Our bad habits behind the wheel

Here they are, a cross-section of London's motorists going about their business in the normal way. But they should consider themselves lucky they do not live on Tyneside, where their behaviour could land them in the dock.

There, police fought for 13 months to bring 23-year-old nursery nurse Sarah McCaffery to justice after they caught her holding an apple as she turned left at a junction.

After a case which came to court no fewer than 10 times and cost an estimated £10,000, South Tyneside magistrates fined Miss McCaffery £60 and ordered her to pay £100 costs for not being in control of her vehicle.

Here, captured on camera, is the next bunch of potential offenders. Most of them probably do not even think they are doing anything wrong.

Taking a sip of water, lighting a cigarette - many drivers do that and worse every time they get into their car.

But if the police and courts took the same view in London as they do in Northumbria, every one of these drivers could face a hefty fine.

Some of them, such as the man using his mobile phone, are quite clearly breaking the law.

If a police officer saw him he would be liable to an automatic fine of £30 - or up to £1,000 if the case went to court.

But the others, such as the woman swigging from a bottle of mineral water or another woman delicately munching on a sandwich, might not be aware they could be prosecuted for their actions.

Some, of course, are clearly doing something dangerous, such as the man looking at the map while driving. Can he really be concentrating on the road?

Even those drivers who are sitting still in traffic might not be immune from prosecution. Take the man eating an apple at the wheel as he waits for the lights to change. No doubt he thinks he is acting perfectly safely.

But if an over-zealous police officer were to take a strict view of the law, perhaps he would decide the driver was not in control of his vehicle.

After the Sarah McCaffery case, anything could happen ...