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Here's a Short UK Pursuit That Would Have Likely Ended with a Shooting in the US

If the authorities wanted us to stop using our phones in our cars, the only way they could do that is to force manufacturers to install jamming devices in all new vehicles.
Police pursuit in the UK 5 photos
Photo: LiveLeak screenshot
UK Police pursuit is a gentlemen's affairUK Police pursuit is a gentlemen's affairUK Police pursuit is a gentlemen's affairUK Police pursuit is a gentlemen's affair
Any other measure - except maybe for extreme solutions such as granting the police officers the right to shoot on sight - is just not going to be hard enough. Luckily, autonomous cars are almost upon us, and even though we will have to weight several years for fully self-driving vehicles to be allowed to roam the streets, systems that can take over in a stop-and-go traffic situation are already here. And that's all we need, really.

For the time being, though, using the phone while operating a vehicle on public roads is forbidden. Which is why people have developed a very useful habit of having a look around before grabbing the device to scan if there is any police in range. If it's all clear, then it's party time. If it's not, you just casually rub your hand through your hair as if saying "What? Using the phone? Who, me? Are you serious?" just in case they're watching.

This guy failed to cover this very important step. In his defense, police motorcycles are much harder to spot. You can look now, and the street is clear, but one second later he's knocking on your window, asking you for license and registration.

This rider of the law pulled alongside a Volkswagen Golf driver who was waiting at a traffic light. He mumbles something for dispatch - the usual police talk containing more numbers than letters - and then very casually informs the phone wielding driver that the lights were green. The man wastes no time pulling away, happy to have gotten out of the situation so easily.

The police officer goes after him, but it's not clear whether he actually intends to follow him from the off, or he does something along the way that prompts him to turn on his siren and sound the horn. Maybe he could see through the window that he kept browsing through his phone, we don't know.

What is perfectly clear is that the Golf driver had no intention to pull over. The car eventually stops at the next traffic light, at which point the policeman initiates another dialogue by asking him when was he going to stop. The driver had the music on so loud that he had to turn it down and ask the officer to repeat his question. That's when we get to see the long, bright yellow arm of the law pointing toward the driver, and the arm's voice saying "that's why you don't use your mobile phone whilst you're driving!"

The recording stops there, but judging by the officer's tone and his actions so far, we tend to believe he'd be pretty lenient on the driver. On the other hand, had something similar been happening across the pond, that Volkswagen owner would have been in great trouble, and we don't just mean the NOX emissions.

[LIVELEAK=http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=376_1475870871]
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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