Scottish Police Use EMPTY Police Car as Crime Prevention Tool

Image Credit: http://recombu.com

The Scottish Police  have created an innovative new crime fighting technique, that doesn't even require them to be at the scene; they've started parking empty police cars in crime hotspots to deter criminals.

According to the Evening Telegraph, a marked Vauxhall Zafira police car was parked there close to midnight on Monday and stayed there (parked on double yellow lines) on Dens Road, near Dundee until about 8:30pm the following day when another police car dropped someone off who then drove it away.

Writers at Evening Telegraph phoned cops to ask why the car had been seemingly abandoned, and were told by police that the vehicle had been left there in aid of crime prevention.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland, Tayside Division, commented: “Police Scotland continues to provide a visible presence in the communities of Tayside, whether officers are on patrol or by the use of marked police vehicles, in order to deter, disrupt and detect criminality and keep people safe.”

City councilor Kevin Keenan, who sits on Dundee’s Policy and Resources Committee, said: “I think there’s no substitute for people seeing the police walking along the streets — that’s what the general public wants to see. I suppose it’s still good to have a visible police presence and I think it could work for an hour or so, but when it’s parked as long as almost 24 hours, then people will think it’s either broken down, or it’s just been dumped there. It’s certainly not perfect and it’s seems a strange tactic to use and I’d like to find out the full explanation for its use. Perhaps there’s a surplus of police cars and I did hear the number of officers leaving the force had risen, so maybe there’s a shortage of staff?”

Have you seen any seemingly abandoned police cars in your area?, What do you think of this tactic? Let us know in the comments below.

Michael Schumacher ‘Waking up Very Slowly’ From Coma, Reveals Son

Schumacher's 15-year-old son Mick has revealed that Michael Schumacher is 'waking up very slowly' following the skiing accident which left him with horrific brain injuries.

Image Credit: Twitter

The 45-year-old is being treated by a team of 15 experts in a purpose-built medical suite in this home after spending six months in a medically-induced coma following the accident in Meribel, France, in December last year.  His care is estimated to be costing his family 100,000 pounds per month.

French F1 commentator Jean-Louis Moncet told Europe 1 radio station: 'I saw his son and he told me that Schumi is waking up very slowly; very slowly. 'Although things are going at a slow pace, he has a lot of time, I would say he has his whole life in front of him to get back on track.'

Moncet, 69, also cast new light on the manner in which Schumacher was injured when he struck a rock during the fall. 'The problem for Michael was not the hit, but the mounting of the Go-Pro camera that he had on his helmet that injured his brain'.

It is understood that Schumacher remains immobile and unable to speak.

23,295 Overseas Drivers Escape Speeding Offences

A freedom of information request by road safety charity The Institute of Advanced Motorists has revealed that oversees drivers have escaped 23,295 speeding offences since January 2013 - the equivalent of £2.3 million worth of speeding tickets - across England and Wales.

Gwent Police (which includes South Wales and Dyfed Powys Police forces as part of 'Go Safe' - Wales Road Casualty Reduction Partnership) recorded the third highest number of overseas speeding offences across England and Wales - a reported 2,090, with the highest speed recording of 99mph in a 70mph zone.

 Neil Greig, The Institute of Advanced Motorists said:
"The high numbers of oversees speeders on our roads show how important it is that the UK joins up with the rest of Europe to harmonise motoring offences and give the police extra powers to pursue dangerous drivers. Progress on this issue has been very slow and in the meantime thousands of drivers are avoiding fines and bans simply because their cars cannot be easily traced."

Credit: Wales News Service. 

Vandal Paints Penis on £1.5 Million Bugatti Veyron

Image: Twitter

Someone has been hard at work on the streets of Seattle, vandalising  a £1.5million supercar by painting a penis on it.

Some might call the vandal an amateur psychologist as some say that this type of car functions as a substitute for the real, fleshy thing.

Anyone looking for a metal substitute for their own organ could do worse than the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport: it’s the world’s most expensive production car, and does nought to 60 in 2.6 seconds. The Veyron boasts 1200hp, more than many dedicated racing cars, but is street legal.

The Dancing Traffic Light

Inherently people don't like waiting, that makes traffic lights the most dangerous spot in a city.  But what if someone made waiting fun? Like this for example?

I don't know about you but I definitely want a go!

Created by Smart : "We believe that smart ideas can turn the city into a better place. Like a dancing traffic light that makes people wait and watch rather than walk through the red light. FOR more safety. #WhatAreYouFOR"

We have also included an additional video about "The making of at the bottom of the article. Enjoy!

 

How Do I Renew My Car Tax Disc Using DVLA's New System 2014

Are you one of those who are currently looking to renew your car tax disc and a little confused now that there is no paper Disc involved? 

The last thing you want is to get a hefty fine because you didnt comply!

There are a few options for getting your car tax renewed under the new system:

• Online
• Phone
• In person

OnlineThe new GOV.UK renewal service is now live, though officially still in beta.

Phone0300 123 4321.  charges may apply.

In personRenew at the local Post Office. Take your completed V11 reminder (or your V5C), an MOT test certificate if required (must be valid when the tax starts), and the payment shown on the reminder

Rumour as it that the website and phone lines are struggling with a surge or eager beavers so unusually you may actually find that doing it in person is quickest! Have you already applied? what was your experience?

Speed Camera Earns £800,000 in Just 6 Months

Britain's most lucrative speed camera is in Cardiff, sited on Newport Road which has a 30mph limit. It has raked in £800,000 in just six months. To achieve this figure it is trapping an average of 71 drivers every day (it has already caught an astonishing 13,624 drivers this year)

This has overtaken the earnings from a
camera at Junction 25 on the M60 in Greater Manchester which averaged catching 26 speeding drivers per day. (figures from research conducted by LV insurance)

Motorists are obviously feeling angered by the speed camera after road chiefs hailed it a massive success. The camera was installed in 2012 but it has only just became 'fully commissioned'

Mother-of-three Karen Leyshon, who was caught going at 34mph through the speed trap, said: 'It's is ridiculous - I've been driving on that road every days for years without any problem whatsoever until this camera was put up. It is nothing but a cash cow. It's outrageous, the camera does nothing to improve safety of this road. It may be a busy stretch but it's perfectly safe. I didn't notice the camera going up, I got caught doing 34mph and I had to pay £85 for a speed awareness course. It was a complete waste of my time and money - I'm sure that most of the other 13,000 people would tell you exactly the same thing.'

In the first half of the year 5,906 people who got caught by the camera completed speed awareness courses after being caught speeding at the junction. A further 3,064 people paid speeding fines in the same six months. Assuming the minimum fine of £100 and a typical cost of £85 per place on speed awareness courses, the camera could have netted an astonishing £808,410.

The GoSafe partnership say that the area has a high flow of traffic and motorists should always comply with the speed limit. Road safety groups have said the camera is not doing it's job properly and should be there to reduce speeds rather than bring in money.

Tim Shallcross, from the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: 'The whole purpose of speed cameras is to slow people down, because it's felt that excessive speed in that area causes casualties. 'If a camera is issuing a small number of fines, or none at all, it's doing its job. If it's ticketing that many people, it's not having that effect.

'The local authority, which is responsible for road safety, should be looking at those figures and saying, 'We seem to have an issue here - the camera is catching a lot of people. 'Let's make sure that it looks like a 30mph highway, and that the cameras are clearly visible and the signs aren't obscured by vegetation'.