Mobile phone use.

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AMGeed

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Nice to see the police are now putting unmarked cars on the roads in an effort to catch these menaces that continue to use hand held mobile phones.

I'm of the opinion that the 6 pts and a fine still doesn't go far enough to persuade drivers not to use them. I'd like to see the threat of the car being crushed as a deterrent, but that won't stop white van man.

As both a driver and pedestrian it really angers me when I see them blabbing away totally unconcerned about breaking the law:wallbash:.
As for hands free, that's another scenario for another thread maybe.

Do you think the law is about right with 6pts and a fine or should it be instant disqualification and treated the same as drink/drug driving?
 
Do you think the law is about right with 6pts and a fine or should it be instant disqualification and treated the same as drink/drug driving?

No and yes, in that order.
 
I completely agree. If it's enforced properly I think 6 points is about right. I travel between Cardiff and Bristol on the M4 every day and the number drivers we see on mobiles, swerving around and slowing down less than 50, is in double figures practically every journey!
 
Nice to see the police are now putting unmarked cars on the roads in an effort to catch these menaces that continue to use hand held mobile phones.

I'm of the opinion that the 6 pts and a fine still doesn't go far enough to persuade drivers not to use them. I'd like to see the threat of the car being crushed as a deterrent, but that won't stop white van man.

As both a driver and pedestrian it really angers me when I see them blabbing away totally unconcerned about breaking the law:wallbash:.
As for hands free, that's another scenario for another thread maybe.

Do you think the law is about right with 6pts and a fine or should it be instant disqualification and treated the same as drink/drug driving?

It should , in addition to everything else , and at the very least , involve the policeman taking the handset from the wrongdoer , placing it on the ground then either jumping up and down on it or driving the wheel of his patrol car over it - then handing the bits back to the owner .
 
Points , yes. Fine needs to be bigger and the phone should be confiscated and crushed. If a second offence, a ban
 
Hopefully, while they are on the lookout for people using mobiles, they can scare other inattentive ***** into moving left out of the middle lane. :mad:
 
Oh , and the priority right now should be stopping and fining idiots who drive after dark with no lights on .

I saw two tonight - one in a high street completely unlit , then one on the M8 oblivious that her DRL's don't bring on any rear lighting , and MUST be replaced by dipped headlamps after dark on any road with speed limit above 30mph .
 
n the early days of mobile phones I got pulled over for using my phone and got a ticking off - rightly so.

Had I been given 6pts for that I would have been ****ed as I saw it as a minor offence.

However, having seen the number of people using them today I would say it is adequate - potentially 2 strikes and you're out. The only thing that concerns me is back the number was much lower. Today it's not even making calls, it's about snapchatting and updating social media - texting using a touch screen phone. Very dangerous as you need to take your eyes off the road
 
Do you think the law is about right with 6pts and a fine or should it be instant disqualification and treated the same as drink/drug driving?

I think the law is all wrong in this case.
Personal experience has shown that there are certain policemen who will stop anyone with their hand near their face, scractching an itch for example, without using a phone.
Despite checking the phones log and seeing no calls had been made or recieved, you are then charged with using a phone while driving.
On a Lawyers advice, you would need a court order to obtain the phone company records to prove your innocence, try obtaining them yourself and your request will just be ignored, trust me, phone companies will not help unless ordered by the courts.
After the court order & your lawyers time in court to prove you are not guilty, you will need in the region of £800 to £1200, and under Scottish law, you can not claim a penny of this back after winning your case.

The easy option is to pay the fine & take the points, no matter how disgusted it makes you feel. And this is the problem with offences dealt with under a fixed penalty, you are no longer innocent until proven guilty, the onus on now on you to prove your innocence.

Russ
 
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Cycling to/from work each day passing miles of slow moving traffic I'd go as far to say it's around 50% of all drivers are looking down and barely paying attention.

At least those on a call at the wheel are looking ahead.
 
They're just trying to make a living.

Like the truck driver who drove into the family on the A34 this summer all because he was scrolling though his music on the phone?

Everyone's trying to make a living:doh:
 
Like the truck driver who drove into the family on the A34 this summer all because he was scrolling though his music on the phone?

Everyone's trying to make a living:doh:

Some are just trying to continue living !
 
I think a three month or a six month instant ban would focus a lot of minds or should that be mindless!
 
I think a three month or a six month instant ban would focus a lot of minds or should that be mindless!

Then why not zero tolerance on alcohol?
 
I think they've got the approach completely and totally wrong. This genie is out of the bottle and it's not easy to put back.

I think they ought to be working with the technology firms and car manufacturers to make the in car 'connection' so effective, and safe, that to hold the phone would be daft.

Part of this would probably include suppressing some notifications until the car is parked. It would know when the car is parked and off, as to get the in car connection the device would have to communicate...

At the moment we have this insane race as all the firms bring out new features for people to use on the go, with no though to how it will be used. In turn each car manufacturer is designing it's own version of 'interaction' Let's get a common system that works.
 

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