BRAZEN MOTORIST GOING 50MPH IS STOPPED BY POLICE FOR EATING SOUP AT THE WHEEL

A brazen motorist cruising at 50mph was collared by police after officers caught them eating soup at the wheel. 

Police in Bedfordshire stopped the driver along the A421 yesterday after they were seen taking several 'slurps' of soup and not properly holding onto the steering wheel. 

The incident comes as Warwickshire Police revealed footage of other drivers using their mobile phones while on the road.

Officers identified more than 100 driving offences as they carried out a five-day truck operation that allowed them to pull up alongside other vehicles and catch them violating driving rules.

Authorities are now criticising motorists for making the 'conscious decision to drive in a dangerous manner' and called the high level of offences 'extremely concerning'.

Police caught a driver enjoying a container of coup while driving through Bedford at high speeds yesterday.

'We now have no hands on the wheel to eat soup,' a Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire Road Policing Unit spokesperson said after spotting the driver.

'Fast food at 50? Not just one slurp of the spoon but many until police stopped this driver.'  

It is unclear if the driver was cited over the incident. MailOnline has approached the force for comment.

According to the Highway Code a driver must 'drive or ride with both hands on the wheel or handlebars where possible.'

Although eating behind the wheel is not illegal, police can prosecute for careless driving if snacking becomes a distraction or causes loss of control.

Photographs of the slurping soup eater were made public today as police in Warwickshire released footage from their recent highway operation that saw over 100 driving offences.

Video shows how Warwickshire Police used a truck to pull up alongside other vehicles and catch drivers apparently texting, checking their screens and using their phones while at the wheel of a moving vehicle.

Officers with the force's Roads Policing Unit stopped 75 vehicles and recorded 102 offences, many of which involved mobile phones, during the five-day operation.

The operation, run in partnership with National Highways, saw 29 mobile phone offences over the course of the five-day period.

In the UK it is illegal to hold and use a phone, navigation system, tablet, or any other device that can send or receive data, while driving or riding a motorcycle.

'This means you must not use a device in your hand for any reason, whether online or offline,' the Highway Code states.

The law still applies when stopped at traffic lights, queuing in traffic or supervising a learner driver.  

Failure to comply can land a driver with a £200 fine and six points on your licence.

The operation also saw 23 seatbelt offences and 16 speeding offences, Warwickshire Police reported. 

Eight vehicles were seized for not having insurance and two were seized for having no tax. Officers recovered a 14-ton HGV driving with cloned plates.

Police were able to seize a stolen Range Rover Velar within two hours of it being stolen. Two suspects were arrested in connection to the vehicle theft.

Additionally, officers confiscated large quantity of cannabis after a car was stopped for displaying false registration and, in another incident, seized a stolen Ford Fiesta.

Following the success of the operation, Sergeant Shaun Bridle from the Warwickshire Police Roads Policing Unit warned the force will be 'running this operation regularly throughout the year.'

'Warwickshire is at the heart of the country's motorway network and to see this level of offending and dangerous driving is extremely concerning,' he said.

'The vast majority of these offences were people making a conscious decision to drive in a dangerous manner that put themselves and other road users at risk. People need to realise that when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle they are driving a potentially deadly weapon and they need to take responsibility for their own behaviour and the safety of others.

'We will be running this operation regularly throughout the year so if you are committing a driving offence don't be surprised to see us driving along next to you capturing it on video. You have been warned!'

National Highways Assistant Regional Safety Co-ordinator, Marie Biddulph, echoed Sgt Bridle's sentiment, saying it is 'disappointing that more than 100 offences were recorded in less than a week.'

She added: 'We want people to think about their driving behaviour and to help make our roads as safe as they can be.

'We will continue to work with our police partners to tackle that minority of drivers who continue to put themselves and others at risk on our roads.'

Read more

2023-02-08T12:22:33Z dg43tfdfdgfd