[ad_1]
Police must use mobile phone detectors to search for drivers using devices while driving.
Thames Valley and Hampshire forces are deploying technology to show when motorists use their phones.
A flashing sign tells the driver to stop using his cell phone – but the detectors can not tell if it's a driver or a pbadenger who uses the phone.
The 11-year-old mother of Aimee Goldsmith, killed by a driver using a phone, said it was a "step in the right direction."
The detectors are the first of their kind to be used by the police in the UK, although a similar system has been put to the test by guidance.
Technology will not be used as a "control tool," the forces said, but rather aimed at educating motorists and identifying "hot spots".
Kate Goldsmith 's daughter was one of four people killed in the accident when truck driver Tomasz Kroker was using his phone while driving in 2016.
She said that the death of Aimee was "completely avoidable".
"Most mothers are eager to plan their daughter's marriages, I had to plan Aimee's funeral," she said.
Ms. Goldsmith said she had faced drivers using their phone while driving since her daughter's death.
"I stopped a few people and said:" You're using a cell phone – it's actually a driver like you who killed my daughter, "she said.
She said the detectors were "not a perfect solution" to convict offenders but were "a step in the direction".
Aimee Goldsmith with her mother Kate and her brother Jake
Kroker killed Aimée, his half-brothers, Ethan Houghton, 13, Joshua, 11, and their mother, Tracy, 45, when he launched into stationary traffic at 50 mph. August 10, 2016.
He was jailed for 10 years after recognizing four counts of death for dangerous driving. Images showed it on his phone at the moment of impact.
One judge said that the attention of the 30-year-old had been so weak that he "could have just as easily closed his eyes" before the crash of A34 near Newbury.
Tracy Houghton, son Ethan, daughter-in-law Aimee Goldsmith and younger son Josh were all killed in an accident
How does the technology work?
Thames Valley Police and the Hampshire Gendarmerie have developed the technology with Westcotec Ltd.
The system, which can only record footage, was tested in Norfolk last year.
The detector picks up 2G, 3G and 4G signals and will therefore flash to alert people in cars that use a phone to call, send SMS or data.
If people use a Bluetooth hands-free device, the detector will recognize it and will not flash.
Technology does not distinguish if a pbadenger or driver of a vehicle uses a phone. The sign will be activated regardless of the user of the mobile.
According to police forces, the two detectors, which cost £ 6,000 each, will be located on the A34 in Oxfordshire, but will be stationed at different locations in the Thames Valley and Hampshire, but Others could be deployed.
Surprised drivers using a mobile phone while driving must currently pay a fine of £ 200 and six points on their license.
Matt Barber, deputy commissioner of the police and judicial police in Thames Valley, said the system was "not foolproof," but added that the police should "make the use of social security equally unacceptable." his mobile phone driving only drunk driving ".
PC Liz Johnson, a road safety officer, said that research shows that a driver would be four times more likely to crash if he used a phone and twice as likely to crash a fatal SMS than driving while drunk.
"It is essential that people become aware of it and stop using their mobile phone while driving," she added.
Source link
