Driving while using mobile phones. (hand held)

Its a bit of a bugbear of mine and something i see regularly when diving (being in a wagon i can see into most vehicles)

The picture clearly shows the current £200 fine and 6 points is not enough of a deterrent it should be an immediate ban and the vehicle should be impounded for the duration of the ban.

What do members think?

I personally think it's every bit as irresponsible as drink driving or not wearing a seat belt, yet some people absolutely can't get it into their heads that they're doing anything wrong.

There are many cases of people having been killed due to drivers using their phones - besides being banned from driving, those caught should be made to attend an awareness course which includes a video showing the aftermath of some of the accidents and the feelings of family members who have lost loved ones due to others selfishness.

No points - a straight ban (with a heavy fine). That's the only way it will stop.

Hi!
It is a law more honoured in the breach than in the observance.
Take these rascals off the road!

It's shocking, and something I never do cos I'm a very good boy. But just as bad, and something I do all the time, is smoke whilst driving. Why, only the other day I dropped a lit cig into my lap. The ensuing panic and rush to retrieve it knocked my can of beer over and the car ended up inverted in a ditch, crack across the windscreen, horn blaring etc. Good job there was no peds in the way.

I used to do presentations for large fleet companies in conjunction with the AA and if you saw the stats it is more dangerous than most people think. It was also proven that using hands free units is no better as it is the call that is the distraction i.e your mind is on the conversation and on a corporate side it usually entails trying to solve issues which takes your mind away from driving. I used to advise companies not to fit hands free kits and as most journeys you take a break every 2 hours to return calls at break times rather than using hands free

Nothing in the laws on driving seems to be deterrent to anything, that is what I notice in my country (Belgium) and the countries around us (Holland, France). Speeding, doing dumb things on the road, driving with mobile phones, other dangerous things, not enough people are caught and punished.
Actually, Holland is the worst example. They have highways on which there are different speeding limits, and I have the impression that the Dutch are the worst in breaking them.

Gunge said:

It's shocking, and something I never do cos I'm a very good boy. But just as bad, and something I do all the time, is smoke whilst driving. Why, only the other day I dropped a lit cig into my lap. The ensuing panic and rush to retrieve it knocked my can of beer over and the car ended up inverted in a ditch, crack across the windscreen, horn blaring etc. Good job there was no peds in the way.

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The Dude Abides!

Driving down the A1M in heavy traffic at 70mph just south of Newcastle I saw "white van man" in my rear-view mirror with a phone clamped to his ear. I started to slow down ... and slower ... and slower ... and at about 30mph the man took the phone away from his ear and I started to speed up a bit.

Apparently, he had only put the phone down to change gear because when he caught up with me he had the phone clamped to his ear again! I started to slow down ... and slower ... and slower ... and again at about 30mph ....

This happened FOUR times before it dawned on "white van man" that if he wanted to travel faster than 30mph he would have to put his phone away and concentrate on the road instead of his phone call.

BTW In Saudi Arabia I used to run a course on "Defensive Driving". It had three guiding principles:

1. If you were involved in an accident the slower you were driving the better the outcome.
2. If someone "tail-gated" you the answer was to slow down and NEVER to speed up.
3. If no-one came within a metre of you then you wouldn't have an accident.

In Saudi Arabia during 1980 more people were killed in road accidents than were born; and going to work the roads often looked like the film set of the D-Day Landings!

Happy Days - and they didn't have many mobile phones in those days!

They should have their phones smashed on the spot....they love their phones ...then depending on circumstances,have minimum £500 fine...double kick in the crevice ...and a hiding.

Clint said:

They should have their phones smashed on the spot....they love their phones ...then depending on circumstances,have minimum £500 fine...double kick in the crevice ...and a hiding.

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Hi!
Why not have their phones inserted into the aforementioned crevice?

Yes...on a burning spike.

It is basic math that whatever percentage of your attention is on your phone call, then that percentage is not on your driving. What percentage of your attention is needed to drive safely on a clear road, straight, low volume, etc.? Making calls only then could be considered safe but would also require judgement. But what call couldn't wait? Very, very few.
Before I continue, I'm fine with a law that says no cells while driving.
I did notice, over the years, that a drunk driver, a senior who shouldn't be behind the wheel and a cell phone user look pretty much the same if you're behind them, wondering, what is going on with that car?

People who break the law, by definition, aren't going to follow laws put in place because that's what they do: speed, swerve, cut in and out of traffic, tailgate and so on. They are well aware that they're doing something illegal and will do it anyway. So, making laws that reasonable people probably already don't do is not the answer.
Seat belt? All you should have to say to someone is your chances of surviving a crash or remaining in control of your vehicle is better if you wear one. Done. NO law needed.
Cell phone? You tell me my reaction time is slowed by 15% (made-up number)? Well, gee, I won't use one while driving.
Speeding? Obvious. Done.
Tailgating? No reaction time. Keep an appropriate distance. Done. No law necessary.
Swerving in and out of traffic? Obvious.
My point is that the laws are mainly for people who break them and who won't use common sense.

A mate if mine always reckoned ...

"For those who are prepared to pay the price, the law does not exist!"

... and he was right.

Hate to sound sexist but I find it is mainly girls and women using them in the rush hour traffic on a morning and evening. As a cyclist it worries the he'll out if me.

That said, whilst in traffic yesterday, a fella had his phone in a holder on his dash with what looked like UFC playing.

Yeah, and pretty soon there will be second-hand cell phone accidents caused by us folks taking our eyes off the road because we're trying to figure out why someone we're sharing the road with is driving non-optimally.

I remember the firs mobile phone that I ever saw. 1976 and one of the neighbours picked us all up in Aberdeen and took us down to Edinburgh. We were travelling past Stonehaven and his mobile phone rang, (it must have been one of the VERY first mobile phones), and the first thing he did before he answered the call? He pulled in and stopped - then he answered.

If Bruce Neilson is reading this, thanks for the lift!!!

Back in the day you had to stop as the signal was so poor you kept losing the person you were talking to for several seconds at at a time.

Dode said:

I remember the firs mobile phone that I ever saw. 1976 and one of the neighbours picked us all up in Aberdeen and took us down to Edinburgh. We were travelling past Stonehaven and his mobile phone rang, (it must have been one of the VERY first mobile phones), and the first thing he did before he answered the call? He pulled in and stopped - then he answered.

If Bruce Neilson is reading this, thanks for the lift!!!

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But phones back then you'd need two hands just to lift the thing up they were so big

Norfolk79 said:

But phones back then you'd need two hands just to lift the thing up they were so big

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You're right, it was about the same size as a shoe box

They have gone full circle some of today's smart phones are bigger than the TV I had back in those days.