“In four years Mike van Erp has filmed 1,400 drivers using their phones, leading to 1,800 penalty points, £110,000 of fines — and him being assaulted by disgruntled motorists. Is he a road safety hero or just a darned nuisance? Nick Rufford joins him on patrol”
I’ve watched a few of his videos. I should be surprised that he catches so many drivers in their phones, but in and around London? Not surprised at all.
The legal system is adversarial. Each side is incentivised to submit the best possible case on behalf of the client. Ideas and definitions get tested to the limit - and eventually a line has to be drawn; this may or may not set a precedent and any precedent may or may not require specific context or circumstance. Public interest plays a role. It may seem arbitrary at times but that’s how it works. Society does not want dangerous intoxicated or distracted drivers on the road.
The problem with this idea is that lawyers are expensive and poor people can’t really afford good representation. So if we have a legal system where it’s possible for people to get mired in expensive, lengthy legal disputes, where even if you’re innocent then your life can be destroyed by the struggle of it, then that’s essentially establishing a system where law is used to serve wealthy people at the expense of the poor. And that is exactly what we do have.
What’s your alternative?
We need to start by admitting that there is something wrong with the system and come up with an alternative that works for all of us, so that means discussing ideas and building consensus.
Anyone who thinks they have a solution to our problems single-handedly without working with others to come up with it is guaranteed to miss lots of things