Friday 5 October 2007 – for immediate release

People who drive badly in Colchester are being shopped on a website set up to make the UK's roads safer.

On BetterDrivingPlease.com members of the public can report motorists they have seen driving dangerously.

So far, there are a handful of reports on the site from Colchester and Ipswich. Nationally, there are more than 4,000 reports of bad driving.

Road safety campaigner Andrew McGavin set up the site.

He said: "How many times have you followed someone driving like a total idiot, and wished there was a police car nearby? Now you can do something about it by reporting that person yourself".

The website lets anyone make a report and view every single report in the database.

Reports from the area include:

• The driver of an 04 plate car using a handheld mobile phone on the A133 towards Colchester
• The driver of a R reg car who undertook then overtook vehicles at speed, on the A14 Ipswich bypass between junctions 53 and 54
• Four drivers in quick succession spotted using a handheld mobile phone on the Foxhall Road in Ipswich

The full number plates and details of these incidents are available on BetterDrivingPlease.com.

New Zealand has a similar website. The statistics are stunning. Drivers reported there are 23 times more likely to crash within a year of being reported - proving to be an effective tool in identifying the worst drivers. And that's given Andrew ambitious plans for the site.

He is currently talking to UK police chiefs about them checking their records against the BetterDrivingPlease.com database, then writing to offenders.

He added: "The more reports there are on the site, the more powerful a weapon it becomes against the small minority of stupid drivers who make it dangerous for the rest of us on the roads."

• Check your number plate and area on the database at www.BetterDrivingPlease.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

• To find specific reports of bad driving in this area, go to www.BetterDrivingPlease.com and enter the area in the Keyword search box
• You are welcome to publish any information you find on the website
• For any further information, quotes or interviews, a BetterDrivingPlease.com spokesman is available. Please email press@publicityheaven.com or call Paul Green on 08452 303049
• A factfile, logo, screenshots and other press resources are available online at http://www.betterdrivingplease.com/press.press.asp