Assertiveness

As posted (with a couple aof corrections!) on Colin Williams' blog :

Colin,

Glad you're raising this issue in UTC as well as the police.

This is an issue like many others where I believe the general public can take effective action - my top project is to document on my camera and then support the police as they prosecute any one I see driving a vehicle while on a mobile phone. I've had three near misses and caught one so far. ( The latest, a fortnight ago, was a guy driving a small white van with PPS written in large letters: he was stuck in traffic beside me near the Coro on his phone. I was getting out of my car to challenge him when the lights changed. I followed him trying to get close enough to get his number, until the open road of the A590 just past Booths. This time he got away.)

I've just returned from a country where it is in the culture to get everyone to obey the law (An oversimplification).

They are what I call assertive: if someone does something they don't like they tell them, if someone asks for help, they they help if it's genuine. As everyone does this as second nature then it's no big deal to tell someone you don't like what they're doing and it comes easily - here I find it really hard work).

With a culture like this the police act only as back up.

So in the New Market situation you highlight we could all stand in front of cars and make them stop and then ask them what they think they are doing.

For my part I have moved back notices and bollards so that it's clear that cars are not allowed to drive down this street on Market days.

Please Colin start setting the example of being assertive and telling people off. The police need only intervene when the situation gets more aggressive which in my experience it never does: the worse that happens is you get some swearing and are told to "fuck off and mind your own business".

If we all were more assertive, many things would improve dramatically.

This is the direction, I  believe, we have to go in times of financial hardship. We, the public need to take charge.

How about Sgt Johnston organising some courses in public assertive behaviour?

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I am starting on this theme of "Assertiveness" by only publishing  comments if they are accompanied by a real name - there will no doubt be exceptions - and finding out who is "real" will also be problematic.

See how we go!

If you haven't the courage to give your name; surely this poses lots of disadvantages not only for us but for you too.