39 replies to this topic

[CCX]

Hi everyone, my first post on here since I sold my Mini! 

 

Sadly I haven't got another one, but since you're such a helpful bunch I wondered if any of you may have some thoughts on this you would be willing to share?

 

I'm doing a journalism degree which - surprise surprise - involves writing some news stories for a blog. One thing which really caught my eye recently was the introduction of new mobile phone/driving laws which are supposed to help dissuade young drivers in particular from using their phones. Here's an article in case you missed the story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37389800

 

Basically my question to you is this: do you think these laws will have any impact on the number of deaths/injuries phones cause on the road? I have to say I'm pretty sceptical they will make much of a difference. Definitely seems like a step in the right direction but I wonder if people are just so addicted to their phones that they consider it a risk worth taking. Surely we need to be educating people properly about the dangers of distracted driving before they get behind the wheel?  I'd love to hear your thoughts though. 

 

If you could take a moment to respond to the attached poll that would be brilliant - even better if you could post some of your thoughts and further questions too. Any contributions would be very much appreciated as always. The story likely won't go further than my blog/my uni tutor so feel free to be as outspoken as you like!

[sonikk4]

Personally I think the fine should be greater. Hands free in a car is not difficult to install however if you really really need to make a call as you are addicted to your phone then pull over safely in a layby then get your fix.

I see all sorts every day and the one thing that grips me more than anything else is mobile phone use

[SecretSugar]

Personally, I don't think it will change anything, but I am only saying this from my point of view in the areas I live. I live in small village and town areas where police are rarely seen, so I don't feel there is anything to stop the offenders, and even if there was, I just feel they would be more sneaky. Even when these new laws come in, I saw and still to this day, see many people texting and phoning behind the wheel, and the biggest offenders that I see daily is usually workmen, and it makes me sad to see that they aren't even trying, still doing the typical trying to hide the phone in their hand and trying to make it look like they are just leaning on their hand. I cannot begin to understand why people risk doing it when hands free kits are next to nothing to buy and also most phones now come with earphones what have controls on it for volume, answering calls etc. so there is no excuse in my eyes. I feel the biggest worry in my area is mostly texters, we seem to be a world now what relies on iMessages, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and whatever else. Although I don't agree with phoning or texting whilst driving, but texting in particular scares me the most as the person completely takes their eyes off the road (even both hands some times!) to look down to their phone on their lap to text whereas at least people who are phoning at least have their eyes on the road and one hand. I only say this as I have had two near misses with texters, who were clearly looking down at their phone for several seconds and bordering the middle of the road and if it wasn't for me beeping that shocked them to look up and turn back into lane, the guy would of hit me head on with my daughter in the car. Luckily, I am fortunate enough to have a car what has bluetooth system so calls and texts are controlled by one button on my steering wheel as well as voice control and most new cars now have this as standard but until the day that everyone has one of these cars, the problem will continue unless the government roll out something harsher to scare these people into getting hands free kits before they kill someone. 

Edited by SecretSugar, 05 March 2017 - 10:13 PM.

[absx2]

Having narrowly avoided a head on collision with my family on board due to a driver thinking he can effectively negotiate a series of S bends whilst holding a mobile phone on his shoulder I think any step to reduce mobile phone use is a step in the right direction.

The guy crashed into the opposite side of the road luckily without killing anyone.

 

A "friend" of mine crashed into the back of another vehicle whilst texting his Mrs hospitalising the lady driver he hit for two weeks. To add insult to injury she was on holiday from spain so that was a total right off as well as her spine and car.

His sentence was a £300 fine and a driver awareness course and yes he still texts, talks and plays with his sat nav function because humans are simple animals that forget things in time.

Personally I think 90 days in the slammer for the GBH caused by his foolish and illegal actions would have nipped his use of the mobile whilst driving in the bud.

 

For minor offenses as in being caught using the mobile on the road maybe confiscating the device as well as the fine could help especially if its a £500 job. 

 

A huge percentage of people that will read my comments will think i`m a winger but to have been so close, broken passenger side mirror close to head on collision with a combined impact speed of 80+mph with my wife and children in the car changes your opinion of what is acceptable on the road.

 

My mobile stays in my work bag when i`m driving and if it rings tough luck and i`ll check it when I get home in ten minutes, it doesn't bother me.

But it does bother me that i have to drive at 30 mph on A roads with no pavements or street lights, homes, people or anything else because some nitwit decided it would ease congestion 10 miles down the road to reduce it from a 60 to a 30 but i do it because its the law and i dont want a speeding ticket.

[RedRuby]

It's a step in the right direction but could have gone further personally besides the fine and points I think they missed an important punishment. I would have included confiscation of the phone and as they are relatively cheap to replace if caught a second time I would confiscate the phone and the car plus the new fines and points. If anyone thinks I am being harsh it's probably because I served as a firefighter for 30 years and saw first hand the devastation caused by stupid drivers and not just phone users.

[M J W J]

I don't personally think it will make any difference.

 

I remember when it went from a fine to a fine and points. If anything the problem has got worse since then so doubling the fine and points probably won't make any difference.

 

The thing that may make more of a difference is the new slogan about putting your phone somewhere you can't use it. People may start to listen to this like the old 'clunk click, every trip'. I leave mine in my bag or on the back seats so I can't get to it. I never use my phone anyway when I'm driving but if I do here it ring there is nothing I can do so just keep on driving and ignore it.

 

I had an argument with a member of management at the previous place I worked at about using phones while driving. I pointed out that the issue is not holding a phone but being distracted by the conversion. About 6 months later he rear ended someone in the company truck while he was on his phone. The company truck had built in hands free.

 

I have no sympathy for anyone who gets prosecuted when using their phone while driving. Like drink driving I think it should be an instant ban.

[mab01uk]

Note: In tests and research using a hands-free mobile phone while driving has proved NOT to be safe!

 

A substantial body of research shows that using a hand-held or hands-free mobile phone while driving is a significant distraction, and substantially increases the risk of the driver crashing.

Drivers who use a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free:

• are much less aware of what's happening on the road around them
• fail to see road signs
• fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed
• are more likely to 'tailgate' the vehicle in front
• react more slowly, take longer to brake and longer to stop
• are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic
• feel more stressed and frustrated.

They are also four times more likely to crash, injuring or killing themselves and other people.

Using a hands-free phone while driving does not significantly reduce the risks because the problems are caused mainly by the mental distraction and divided attention of taking part in a phone conversation at the same time as driving.

http://www.rospa.com.../mobile-phones/

Edited by mab01uk, 05 March 2017 - 10:42 PM.

[Mito]

There aren't enough police to properly enforce it, so how can it work? They may target phone users every so often but this is soon forgotten about.

Laws without proper enforcement are just pointless!

[New game mini]

I drive around 3-4k miles a month with work and have hands free in my car but still never take calls as I'm not a great multitasker I think it's a good thing that there are steep penalties in place for this as it's clearly massively dangerous but I can't help feeling that the powers that be should also be tackling and educating people about some of the other issues that plague UK roads such as motorway lane hoggers/people that feel it's exceptable to drive 40mph on the motorway and just poor driving standards in general, rather than to keep repeating what everybody knows anyway....everyone knows that it's wrong to use a phone at the wheel (surely) but from what I see I think a fair few people still don't understand basic passing/signalling/give way rules etc etc. Most accidents/near misses I see are caused by a mixture of someone dawdling and the people behind getting pee'd off.

[minimans]

Note: In tests and research using a hands-free mobile phone while driving has proved NOT to be safe!

Using a hands-free phone while driving does not significantly reduce the risks because the problems are caused mainly by the mental distraction and divided attention of taking part in a phone conversation at the same time as driving.

http://www.rospa.com.../mobile-phones/

 

So when your driving you should not enter into a discussion with a passenger? It is not the same thing as a conversation on the hands free phone? maybe safer on the phone as your not turning to look at your passenger as you talk? I don't use the phone at all while in the car in fact I hardly ever look when it rings out of the car. When did it become the norm to assume the phone takes precedent over everything else that's going on or what you maybe doing at the moment it rings? Nothing to me is ruder than when I'm talking or being talked to and the phone rings, instant ignore while answering and maybe a conversation ensues, me I just turn and walk away............................

And no I don't think it will change anytime soon in the car or out, it's too ingrained in the younger set that the phone or iPad or whatever takes precedent over all else. I got T boned in my mini a year or so ago by a driver on the phone and when I pointed this out to the cop he said nothing he could do as he didn't witness the infraction.

[mab01uk]

 

Note: In tests and research using a hands-free mobile phone while driving has proved NOT to be safe!

Using a hands-free phone while driving does not significantly reduce the risks because the problems are caused mainly by the mental distraction and divided attention of taking part in a phone conversation at the same time as driving.

http://www.rospa.com.../mobile-phones/

 

So when your driving you should not enter into a discussion with a passenger? It is not the same thing as a conversation on the hands free phone? maybe safer on the phone as your not turning to look at your passenger as you talk? I don't use the phone at all while in the car in fact I hardly ever look when it rings out of the car. When did it become the norm to assume the phone takes precedent over everything else that's going on or what you maybe doing at the moment it rings? Nothing to me is ruder than when I'm talking or being talked to and the phone rings, instant ignore while answering and maybe a conversation ensues, me I just turn and walk away............................

And no I don't think it will change anytime soon in the car or out, it's too ingrained in the younger set that the phone or iPad or whatever takes precedent over all else. I got T boned in my mini a year or so ago by a driver on the phone and when I pointed this out to the cop he said nothing he could do as he didn't witness the infraction.

 

 

However when talking to a passenger they are usually aware of what is going on around you, while a phone caller is not and continues distracting you regardless of what is happening at your end....

Edited by mab01uk, 06 March 2017 - 07:21 AM.

[JBW]

Unfortunately there are far fewer traffic police these days to enforce all the new legislation,I know they have specific checks, an ex colleauge was caught twice & managed to attend a course both times, with no fine or points on his licence.

I used to use hands free for work, but decided it was too much of a distraction, work didn't like it, but have accepted that I'll stop & call them back when its safe to do so.

[Ethel]

You could have said the same about drink driving, but it has become socially unacceptable and is less common.

 

You'd think a solution wouldn't be hard to find given the technology involved. Should the police be routinely checking the phones of drivers involved in accidents or pulled for other offences?

[Cooperman]

I am old enough to remember when the breathaliser was introduced - October 1967 if anyone is interested - and the main reason why we stopped drink driving was the fear of a 12 month ban. In those days one didn't get points for speeding. Instead you got an 'endorsement'. Three endorsements and you got a 6 month ban, so things were tighter back then. However, we all still used to speed, but the threat of immediate disqualification for drink-driving stopped most of us drink-driving. 

 

The new penalty is just 6 points, the same as you can easily get by going through a couple of speed cameras at a bit over the limit, so it will probably not make much difference until a driver actually has the 6 points, at which time he/she might alter their attitude a bit.

 

Now road safety is largely camera-enforced on the basis that safety can be achieved by 'driving by numbers' rather than driving by skill, the risks of being caught are quite low as there are few manned police traffic patrols these days. Pre-cameras the Old Bill were more interested in how a car was being driven rather than at what speed, unless that speed was a fair bit too high.

[nicklouse]

my thoughts, it seems that the main way of enforcing it will be through cameras. fine that is a clear cut issue.

 

what is more grey is the distracted driving.

 

personally I rarely use the phone when driving but when I do it is for receiving calls and that can be done without hands leaving the steering wheel. retro fitted ket to the old Bus.

 

if I want to call I tend to stop. layby and service station.

 

music is on random and I can skip via steering wheel control.

 

when following other drivers it is easy to see who is on the phone with their head cocked to one side.