Driver caught using phone and laptop at the wheel

The driver was caught on camera driving down a busy street while holding a mobile phone, watching a video and wearing earphones. Picture: SWNS

The shocking footage of the careless 4x4 driver and his gadgets was taken by a cyclist’s helmet camera during rush hour traffic last Thursday.

It shows the biker pulling up beside a stationary Land Rover, before he points out the male driver’s dangerous driving habits.

Recorded on Queen’s Road in Aberdeen, the clip then shows the man switching off his tablet and swiftly driving off after he realises that has been caught out.

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The cyclist, who did not want to be named, uploaded the shocking footage to his YouTube channel - Aberdeen Cycle Cam -- in bid to shame the driver.

He said: “This bloke is driving a Land Rover in town, looking at a mobile phone, laptop and wearing headphones.

“Not only is he not paying any attention to the road, I suspect he’s not even on this planet.

“I was indeed surprised to see more than the ‘common mobile phone’. “When I saw the laptop and headphone in both ears my reaction was just to try to document the best I could with what I saw. That’s why I pointed at each gadget.

“Usually I tell drivers to put their mobile phone down, but in this case I was at a loss for words.

“I still have the original footage that I will gladly give the police.

“I’ve seen worse drivers -- from close overtakes, to abusive behaviour, red light jumpers and just pure impatience behind the wheel. I can’t say which one was worse.

“I have reported other cases, mainly close passes, and the drivers usually get verbal warnings from the police.

“Starting my YouTube channel was a way to document, name and shame all the bad driving I see on the roads, that affects me directly but also everyone else on the road.”

The careless Land Rover driver was also slammed by road safety groups and local community representatives.

Councillor Ross Thomson, who represents Aberdeen’s Hazlehead, Ashley and Queens Cross ward, branded the driver as “extremely stupid”.

He said: “Dangerous driving like this has been a concern of the local community for some time and is regularly mentioned at community council meetings.

“It is especially a concern on the Queen’s Road because of the close proximity of all the schools in the area.

“The fact he was wearing headphones and had on a laptop is extremely dangerous.

“If you’re wearing headphones you are cutting off one of your senses, meaning you can’t hear emergency vehicles or other drivers’ horns.

“I know that driving through town can be frustrating, but there is no email that is more important than the life of a pedestrian.”

Neil Greig, research and policy director at the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), said the driver should be “ashamed” of his actions.

He said: “It’s a clear example of breaking the law on mobile phone use and the driver should be ashamed to be taking such risks for the sake of keeping in touch.

“No call is more important that someone’s life.

“The IAM have no problem with camera users sharing their footage with Police Scotland so that they can consider if formal action is required.

“Ideally we would like to see more police out there enforcing the law rather than relying on amateurs.”

A spokesman for Police Scotland said they had been sent the video by a member of the public and had forwarded it on to officers.

He said: “We are aware of it and we’ve forwarded it on to officers in the area and inquiries are going.

“We are following a positive line of inquiry.”

The Land Rover driver is just one of many who have been caught out and shamed on YouTube by the mystery cyclist.

Last year, he came to the public’s attention after uploading a clip of a man pretending to be a police officer during a road rage encounter.