Mobile phone use.

[ash59fifty-uk]

They're just trying to make a living.

Not sure what planet you're on but, what job requires you to hold a phone to your ear on a phonecall- or holding it in your hand at the wheel in motion texting?

Parking officers, going around getting abuse for ticketing idiots parking in the wrong place or overstaying are 'just trying to earn a living'

Not someone at the wheel answering a call with their hands or texting

I see some right **** on here but, that takes the cake. You must be winding us up?

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

It amazes me how many people do it, and it's always some bonk jockey sitting in the middle lane with their phone to their ear

How much is a parrot Bluetooth kit compared to six points and a hefty fine

 

[GLK]

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

The technology to distinguish between the driver and passenger using the phone, would be incredibly intrusive, and I for one wouldn't want that on my phone.

I never use my [main] phone while driving by the way. I have a separate emergency phone in my armrest cradle, and that just it - for emergencies only. No one ever call me on it, as no one knows the number, apart from my wife. Theoretically I can, on long journeys, answer a call on my main phone, as it is paired with my Garmin satnav, and it's fully voice-controlled, but I never do. Nothing is that important, IMO.

 

[brucemillar]

I see a day when in car phone use will be banned regardless of "hands free" or not. I watched a fascinating program on telly, not so long back. It looked into the increase in "driver aids" and "in car technology". Their research showed that the more tech in a car the more distractions there were. The motor industry argued that by developing driver aids you could combat the distraction factor. That takes us to driverless car territory.

There is a clear divide starting appear between those who see driving as a pleasure and a skill and those who see it as a means to an end.

 

[davidjpowell]

The technology to distinguish between the driver and passenger using the phone, would be incredibly intrusive, and I for one wouldn't want that on my phone.

I never use my [main] phone while driving by the way. I have a separate emergency phone in my armrest cradle, and that just it - for emergencies only. No one ever call me on it, as no one knows the number, apart from my wife. Theoretically I can, on long journeys, answer a call on my main phone, as it is paired with my Garmin satnav, and it's fully voice-controlled, but I never do. Nothing is that important, IMO.

Nope get the in car tech link right and it would be very easy to control the phone in a great way. Once that tech is right people won't want to hold the thing.

 

[DSB SL AMG]

Already mentioned, look at any standing traffic and you will see multiples of people at the wheel looking down, texting, checking social media etc i just wonder if the police have the resource to even scratch the surface...apparently the number of mobile related offences went down last year which does not reflect the problem...

Fewer drivers on mobile phones 'caught by police' - BBC News

Many UK corporations have now banned hands-free phone use, there is data to support even this use can lead to higher risks of accidents...i know for certain national grid has banned it for all employees...

 

[markjay]

Currently there is a rather odd status quo.

The de-facto legal position is that if the infotainment/phone/touchscreen etc came factory-fitted with the car, it is not illegal to operate it per se, i.e. the general rule of 'due care and attention' applies.

If the device is a detachable/hand-held unit e.g. mobile phone or SatNav unit that did not come with the car, then you are not allowed to touch it at all while driving.

There is little logic in that.... it seems to rely on the unfounded assumption that car manufacturers will have safe use ergonomics built-in into their devices, while manufacturers of standalone devices (smartphones and SatNav units), will not.

Which make no sense... there should be a legal standard for driver-infotainment interface, defining which features are available and which are not, and how and when these can be used - once we have that, then any device complying with this standard would be legal to use in a car, whether originally fitted or not.

 

[davidjpowell]

Currently there is a rather odd status quo.

The de-facto legal position is that if the infotainment/phone/touchscreen etc came factory-fitted with the car, it is not illegal to operate it per se, i.e. the general rule of 'due care and attention' applies.

If the device is a detachable/hand-held unit e.g. mobile phone or SatNav unit that did not come with the car, then you are not allowed to touch it at all while driving.

There is little logic in that.... it seems to rely on the unfounded assumption that car manufacturers will have safe use ergonomics built-in into their devices, while manufacturers of standalone devices (smartphones and SatNav units), will not.

Which make no sense... there should be a legal standard for driver-infotainment interface, defining which features are available and which are not, and how and when these can be used - once we have that, then any device complying with this standard would be legal to use in a car, whether originally fitted or not.

Nearly correct. You are allowed to use a handheld device, as long as your not holding it. So it needs to be on some sort of bracket.

 

[markjay]

Nearly correct. You are allowed to use a handheld device, as long as your not holding it. So it needs to be on some sort of bracket.

....but you still can't touch it while driving. Which makes it (legally) impossible to make or take a call unless you use voice commands. It is not written anywhere, but touch your cradled phone's screen in front of a copper and you'll get pulled over. That's what I meant when I said 'de facto'.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

How much is a parrot Bluetooth kit compared to six points and a hefty fine

How much is a parrot Bluetooth compared to a life?

 

[AMGeed]

I see a day when in car phone use will be banned regardless of "hands free" or not.

I agree and I'd back a complete ban as well.
I have a Viseeo, and on the rare occasion I've made or answered a call I find myself having to really concentrate on what is going on around me. It is most certainly a huge distraction.
I can also recall before hands free was the law, answering a call on the M27 and travelling nearly 20 miles with no recollection of driving during that call. Scary really.

 

[markjay]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hones-wheel-new-figures-fewer-prosecuted.html


"It is illegal to make a call, even with a headset, if you touch your phone.

...The officer said interacting with a phone in a dashboard cradle ‘could also be a distraction and deemed to be leaving you not in proper control of your vehicle’. "

 

[M.A.94]

I've seen police officers using hand held mobiles many times, probably the same officer's who have handed out many sets of point's to other drivers doing exactly that.

 

[davidjpowell]

Drivers who us mobile phones while driving on the rise while arrests are lower


"It is illegal to make a call, even with a headset, if you touch your phone.

...The officer said interacting with a phone in a dashboard cradle ‘could also be a distraction and deemed to be leaving you not in proper control of your vehicle’. "

I think you need a better source. It is not illegal to touch the phone. It is illegal to hold the phone. If it's on a cradle, then it is legal to push answer etc.

 

[M.A.94]

What about truck driver and taxi drivers who have radios in their vehicles.. is this seen to be as bad?

 

[Deleted member 65149]

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!

"... the number of drivers we see on mobiles ..." That's just it, those using mobiles whether hands-free or held to their ear are clearly being distracted. Many studies have proved this. A short "I'm on my way home" after calling a number with Linguatronic or similar is possibly OK. But a long conversation about the agenda for tomorrow's meeting or how it took three shots to get out of the bunker on the 12th is surely dangerously distracting. The mechanics of holding that conversation is immaterial, even if it's with a passenger. But it's impossible to prove in a court unless you've been spotted with a phone to your ear, which I suspect is why that's the only action that can be penalised.

I'm pleased to see that the police say they're going to take more action in the future. Currently it seems to be mainly finger wagging at miscreants on the rare occasions that the police do anything because of limited resources. How many deaths does it take before some real action? Concerted action against drink driving has been effective in reducing the numbers who drink and drive. It's become socially unacceptable by most. More campaigns and real action with real penalties could do the same to cut down on phone use while driving.

 

[ringway]

I can also recall before hands free was the law, answering a call on the M27 and travelling nearly 20 miles with no recollection of driving during that call. Scary really.

I used to listen to the afternoon play on Radio 4, but found that my concentration would wander off in to the play if it was any good.
I stopped after a big wake up call when motorway traffic gad come to a standstill and I almost didn't!

There are many distractions, and a dangerous one is getting into a hire vehicle and driving off before familiarising oneself with the controls for everything. I've done that.

Also, on the motorways, particularly around Birmingham, there are giant advertising screens.

I see many people texting or looking down at their phones and sometimes the wicked me thinks "should I pull in front of them in the slow moving traffic and hit the brakes?" Only joking.

I've also seen people reading paperwork on the motorways.

One of the things that bugs me, is people that hold their phone 6 inches away from their face (like they do on the apprentice) whilst calling and driving, as though they are somehow not doing anything wrong.


I have to admit to having the phone magnetically secured to the dashboard at almost eye level and using a hands free Bluetooth headset to accept calls or make calls if I'm in crawling traffic.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I think you need a better source. It is not illegal to touch the phone. It is illegal to hold the phone. If it's on a cradle, then it is legal to push answer etc.

I wish I knew why people are more concerned with the legality of something than they are with possibility that doing so may lead to serious injury or death.

 

[ringway]

They should ban scantily-clad women from the streets in the summertime. That's the biggest distraction of them all!

 

[davidjpowell]

I can't sleep and this subject is one of my bug bears.

Modern technology is being developed all the time. Phones are no longer just phones. They navigate people around, they hold their audio library, they provide the emails, facebook, social interaction as well as the old fashioned phone.

Car manufacturers equally spend time and money trying to integrate phone technology into cars. Each one does it differently. Then the phone manufacturer updates the ios and busts the integration.

Car Play is a start. But let's see more of that type of integration, lets see it work better, and be universal. Let's see it work so well to supply navigation and audio (the main uses that I can imagine that are actually useful) - and phone while it's legal, that the only sensible thing to do is connect it to the car.

When it's then connected to the car, the phone can be programmed so that only the bits that are desired are used. Distracting and / or tempting notifications can be suppressed until a more suitable time. This sort of technology is already used in planes.

The law is completely out of date, and in my view while bigger punishment may deter some, what it really needs is the manufacturers and developers to actually start to work together.