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Dangerous driving forum questioned by road safety expert

05/02/07

A new website that aims to provide a forum for people with motoring grievances has received criticism from a road safety analyst.
 
The site at the centre of the controversy, PeepPeep, has been jointly set up by Stirling-based entrepreneur Ian Kinsley and Dunblane-based IT consultant Tom Smith, reports the Daily Record.
 
It invites registered members to post a message when they see a motorist engaging in dubious road safety practices, such as cutting off other motorists or overtaking recklessly.
 
Posters submit a complaint by entering the first three letters of the offending driver's vehicle registration number, in addition to describing the driver and listing their alleged road safety violations.
 
Moreover, van insurance customers may be interested to know that the site offers posters the opportunity to specifically list which company an offending van driver works for.
 
This raises the possibility that the reputation of some businesses with van insurance contracts could be tarnished because of the actions of fleet drivers.
 
Commenting on the initiative, Mr Kinsley said it would help motorists to "get things off your chest".
 
However, Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA, questioned whether the site would erroneously condemn drivers who have not breached road safety guidelines.
 
"You're not getting a rigid set of rules applied by anyone with any degree of consistency," he argued.
 
"Because you're on it doesn't mean there have been any criteria applied to whether or not you have done anything."
 
Typically, car and van insurance companies take into account issues such as the previous road safety record of motorists when calculating van insurance renewal quotes.
 
Consequently, motorists with several points on their driving licence may ultimately find it more difficult to find a cheap van insurance quote.
 
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