I feel sorry for the police

I really do.

They must have so much red tape and bureaucracy to deal with that when a concerned citizen reports a mild yet potentially dangerous bit of naughtiness, they do as much as they can to avoid acting on it.

So this car was weaving in and out of his lane on a dual carriagewy, going slowly. I thought drunk?
No, he was texting!

Now I don't really care what people are doing in their cars provided they are not endangering others but this chap was being foolish. So when I got into work, I called my local constabulary for them to have brief word - not arrest or anything like that but just a word 'in is shell like' to say, be careful. I didn't think he would respond to me.

Before you all think I am being completely over the top and have lost my 'common sense' chip, let me give you some context.
Back in my youth, not soooo long ago, if you were naughty, your local copper came round, took you to one side and had a word. Depending on how old you were, it was in front of your parents and that was seriously shaming. The police were people you could (and did) respect, if you gave them jip, they would either give you a thick ear or a quick trip to the station. They didn't nick you but you had to walk across town back home!!
So my thinking is this, receive a letter from her majesty's boys in blue and it would at least make you think about the consequences and then you choose whether or not you carry on being foolish. Make sense, common sense, that is policing, letting people know that the law is there should you break them!!

So back to my story, I call and say, there was a chap , driving erratically and weaving over the road and as I passed him saw he was texting. They say, sorry, you need to call us at the time so we can do something about it.
I say, I couldnt I was driving
They say, well we need two witnesses to charge.
I say, I have details, wife was with me, is that enough or can you send him a letter to let him knw he was driving like an idiot?
They say - Not really.
I say - I am sure that there is a big crackdown on this kind of driving by TVP at the moment including TV adverts no?
They say - mmmm..
I say - What harm could it do to let him know he was being a pratt?
They say - I'll check with Sarge (delay ) No sorry
I say - I'm shocked!

Eventually they take the details and give me a ref number. I feel really sorry for the police, because I know some coppers and they could PNC the car, send a letter saying that he was seen driving erratically and that if the coppers catch him, he could face charges.
If they stick a couple of stats about concentration levels on driving when texting that would add gravitas. Allegedly, you are 50% or half as attentive on your driving when you text than when you're not.

Armed with this knowledge, and the possible consequencs, he can then make the decision for himself if he will continue driving like a pratt.

Like I said earlier, I have no problem what people do in their cars, provided it doesn't endanger anyone, I don't care, but the police are so hog-tied in bureacracy that they can't police like police should.

Those thick ears that me and my mates got didn't do us any harm, and I'll tell you something, it made us think twice before acting like pratts again. It worked back then, why not now?

Weddings

Weddings and, in particular, their invites are sometimes taken for granted. I happen to think that there is not enough premise put on marriage but that is a rant for another day.

I had the honour and pleasure of being invited to the wedding of two friends. These friend are very special to me and Mrs L. Graeme is the friend that let me drive his Smart Roadster Coupe, so you could say the Brabus is his fault, and Nicki has been a friend to my family since my wife and I got married.

So to be invited to their wedding was truly an honour.

Also, I think I found the perfect wedding car. Being careful with their budgets, Graeme decided to use one of the most exclusive cars in the UK, he drove his new bride to the reception in his Smart Roadster Coupe.

I couldn't think of a more fitting mode of transport for them both.

And as a parting gift for the evening, some of the guests (not me I might add - I have far too much respect for that particular Roadster) decided to erm... decorate it. Pictures included (apologies for poor quality - camera not good in the dark)




So my love and heartfelt congratulations go to Graeme and Nicki.