to want HATE campaigns against foreigners in the popular Press to stop...

www.facebook.com/LBC/videos/10154433302071558/

And a reminder

youtu.be/DGscoaUWW2M

Yes Minister

Was it just coincidence the drivers seen were all foreign ?

Of course not- it was very deliberate ... and that is the whole point. On our travels on M25, M1, M11, M20 - most of the van drivers and so many car drivers are on their phone- most of course with British plates and right-hand drive...

I agree granjura. It seems that the racism that was bubbling beneath the surface in British society has gained legitimacy, dare I say it since Brexit, and has now burst forth, as witnessed by hate crime and the type of journalism which you describe.

So much hate on that LBC Facebook site.

It will be the trial and conviction of the Polish lorry driver that killed a mother and three children by running into the back of their car that has sparked this. Ten years does seem unduly lenient. It's about time the sentences were severe enough to act as a deterent.

I don't care what nationality he or she is. These idiots make me see red

You cannot label or target the readers of a newspaper as falling into any group because you do not know why they buy the paper or whether their politics are in accord with the newspaper they read.

We are smugly virtuous bien-pensants, we buy the i because it is broadly in line with how we think and the Daily Mail because we profoundly disagree with its political stance on most subjects. It also has several excellent weekly supplements. Both its Health and Finance supplements are worth reading. The paper does also seem to represent the views of a quite large sector of the population. That does not mean, however, that all its readers come from that section of the population.

Me too Anya
It seems unduly lenient for killing four people.

Many sentences seem too lenient these days, especially since, in the majority of cases, only half the sentence is inside a prison.

I feel at anyone who uses a mobile phone at the wheel and I do think they get equal coverage whatever the nationality.

I know which newspaper you refer to granjura and I have just googled their stance on using mobile phones at the wheel and, from what I have seen, it is not racist - they are campaigning against all drivers who do so and the ones in this link are not foreign.
It is all so and avoidable
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3789980/Families-three-women-killed-drivers-phones-call-end-mobile-madness.html

Like others, the media reports I've seen criticise drivers of all races, it certainly applies to the link you give, Jalima.
I might be technologically naive,but I would have thought it's possible to build a system into vehicles which would cut out all outside connections to mobile phones etc, once the engine is started.

Jalima that article certainly refers to Russian Roulette, they can't resist bringing something foreign into everything!

There is some awful journalism about lately feeding the bigotry of so many people. I suspect that bigotry has always been there but Social Media, Online News, etc has just made it more noticeable. It is just so disheartening.

Yes TriciaF my husband has said for a long time that technology must be out there. One wonders why it is not in use. ( or am I being cynical )
Granjura I was just askin - you dancin ?

granjura I loathe the hate campaigns too, but I think you've picked on a poor example with the lorry drivers.

I heard a spokesman from the RAC (I think on the Today programme) saying that a disproportionate number of foreign HGV drivers were charged with driving while using their mobiles.

I don't think the RAC as an organisation has a remit to spread hatred, they are just stating the facts.

How many HGV drivers using their mobiles did you see on your travels, by the way?

It's hideous I ve completely stopped reading any papers the BBC is as bad there are dreadful campaigns out there and some journalist are truely bad folks for revving up a complete divide and rule over both stupid stupid Brexit and refugees and foreigner folk in general there are awful campaigns calling the poor little kids in Calais a cancer and it has given permission for all the obscure groups like ' refugees unwelcomed in Devon ' and Cornwall there may be other counties spawning these hideous groups but they are the ones I ve seen I truely hope when they have driven all the doctors care workers plumbers taxi drivers etc etc out of the country they don't get a burst pipe or a heart attack they might be waiting a long time for help

I am talking about the front cover of the Daily Mail - showing ONLY foreign drivers on their mobiles- clearly indicating that UK drivers do not behave like that. Each time we come to the UK, be it on the M1, M11, M20, M6, M40 - a massive proportion of drivers, white van drivers, lorry drivers- are on the phone or texting. And to some extent too in France, Switzerland, Italy- where we travel a lot - huge numbers do the same.

It's hugely dangerous, and criminal - but to put a whole front page of foreign drivers on this phones - as though they are the only perpetrators of that despicable and dangerous trend- is just, again, fulelling racism. It's vile.

I didn't see the front page you referred to; any lorry driver using a mobile phone whilst driving is in charge of an accident waiting to happen - the thing is that lorry drivers, being in their cabs and higher up than cars, are less vulnerable than motorists.

Whatever the rights and wrongs (and I would not like to see racial hatred whipped up) this is rather a red herring when we should be aiming for a TOTAL BAN on mobiles being used in cars by drivers.

Killing people because you are trying to text, to find music, to take topless selfies (which is what one girl was doing apparently, when driving!!) is more than vile.

I saw the Mail the other day and they seem to have a campaign about all drivers using mobiles and texting. However, it must be even more risky when your driving position is on the "wrong" side of the road. The lorry driver who is alleged to have killed a cyclist (Italian) in London this week is also from the continent I think. Not so much a rant against "foreigners" I think as saying that continental vehicle drivers are not always in the best position literally to see when to overtake.

That's a thought DIORisme, another aspect to it.

I wonder whether using a mobile while driving is an offence in other countries? No excuse, of course, for doing it in this country as drivers should always familiarise themselves with the rules which apply to the country they're in.

The foreign driver who has just been convicted (Polish?) of the horrific crime of not really looking at the road for over a mile while he fiddled about on his phone finding music (running into the back of a car with a Mother and two children and killing them)has had too lenient a sentence IMHO as he will serve under ten years.This happened on the A34 in Berkshire, but could have happened on any road or motorway.That same morning he had signed a declaration at his depot that he would never use a mobile while driving.I know that British drivers use mobiles too, but there are many, many reports of foreign drivers driving badly and causing accidents.All that can be done ( because signing declarations doesn't work) is TriciaF very good idea
That all lorries simply cancel out any kind of phone signal once the engine is turned on.I wonder is this could ever be done?

Very well said Granjura, there definetly seems to be a trend towards putting a negative/racist slant on every incident/issue

Thank you Jalima. I am aware, of course, that the same thing applies to we British when we go over the water!!

Nobody, but nobody, is condoning using mobile and texting at the wheel. The Polish driver has been living and working in the UK for 16 years btw. But the Daily Mail front cover today, was clearly intimating it is a criminal habit used only or mainly by foreign drivers.

Has anyone thought that the drivers photographed were not actually driving btw? Those drivers stop in lay-bys to sleep, for the loo or something to eat - and will often phone home before setting off again. It is a very lonely job, long distance driving- and regular contact with home is essential.

Now how would have those 'journalists' take such clear pictures on the move? The fact is, that they probably saw many other drivers on the phone, but chose to photograph only the foreign ones, or to publish only those photos.

Just spent last 30 minutes looking at comments from the RAC- but can't find anthing stating that phoning/texting is mainly a problem with foreign drivers.

Here is the latest from RAC:

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/15/illegal-mobile-phone-use-by-motorists-is-increasing-says-rac

Perhaps some more drastic action is required; don't they confiscate your vehicle in France if you're found using a mobile whilst driving?