Using phones whilst driving.

[Chippy_Tea]

It should be an instant driving ban, fines will only stop people who cannot afford to pay bans will stop them all - eventually.

Drivers caught using handheld mobile phones in Britain are to face "much tougher penalties", with fines and points doubling, the government says. Under new rules expected to come in next year, drivers will get six points on their licence and face a £200 fine.17 Sep 2016

Cheshire Police ‏@cheshirepolice 8h8 hours ago
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Penalties for using phones whilst driving are soon to double. Consequences of using a phone could be fatal #Fatal4

 

[terrym]

How many times do you see drivers looking down, obviously fiddling with their phone or with a phone up to their ear? Do they get reported, er, most unlikely.
Link that to the number of time you see a police car. Or a police managed traffic cam.
So the law is pretty much unenforceable with or without harsher penalties.
However the technology is available I'm sure to jam receiving and making calls in a vehicle when in motion. But then folk will say 'well I use hands free and that's legal', and 'what about my passengers', and that dare I say it will then be a Human Rights issue or similar (yawn).
So the bottom line is it won't really make much difference. The tiny few who get caught will face an increased fine etc , the rest of them will carry on taking the risk of detection and it will be business as normal.

 

[Pfeffer]

Agreed. Here the fine is 240 euro.

HOWEVER it's not just phones, things I came across during my (long) daily commute;

- Calling not hands free
- People playing pokemon
- Lorry driver reading the news paper on the wheel (not in a traffic jam but with full speed!)
- Women curling eyelashes
- People using a electric shaver
- Girls applying make up
- Mother changing a diaper in 3mph traffic
- Driver watching porn on his Mercedes entertainment console
- Self employed guys guys rumbling in heaps of dashboard paperwork
- People driving with iced windows (15cm defrosted by the blower)
- people fondling with baby seats in the back
- people switching driver seats with 80mph

It sounds unrealistic, but that's just the past 100k (3-4 years).

 

[Fil]

And anyone who when in mid conversation with someone instantly ignores them to answer a call/txt/msg should be publicly spanked.

 

[Godsdog]

im very strong minded on this subject,i do drive and only use the mobile thru Bluetooth so no fiddling with the phone even though its still technically illegal but for me its like talking to your passenger while driving
anyway I walk a lot too and you wouldn't believe the amount of folk with the phone stuck to their ear while driving and not just the young ones either,the current new penaltys are clearly not a deterrent so I would ban them for 2 years make them re sit their test £1000 fine and 6 penalty points and make the insurance companys put a premium on their insurance for the duration of the penalty points.am I being too hard?if it saves just one life its worth it.btw if you get caught eating and driving its a caution know someone who got one

 

[Chippy_Tea]

We have all seen these idiots so fines are not working people will pay them but would the same person run the risk of losing their licence, I don't think they would.

 

[Jakeyboi]

Last year I was driving along a very fast road near me, usual thing I was in a single line of traffic moving at about 65 and as usual not much was going on. I received a text on my phone which was in a holder on my dash. I drive a long wheel base transit van filled with tools. I looked down to see who had text and whilst I did the person two cars ahead has decided to pull into a lay by on the other side of the road and had stopped waiting to turn right, the car in front had also stopped and when I looked up I was probably about 20M away and travelling at 65 no time to even brake. I swerved to the left side of the road and luckily undertook them with inches to spare whilst mounting the grass verge, mud grass and stones flying everywhere, the cars must of shook as I went past so close and fast. Quite shaken I started to run other outcomes in my mind, imagine if I had smashed into them cars at that speed with my weight of vechical, I would have killed or maimed people and subsequently probably ended up in prison for manslaughter. It was a very real wake up call and now my phone stays In my pocket. If anyone is reading this and keeps their phone on their dash like I did and occasionally looks down at it then let this be your wake up call because it could be you who kills someone.

 

[Pfeffer]

True that. You'd be surprised how much distance you have travelled whilst "quickly" reading a text, lighting a cigarette, dialing a number. Even in 3-5 sec a lot can happen in front of you.

Here the roads are flat, but in the UK you have a lot of small hills - just enough to hide the road ahead.

 

[VW911]

I don't do it.


Can't seem to hear anything through my crash helmet...

 

[nigelnorris]

What I don't understand is that pretty much every new car built now has a touch screen in the dash for radio / satnav / phone / air con / climate control / seat adjustment / whatever else. How is using that any less dangerous than using a phone? But it's available so every car must have one and everyone's expected to be able to cope with that.

I've been in two different cars recently that have two touchscreens, obviously the second one is needed because if you're changing the climate control how are you supposed to be able to read the satnav at the same time?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't do it.


Can't seem to hear anything through my crash helmet...

Looks like the ones that do are well catered for, unbelievable.


.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Why "could" it should be "will" - Under new rules expected to be set this year, drivers could face fines of £200 and six penalty points.

Almost 8,000 drivers were caught using a mobile phone behind the wheel during a week-long crackdown by police.

Officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland issued more than 40 fines an hour during the campaign in November.

They also issued 68 court summonses, delivered hundreds of verbal warnings and identified 117 other distraction offences such as eating while driving.

Police chiefs said the results were "encouraging" and another week-long campaign was to begin from Monday.

It is illegal to use a handheld phone while driving, with those falling foul of the rules facing penalty points and a fine.

Calls to prevent drivers using phones intensified last year in the wake of several high-profile cases and research indicating that it was widespread.

In October, lorry driver Tomasz Kroker, who killed a mother and three children while distracted by his phone, was jailed for 10 years.

'Socially unacceptable'

Matt Butler, a traffic inspector for Dorset Police, one of the forces involved in the crackdown, told BBC Radio 5 live that it was not yet socially unacceptable to use a mobile phone while driving, but "we will get there".

"Although you may get away with it [using your mobile phone] a few times, sooner or later you are going to have a crash and that crash is going to hurt somebody really badly," he said.

"So it is not just about 'I've been naughty, I've been caught doing something', it's about the end effect and that is what we need people to remember."

Previous crackdowns saw 2,690 fines issued in May 2015, 2,276 in September 2015 and 2,323 in May last year.

However, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said more forces - 36 in total - had been involved in the latest drive so results were not directly comparable.

Suzette Davenport, the NPCC's lead for roads policing, said the figures "show how effective new tactics and innovative approaches can be".

"Forces will be working to make driving distracted as socially unacceptable as drink-driving through enforcing strong deterrents and powerful messages to make people think twice about their driving habits," she added.

"Officers will continue to use intelligence-led tactics to target police activity and resources and catch repeat offenders."

The Department for Transport announced plans last year to double the punishment for using a mobile phone while driving.

Under new rules expected to be set this year, drivers could face fines of £200 and six penalty points.

This comes alongside pressure by ministers calling for motorists who cause death while on a mobile phone to face tougher sentences.

BBC News.

 

[Brewdoug]

I even saw a policeman with a phone to his ear while driving recently

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Nantwich Police ‏@PoliceNantwich Jan 23

Too often the response a driver gives to being on their relates to updating their boss or place of work! #ItCanWait

 

[JerryP]

{...snip...} If anyone is reading this and keeps their phone on their dash like I did and occasionally looks down at it then let this be your wake up call because it could be you who kills someone.

I agree. have my phone in a holder often, but I have it set so that it does not display text messages etc. on the lock screen or notifications. So I cannot be tempted to read it when it comes in.

Most times I am commuting on the motorbike with phone in inside pocket of jacket. While filtering, it is scary how little attention people appear to be paying to what is going on around them...

 

[Ale]

Even today I was driving behind someone who was driving like an idiot. Constantly speeding up and slowing down, not aware of what was going on around him, not staying in the middle of the lane, apparently unaware of changes in the speed limit. When he moved to a lane for left turns I went past him and he was texting. I was behind him for about 15 minutes like it. That was not even a bad one, I've had worse a few times in the last week alone.

And to add to the list Pfeffer gave i can add doing the crossword in the paper, writing things, reading books, its not uncommon to see someone steering with their knees while rolling a cigarette (if that is what they are rolling) and have even seen a couple of times where someone has been typing on a laptop balanced on the steering wheel. I've seen people doing most of these while on the phone in the other hand. But the worst imo is people who while on the phone drive right up behind someone or swerve dangerously between lanes to undertake while on the phone.

 

[Dutto]

A classic response to being booked! :thumb:

My own two favourites were ...

"I never knew that was an offence."

and

"I pay your wages."​

... but the one I enjoyed most reading out in court was ...

He then replied "F*ck off you black enamelled b*stard."​

It was a reference to the colour of my uniform not a racial slur ... :thumb:

... but it almost certainly doubled the man's fine! :mrgreen:

Happy Days! :thumb:

 

[Tau]

Even with 6 points and fine, it's not enforced by the police, most just let it go. They should add community service or some form punishment that messes up their time and life so they will not do it. If including the 6 points and fine, 50 hours spread over a month clearing road debris from crashes might help them change their minds on using the phone in the car whilst driving.

Edit: Thought of another deterent...instant ban on facebook, twitter and having their mobile phone use banned for 6 months. That might well work.

 

[Gerryjo]

I have seen many of the above whilst working around the country in my previous job and it's scary.Travelling on the motorway I noticed a forty footer with a flat tyre at the rear so pulled up level and blew the horn to get his attention and was presented with his middle finger while on the phone.Reported.
Had another incident with a lady who cut me up on the roundabout too busy on the phone, reported again and the police rang me back to say that she had been given a caution when they called at her home and even though she admitted it they had no proof to pursue any further....

Sent from my ALE-L21