Police in Weymouth find motorist driving with bonnet up

6:03pm Friday 12th March 2010

By Martin Lea

POLICE were taking no excuses from a motorist caught driving a car with the bonnet up.

Officers on patrol in Weymouth were amazed to find the bonnet of this car wide open, blocking the driver’s view.

Police said the driver claimed it was faulty and he was on his way to the garage to get it fixed.

The bizarre scene was uncovered as police took to the roads as part of the Dorset-wide No Excuse safety campaign – an initiative to educate people about bad driving.

During a day focusing on Weymouth, officers detected around 30 offences associated with poor driver behaviour which could have led to serious crashes.

This included one man steering the car with his elbows while using both hands to roll a cigarette and another motorist found to be reading from a clipboard placed across the steering wheel.

A further 10 drivers were caught exceeding local speed limits, nine people were issued with fixed penalty notices for failing to wear a seatbelt and another driver was reported for failing to stop for a pedestrian at a crossing.

In total across Dorset 2,364 driving offences have been picked up in the first six weeks of the campaign.

Head of road safety at Dorset County Council Robert Smith said: “Our partners in the police aren’t having to look too hard to find examples of dangerous driving, from the bizarre to the truly terrifying.

“Around 30 per cent of the offences detected in the campaign’s first six weeks involved drivers using a handheld mobile phone or not bothering to put on their seatbelt.

“It shows that there’s still a significant number who have yet to get the message that there’s no excuse for putting lives at risk through bad and careless driving.”

Mr Smith added: “There were 258 people killed or seriously injured on roads in the county council area in 2009, down from 294 in 2008.

“We still have a long way to go but we need everybody’s help to keep driving this number down.”

In certain cases which meet strict criteria, drivers who commit certain offences are offered the chance to pay £60 for a Dorset Police Driver Awareness Scheme course and avoid getting points on their licence.

Drivers who commit more serious offences have to answer for their actions in court.