Drivers named and shamed on website

12:00pm Thursday 5th July 2007

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BAD drivers are being named and shamed on a website.

By logging on to betterdrivingplease.com, Worcester people can report incidents of poor driving, from running red lights and speeding to using mobile phones.

All members of the public have to do is enter the vehicle registration plate number and describe what they saw.

There are already several reports of cars breaking the law in Worcester.

One report identifies a car on Main Road in Hallow travelling between 50 and 60mph in a 30mph zone, near to a school and a shop.

Another reproaches a driver who was spotted in Deansway, Worcester, talking on a mobile phone while in rush-hour traffic.

Road safety campaigner Andrew McGavin, from Oxfordshire, set up the site after seeing the success of something similar in New Zealand.

He said: "How many times have you followed someone driving like a total idiot, and wished there was a police car nearby? Now you can do something about it by reporting that person yourself.

"The more reports there are on the site, the more powerful a weapon it becomes against the small minority of stupid drivers who make it dangerous for the rest of us on the roads."

Each report is given a colour - red, amber or green - to indicate its level of seriousness.

One red report, posted in January about a driver in Hylton Road, St John's, using a mobile phone reads: "Followed this idiot then drew up alongside him (I was on my motorcycle), gesticulated to him to get off phone, ignored me, carried on, took corners onto and off bridge driving one-handed also went through two sets of traffic lights."

A spokesman for West Mercia police said that although they are aware of the site they would encourage the public to report incidents to them first.

"We don't endorse any particular websites and would encourage people, if they think they have seen illegal driving, to contact their local police."

Go to www.betterdrivingplease.com to find out more.