TC350
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- May 19, 2023
- Messages
- 1,588
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
- Car
- C350 Sport saloon. Previously CLK230K and E260 saloon. 25 years Mercedes ownership.
I don’t recall any legislation mandating keeping hands-free calls brief. Presentation/publication of legislation would have highlighted the need to keep calls brief, but I doubt it could have been made law. Not because it doesn’t matter, but because it would be impossible to enforce.This is not my recollection. At the time (late nineties, I think), the introduction of legislation mandating the use of a hands-free kit when making a call while driving, was focused on the physical aspect, but also mentioned that only essential telephone calls should be made, and the calls should be kept brief. The legislation discouraged chatting on the phone while driving (even if this wasn't made a specific offence).
And that’s why it’s not illegal to use hands-free. Many studies have proved that chatting on a hands-free phone has a negative impact on a driver’s ability, but there’s no way to prevent it through legislation. Therein lies the problem: because it’s deemed to be legal most people think it’s safe. IT’S NOT SAFE.
For many years now, legislation that’s in place to protect us has been promoted as a risk of prosecution. So what we have is people merely concerned with avoiding fines and points, and looking for ways to get around them by whatever means possible other that simply complying with the full sense of the law.
I have absolutely no idea what the fines and points are for speeding or using a phone while driving. Those penalties mean far less to me than anybody’s life. Instead of reminding us of the financial and possible inconvenience implications of getting caught contravening motoring laws, we need to be reminded of the possibilities of the physical and mental suffering that could result from ignoring them.