In the News Mobile phone use

[Jaws]

MPs of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee have called on the government to consider “tougher restrictions on driving while using a mobile phone and stricter enforcement of the law”.

In a new report released today (August 13 2019), the Transport Committee highlights the risks of using mobile phones while on the roads and criticised a rate of enforcement of the existing laws, which it noted has “plunged by more than two thirds since 2011”.

It also noted that there were 773 casualties – of which 135 were serious injuries and 43 were deaths – in 2017 where a driver using a mobile phone was a contributory factor, and that the number of deaths and serious injuries under such circumstances has risen since 2011.

The committee also recommended that the government should explore extending the existing ban on hand-held devices to include hands-free systems as well after the determination that “evidence shows that using a hands-free device creates the same risks of crashing”.

Commenting, the committee’s chair Lilian Greenwood MP said: “Despite the real risk of catastrophic consequences for themselves, their passengers and other road users, far too many drivers continue to break the law by using hand-held mobile phones.

“If mobile phone use while driving is to become as socially unacceptable as drink driving, much more effort needs to go into educating drivers about the risks and consequences of using a phone behind the wheel. Offenders also need to know there is a credible risk of being caught, and that there are serious consequences for being caught.

“There is also a misleading impression that hands-free use is safe. The reality is that any use of a phone distracts from a driver’s ability to pay full attention and the government should consider extending the ban to reflect this.

“Each death and serious injury which results from a driver using a mobile phone is a tragedy that is entirely avoidable. We need tougher restrictions, better enforcement and more education to make our roads safer for all.”

 

[Pow-Lo]

Out of the same mould as that fuckwit liberal woman who says BoJo is wrong to want to make prison sentences tougher because it removes the incentive to behave inside.

I wonder how she’d respond if I demanded the banning of driving a car with fucking kids in the back? After all, most mothers, and yes, it is predominantly mothers, seem to spend more time turning around and shouting at the kids in the back instead of looking where they’re going.

I really despair at the stupidity of some people.

 

[T.C]

There are a number of issues with the proposal which I have already raised with the PACT (Paliamentary Advisory Committe on Traffic).

Firstly, give the severe reduction and training and knowledge of traffic Police, how are these proposals going to be enforced?

Secondly, to ban the use of hands free in affect means that the use of sat navs, radio/CD players and in fact conversation would also have to be banned because the distraction level is no different to using hands free.

Rider training schools could be affected because of the ban on hands free,comms (although there is an exclusion for one way communication), but the principle is the same.

Technology is already available that can imobolise the phone when the engine is running. Development is needed, but it is there, however most of the phone companies have already said that it is not in their interest to develop this technology.

There is no evidence that hands free has caused any more crashes than turning on the radio or the CD (very few, although it does happen from time to time)

I would hasten to add that I am all in favour of the use of hand held devices being banned. Seeing those idiots (especially the HGV drivers who are supposed to be professionals) playing with their phones, ipods, iphones and whatever else really pisses me off, but hnds free? I can see all sorts of issues with the policing of this unless technology is used.

They power junkies really have not thought this through very well.

 

[derek kelly]

Is hands free any different to talking to your passengers? Would this ban cover the use of emergency service radios?
Mobile phones don’t cause accidents, stupid people do.

 

[Quiney]

Is hands free any different to talking to your passengers? Would this ban cover the use of emergency service radios?
Mobile phones don’t cause accidents, stupid people do.

This was my thoughts. You often see in those 'fly-on-the-wall' TV programs, a solo police giving chase at high speed and having to take one hand off the wheel to use the PTT on his radio.

 

[Malone]

No it won’t ban the use for emergency services, nor should it.

I’d make it an immediate ban if found texting or suchlike on a mobile, a more severe penalty than a few points for talking without hands free.

So many cars are now fitted as standard with hands free facility I don’t know how they could ban them from being used. Mine is better to use than with the phone to my ear, however, I’m not one who gets very involved when on the phone, my attention is to the road - but I have driven past a junction on occasion, so perhaps my concentration isn’t as good as it should be?

But then again, one year coming home from Switzerland I ended up in Germany instead of France when I took the wrong road out of Basle. That was a bit embarrassing.

 

[Minkey]

I have hand free in my car and I won't answer the phone, It is very distracting, talking to your passenger is less distracting than having to focus on a phone call or even worse is people who read and send text messages. I've seen people local to me who get in their car start to drive and then make a phone call as they drive off.

 

[T.C]

Is hands free any different to talking to your passengers? Would this ban cover the use of emergency service radios?
Mobile phones don’t cause accidents, stupid people do.

On the first issue that is a point I made in my initial post.

On the second point, there is currently an emergency services exemption about hand held devices even though 99.9% (at least) of Police vehicles have hands free, and I am guessing that Fire and Ambulance are usually double crewed so maybe not an issue except for the single crewed Ambulance and fire initial response cars.

But you comment about stupid people? 100% spot on

Ihave never understood why people have been to tight or too lazy to invest in a Bluetooth hands free device if they do not have one already fitted in their vehicle. It is not as if they cost a fortune. My daughters cost a Fiver and works perfectly.

 

[Pow-Lo]

Using the phone without handsfree is one thing. I’ve passed astonishingly stupid people texting whilst driving. I even saw one woman on the M20 checking Facebook on her phone whilst driving.

As I said above, the stupidity of some people is staggering.

 

[Duck n Dive]

Bans or restrictions of any sort are pointless if there's virtually nil chance of enforcement.

I don't use my mobile at all in the car. I've yet to encounter any situation where that has been inconvenient never mind so vital that I couldn't manage.

What could be so important that it really couldn't wait until a break or end of a journey.

Maybe it's because I grew up without a mobile phone, if you wanted to phone someone you found a phone box.

But anyway, all this chatter is pointless, they can't even enforce the current rules.

The news stories doing the rounds are just political noise hoping to raise a few brownie points on some party rating feedback.

 

[derek kelly]

I even saw one woman on the M20 checking Facebook on her phone whilst driving.

I hope you weren’t driving at the time, bet you were checking out her tits.

 

[Minkey]

I hope you weren’t driving at the time, bet you were checking out her tits.

He should have had his eyes on the road not eyeing up female drivers

 

[Squag1]

Knew of a woman who eat cornflakes driving to work on country roads.

Getting up 10 minutes earlier was less important than dying.

 

[andyBeaker]

Many states in USA prohibit the carrying of alcohol in the cabin of a car, must be in the boot.

Why not apply to all hand held devices. Makes it a very simple black and white offence.

Personally I hate using any type of device for the phone while driving. More often than not I don't answer incoming calls but on the rare occasion I do I'll either tell them I'll call back or pull over to have a conversation. Distracting in the extreme.

 

[ScottyUK]

Sticking the phone elsewhere simply won't solve the problem. Once the phone is paired to the car/satnav etc all that functionality moves to the device. Yes they can make it illegal for the car functions to be used but there's always bypasses e.g. my car can play DVDs through the dash display. It's disabled when the car is moving ... but there's a quick software hack to bypass it.

Technically it's going to be difficult to stop it.

 

[andyBeaker]

Sticking the phone elsewhere simply won't solve the problem. Once the phone is paired to the car/satnav etc all that functionality moves to the device. Yes they can make it illegal for the car functions to be used but there's always bypasses e.g. my car can play DVDs through the dash display. It's disabled when the car is moving ... but there's a quick software hack to bypass it.

Technically it's going to be difficult to stop it.

If you don't mind me saying...no sh*t Sherlock!!

What I am getting at is that by having the 'must be in the boot' option by default it moves to 'hands free' ( and yes I know there are some exceptions, not least when stuff is connected via Cloud).


One positive about this would be that there is no argument on whether an offence is committed - it's either in the boot or it isn't.


'Hands free' is a bit misleading anyway - how many people really use the full functionality in their car to make it truly 'hands free'. I know I don't, i press the button on the steering wheel when I know it can be done by voice control. Is one less distracting than the other?? Not so sure...

As an aside, the husband of one of the girls that worked for me was given a fixed penalty notice for a mobile phone offence. He disputed it, went to court and was surprised to learn that his defence of 'I wasn't making a call it was in my mouth' (which is why he was stopped) didn't go down well...

 

[ScottyUK]

You seem to have missed the point: Having the phone in the boot will achieve nothing.
Also you really think people will remove the phone from their pocket or handbag to put it in the boot and then in reverse when parking up for every journey. It's simply not gonna happen.

 

[Malone]

Have you seen the latest car ad where it appears to be playing a text message as audio?

So how does the driver answer that?

I think the advert should be banned.

 

[Ned52]

I was told you can do that on my VW by the dealer as an extra/add on ,...……. you talk to it the same as talking to Google !!

 

[Duck n Dive]

So... in my son's car at the moment on the way to slim63.

We've been having a discussion about which is worse when driving ....

Using a mobile phone or him taking his hand off the wheel to scratch his balls!!??

He won't allow even the radio on in the car as he says it's too distracting, he only past his test just over 2yrs ago.