journey basis, but the time it takes is clearly
:08:07. > :08:16.off-putting for some. You are trying to claw back
:08:17. > :08:20.as much viewed as possible, I did it on the internet,
:08:21. > :08:26.but got in such a muddle I gave up. I wanted to do it,
:08:27. > :08:28.but too busy, that's that. Some delays were out
:08:29. > :08:31.of Southern's hands, problems with the track,
:08:32. > :08:32.for example. But most were caused by poor
:08:33. > :08:35.performance and strikes over the toxic issue of drivers
:08:36. > :08:49.operating the doors. Our reporter Lauren
:08:50. > :08:51.Moss is with me now. Of course Southern passengers
:08:52. > :08:54.have yet to see a resolution to almost a year
:08:55. > :08:56.of industrial action. But talks did resume today
:08:57. > :09:10.between the Aslef Union Yes, if your member, last month, the
:09:11. > :09:15.Aslef union leaders had agreed a deal but it was voted down by
:09:16. > :09:19.members of Aslef. Getting euthanised, both parties sent us a
:09:20. > :09:22.statement saying they have had positive discussions and detox will
:09:23. > :09:31.continue. This argument doesn't only involve Aslef, be RMT unions said
:09:32. > :09:35.they will stage another 24-hour walk-out on the 23rd of March and
:09:36. > :09:36.that will be the dirtiest day of strike action since the dispute
:09:37. > :09:42.began back in April. Thank you. And in the last hour,
:09:43. > :09:45.BBC South East Today has won the Royal Television Society award
:09:46. > :09:47.for the best Nations and Regions news
:09:48. > :09:48.programme in the country. It's our second
:09:49. > :09:52.win in three years. That's it from me, just time to take
:09:53. > :10:09.a check now on the South East Hello, good evening. Dry again this
:10:10. > :10:14.morning for the start of the debacle at started to change. Behind us,
:10:15. > :10:18.clear skies because it is built by last three overnight averages
:10:19. > :10:23.hovering above freezing. 2-3 C in more rural spots. It'll be a dry day
:10:24. > :10:27.tomorrow and, dare we say it, bright, too. By the afternoon,
:10:28. > :10:34.temperatures quite mild, breezy as you can tell, 20 miles ballot winds.
:10:35. > :10:39.Their bridges grouping in the afternoon to double figures, 10-11 C
:10:40. > :10:45.a pleasant afternoon. They can most of it, it won't last. There's a
:10:46. > :10:49.injured Friday, the balance thickens, from midnight we will see
:10:50. > :10:56.some rain, heavy at times. As a result, a mild night overnight.
:10:57. > :11:01.5-6 C, but not pleasant as the dark Friday. Wet, windy, not nice but an
:11:02. > :11:02.improvement likely by the afternoon. Here's the Al
:11:03. > :11:06.outlook. A whole load of 11 is. What does that mean? Maybe John Hammond
:11:07. > :11:15.will tell you. We're in for a bumpy ride. The
:11:16. > :11:19.weather chopping and changing keeping us on our toes. Rain never
:11:20. > :11:23.too far away from our crystal ball. There has been rain around today
:11:24. > :11:26.across southern areas. This band of wet weather pushing through Wales
:11:27. > :11:31.and the Midlands. A little bit of the white stuff mixed in over the
:11:32. > :11:35.high ground Snowdonia, some snow for an trans-Pennine routes as well.
:11:36. > :11:36.Snow at low levels through the