Man ate crisps as he steered van with knees

9:50am Sunday 27th July 2008

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A WHITE van driver caught steering with his knees while eating crisps, and a taxi driving through a red light are just two incidents in Worcester which have been reported on a website.

People using mobile phones at the wheel and tailgating on the county’s roads are also on the list of 81 numberplates on betterdrivingplease.com.

According to the website, where people can write about bad driving, 39 seperate incidents have been committed in Worcester, 16 in Evesham, nine in Malvern, three in Pershore, and one in Stourport-on-Severn.

The remaining 13 offences were in Kidderminster and on the M5.

There have been no reports of bad driving in Droitwich since the website was set up two years ago.

One of the most recent reports was by a user called Nigel who saw an incident on Bath Road, Worcester, in April. He wrote: “I stopped for a red light on Bath Road and the taxi, which was following me, slowed then overtook and drove straight through the red light.”

On another incident at the Bromwich Road roundabout in St John’s in August, Sue Clarke wrote: “The driver of this white van was eating a packet of crisps, no hands on the wheel while zooming through a roundabout.

“As one hand was holding the packet and the other hand was inside the packet, I can only assume he was using his knees to steer.”

The website’s founder Andrew McGavin said the figures show the county’s roads are getting more dangerous. He said: “It’s now the norm to see dangerous driving on every journey you make.

“The message isn’t getting through to drivers and the police aren’t catching enough people. That’s what makes a database like this necessary.”

Mr McGavin admitted the website could be abused but said each entry is monitored.

However, West Mercia Constabulary chief inspector Andy Udall said people should report dangerous driving to the police rather than betterdrivingplease.com.

He said: “The force is committed to making the roads across Worcestershire as safe as possible and will continue to clamp down on all those who drive in an anti-social manner, use excess speed or use hand-held mobile phones while they are driving.”

lHas your numberplate been listed on betterdrivingplease.com? If so, call reporter David Paine on 01905 742244 or e-mail him at dp@ worcesternews.co.uk.