This, I like

[talltimtam]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5854132.ece

 

[Dryce]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article5854132.ece

One might ask why this wasn't this done 20 years ago.

 

[Sp!ke]

In principle I think this is a damned good idea although I wonder what they will do at the roadside when johnny foreigner simply says he doesnt have the funds to pay on the spot.

I suspect that the racial descrimination card could quite easilly be played with success should this 'deposit scheme' only be applied to foreigners and not British nationals.

I suspect this will be used to encourage us all to carry the new ID cards.

 

[ringway]

In principle I think this is a damned good idea although I wonder what they will do at the roadside when johnny foreigner simply says he doesnt have the funds to pay on the spot.

I suspect that the racial descrimination card could quite easilly be played with success should this 'deposit scheme' only be applied to foreigners and not British nationals.

Unfortunately, someone will find a way to scupper it.
Schemes like these are needed, but in today's world are all-but unworkable..

 

[Dryce]

I suspect that the racial descrimination card could quite easilly be played with success should this 'deposit scheme' only be applied to foreigners and not British nationals.

I can't see where race comes into this.

And what is actually required is that people carry their licences at all times when driving rather than the requirement to have ID cards.

 

[pupsi]

In principle I think this is a damned good idea although I wonder what they will do at the roadside when johnny foreigner simply says he doesnt have the funds to pay on the spot.

The car gets towed away, simple as.

I suspect that the racial descrimination card could quite easilly be played with success should this 'deposit scheme' only be applied to foreigners and not British nationals.

It applies to British nationals as well who cant provide details of an address in this country, which will make it fair.

I suspect this will be used to encourage us all to carry the new ID cards.

Not needed, driving liscence should suffice and also they can do their usual a check up on the vehicle and owner.

 

[CE230]

Hang 'em I say, hang 'em.

Quite right, why should law breakers from another country get away with it.

 

[andy_k]

I wonder what the reaction would be from British motorists if they started doing that to us in Europe?

There was enough of a row over carrying a hi-vis jacket

 

[Nik_Endeavour]

But they already do that in France, don't they?

 

[imadoofus]

Where's the burden of proof?

"Oi, Mr Johnny foreigner, you were driving like a tw@. Gimme £900."

"I do not understand Mr Bobby Policeman. I was doing nuzzink wrong."

"Oh really? Well come back to good old Blighty at some indeterminate time in the future, and tell that to a high court Judge. They're well known to be bigoted, you know."

Prosecute bad driving by all means, but why should a foreign driver be prosecuted more than a British one? That isn't any kind of justice.

And what's that bit about the 'deposit' also applying to any British citizen who can't prove they have a valid address in Britain? That isn't even a driving offence!

I suspect this "initiative" has nore to do with immigration than with road safety.

 

[andy_k]

But they already do that in France, don't they?

Not as far as I know. I think the fines are handed out at roadside and you pay on the spot. I don't blieve they make you pay three times what the likely fine will be on the off chance that you won't return to defend it in case you get caught again.

This just strikes me as handing more power to a police force and degrading the justice system even further.

Innocent until proven guilty but only if you pay a £900 deposit.

 

[CE230]

The £900 is for multiple offences, I would assume that standard fines we pay would apply. We need more information really in order to make subjective comments rather than speculate about the justice system and police powers.

I think that Chelsea fining Ashley Cole £160,000 on top of the official £80 for his drunk and disorderly conduct is more iniquitous.

 

[andy_k]

I think that Chelsea fining Ashley Cole £160,000 on top of the official £80 for his drunk and disorderly conduct is more iniquitous.

2 weeks wages for bringing his/the club's name into disrepute (again) seems pretty cheap to me

 

[jeremytaylor]

Not needed, driving liscence should suffice and also they can do their usual a check up on the vehicle and owner.

But what about those of us with the good old paper only licence? What does an address with no picture prove?

This is nothing short of an ID card by stealth.

 

[wemorgan]

If you can't prove who you are, how can you be sure someone isn't pretending to be you?

Most of us already have bank cards, paper bills, official letters, passports. All of these add up to an ID card but without the convenience of being a single ID card with biometric security.

 

[jeremytaylor]

So do I now have to carry my passport, 3-month utility bills, bank statements, and driving licence with me every time I get in the car?

 

[Dryce]

So do I now have to carry my passport, 3-month utility bills, bank statements, and driving licence with me every time I get in the car?

Why would you need more than your driving licence?

 

[Sp!ke]

If its a non photocard license its probably not adequate enough ID.

 

[jeremytaylor]

Exactly that. So as a form of ID it proves ... not much!

 

[HowardD]

How to come across as a xenophobic country in one easy step!

Still, first foreign drivers, and then UK drivers too.

I don't know if it was the way the article was written, but I don't know where to start with all the issues with the proposals.

But, most absurd of all will be that these powers are intended to be given to VOSA inspectors, who can remove a vehicle or demand a "deposit" of up to £900 at the roadside.