Perhaps then it’s time to modify my views as the development of dash cam technology seems to have overtaken my thinking…

Dash cams are everywhere! They are cheap, easy to install and use, and insurance companies seem to like their use.

Now four police areas in Wales are to pilot a scheme which will accept dash cam footage which shows bad driving and will use it in court as the basis of a prosecution.

One of the UK’s most senior traffic cops, Jane Willets, says she broadly supports the initiative and is watching the pilot project with interest. Her view is that, after years of cuts, with only 4000 specially trained traffic cops across the entire UK, the technology may now allow them to use dash cam offerings to prosecute the worst cases and to educate others to drive more safely.

Think about the numbers and you can understand that view. 4000 traffic cops in the UK. That’s just over 1300 per shift, and, given that they are normally rostered in pairs, that’s just 650 cars on the road at any time. Those 650 traffic cars are effectively policing 30 million cars!!!

However, the trial organisers won’t accept just any clips sent to them…

They are well aware of privacy issues so, no anonymous clips. No clips sent to social media or the internet. And anyone taking part must be prepared to be a witness in court.

Perhaps using this technology will help improve driving behaviour, but I would still rather see more police cars on the road. Perhaps then my daily journeys wouldn’t make me witness so much crass, rude and downright dangerous driving.

They are very common and seem very popular especially in the countryside.

I suppose the nation that gave us the 2CV and Renault 4 WOULD favour little cars for use in the towns and country.

All seem to have common elements… 4 wheels… 2 doors… 2 seats… a small boot… and most seem to be powered by 250cc motorcycle engines driving some form of clutchless gear system.

So, very low energy, take up little space, only carry 1 or 2 people for small distances… It all seems very laudable in these environmentally aware days…

These VSP, ‘voiture sans permis’, mini cars exist due to a quirk of French law and can be acquired and driven by teenagers and the elderly. Equally, both groups either unable to begin driving due to age or unable to carry on driving due to advancing age and perhaps a degree of infirmity.

But, there is also a darker side to these cars existence and seeming popularity.

France has long had a serious drink driving problem which it is making strenuous efforts to overcome.

I understand that if you are banned from driving – which can be 12 months or more – then this same quirk of law allows you buy a micro car and start driving again within hours of your full licence being taken away. It would certainly explain some of the popularity of them.

Perhaps WE should adopt these little cars in our towns and cities, but certainly not with virtually unrestricted use as in France.

The UK has regained some control over drink driving in the last decades. The numbers are certainly well down, and it’s no longer socially acceptable to drink and drive.

However, with fewer police patrols, it seems to still happen in the countryside. It certainly does around where I live. All of the pub car parks fill up and then empty again late at night… and, judging by some of the appalling driving and accidents I have seen in recent years, not all of the drivers are drinking orange juice.

There have been many scare stories recently of how the new traffic laws are allowing French police to target British motorists. A Post-Brexit scare perhaps?

In 1250 miles we saw probably only 4 or 5 police cars, all en route to, or at, accidents.

In the many villages there are lots of Speed warning signs, sometimes backed up by cameras but many fewer cameras than in the UK.

However, unlike most here, the French cameras are generally unmarked, although there are always prior warning signs.

Some of the cameras look like leftovers from the Maginot Line, low, grey, squat and would stop a tank!!

Keep near the limits, ensure you have the legal requirements on board, don’t drink and drive and ‘les flics’ won’t trouble you.

We all find it frustrating waiting at temporary traffic lights while uncontrolled utilities dig yet more holes in our pepper pot roads.

We have no idea how long we will need to wait while these heroes dig frenziedly …. or more likely sit in their vans until overtime starts.

We were therefore impressed by the French temporary traffic lights…

No pointless and ignored amber, but, in its place, a timer showing exactly how long you have to wait before they change to green. The information certainly should help keep the amount of time you are waiting into perspective!

Ok, probably only the first half dozen cars can see it clearly but I rarely saw more than that in any queue.

No more badly aimed, slow to change lights, with too many fools rushing through red lights as though they had something really important to get to…?