Obviously, I have years of experience and training of driving and talking on Police radio at the same time, often during high speed pursuits and en route to emergency calls at speeds above normal. If you think that is difficult, try it on a Police motorcycle. There were times on the motorcycle you just did not pick up the microphone until you were in a better/safer situation. I imagine they have headsets and voice activation now. But to the best of my knowledge, there is no driver training involving use of a cell phone while driving.

Surge in car crash scams

The number of "crash for cash" scams where drivers stage accidents to claim on insurance is increasing around the country, figures showed today.

Typically the racket - in which fraudsters claim thousands of pounds on innocent drivers' insurance - has been carried out in the north west of England.

But parts of London are in the top 10 hot spots for the first time, the latest data shows, with east London in sixth position and north London in ninth.

The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) estimates around 30,000 accidents are staged each year, with each claim averaging around £17,000.

It costs insurers about £350 million, adding £44 to the premium of every driver in the country.

Birmingham is the UK's top fraud hot spot, the IFB said, with the other four top places taken by Liverpool, Blackburn, Manchester and Leeds.

Fraudsters usually brake suddenly on a clear road or roundabout to make an innocent motorist drive into the back of their vehicle.

They go on to claim for personal injury, damage to the car and recovery fees.

Sgt Mark Beales, from Greater Manchester Police, warned that criminals targeted their victims carefully.

He told the BBC: "What these fraudsters tend to pick on are people who are single mums or elderly people, people who are less likely to cause them any issues.

"They also target drivers of commercial vehicles, because drivers tend not to care as much if they're not driving their own vehicle."

This bothers me more in relation to bicycles. It's actually illegal to ride either a motored or non-motored vehicle (non-motored = bicycle) on the sidewalk. Here in Laconia most every bicyclist rides on the sidewalk right past 2 to 3-yr-olds walking alongside their parents.

However, out in the street where a bicycle is still considered a vehicle (and subject to the laws of the road), motor-vehicle drivers often treat them as if they don't belong there and tell them to get it on the sidewalk. In my hometown, in my teens, I once yelled back, "That's illegal! Why don't you pull over and hand carry your car on the sidewalk like the law allows!" I think they got too far away to hear the last of my response, anyway.

When my daughter was about seven, I got a call one morning to a vehicle vs. pedestrian accident three blocks north of my house. It was at a school bus stop and a beautiful little seven year old girl had run out in front of a

lady. No blood, or visible injury. She looked like she was lying there asleep. I, on the other hand, did not sleep for a week. I kept visualizing my daughter lying there dead. The lady was not speeding and did nothing wrong.

There was no way she could have avoided it. Like I said, you never know when a child is going to run out in front of you and I don't think I could live with myself if I killed one. Hardest wreck I ever worked.