Tuesday, 22 July 2007 – for immediate release

 

Road safety website BetterDrivingPlease.com has attracted the wrath of Jeremy Clarkson, after putting up signs promoting the site outside his Oxfordshire home.

The Top Gear TV star criticised the website in his Sunday Times column today (Sunday 22nd July). You can read the column here: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article2108760.ece

The idea behind the website is that anyone can report motorists they have seen driving dangerously.

Founder Andrew McGavin put up the signs outside Clarkson’s home.

He said: “It was only going to be a matter of time until BetterDrivingPlease.com caught Jeremy Clarkson’s attention. So I thought I’d skip the wait and put up signs right outside his house. It’s odd he suggests I put them up in the night, as a member of his staff watched me do it during the day!”

“I’ve heard that a few drivers have accidentally driven through his hedge in the past. Maybe with these signs up, it will save his house from further damage.”

Despite the criticism from Clarkson, Andrew is convinced his website is necessary and will make a difference.

He added: “New Zealand has a similar website, with stunning statistics. Drivers reported there are 23 times more likely to crash within a year of being reported. That makes it an effective tool in identifying the worst drivers.”

In his column, Clarkson fails to name the website’s proper address, instead joking it should be called www.interferingzealot.com. The front of the Sunday Times ‘In Gear’ supplement suggests the site is www.shopadriver.com.

Nationally, there are now more than 2,750 reports of bad driving on BetterDrivingPlease.com.

 

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

ENDS

 

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

• To find specific reports of bad driving in any 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.asp