7 points for mobile use while driving
Discussion
rat840771 said:
I am curious as to where the law stands with the use of Siri and texting?
I had my phone running my sat nav on Saturday and I used Siri to send a text to mate which didn't require being 'hands on' with the phone as it was stuck to the window.
Is this allowed by law?
Was the phone in your hand?I had my phone running my sat nav on Saturday and I used Siri to send a text to mate which didn't require being 'hands on' with the phone as it was stuck to the window.
Is this allowed by law?
Fleegle said:
I spoke to a bike copper at the lights this morning and asked what line the police take on the use of phones. I made no reference to texting but he immediately replied that he's constantly looking in cars when filtering past stationary vehicles and he takes no prisoners should he find anyone texting or e-mailing.
That's always stuck me as pathetic on the part of the Police - like doing people for taking a drink while stopped. 
Sheepshanks said:
Fleegle said:
I spoke to a bike copper at the lights this morning and asked what line the police take on the use of phones. I made no reference to texting but he immediately replied that he's constantly looking in cars when filtering past stationary vehicles and he takes no prisoners should he find anyone texting or e-mailing.
That's always stuck me as pathetic on the part of the Police - like doing people for taking a drink while stopped. ORD said:
julian64 said:
You be a bunch of idiots.
It is/was always possible to make a phone call while driving. It was legal in this country ten years ago, and its still legal for the majority of the driving world.
Its just the people who are incapable and weave all over the road that cause the headlines, which cause the laws. And then after the law has been in place for a number of years thread like this are produced to vilify anyone on a phone because its an easy thing to do.
You've stopped questioning a law and are happy with the lowest common denominator driving level.
Made all the more interesting as BB is continually complaining of speed limits made ever lower for the self same reasons.
Not sure if serious. Texting while driving is monumentally stupid and dangerous.It is/was always possible to make a phone call while driving. It was legal in this country ten years ago, and its still legal for the majority of the driving world.
Its just the people who are incapable and weave all over the road that cause the headlines, which cause the laws. And then after the law has been in place for a number of years thread like this are produced to vilify anyone on a phone because its an easy thing to do.
You've stopped questioning a law and are happy with the lowest common denominator driving level.
Made all the more interesting as BB is continually complaining of speed limits made ever lower for the self same reasons.
Will we all bend over if they make smoking illegal in a car. Be that with passengers or on your own? Ipersoanlly think smoking with kids is the car is f
king stupid myselfI get the feeling the government would rather make things illegal to do while driving then try and get the the point that we have poor driving standards in the UK
Yes agree though Texting and such like is f
king stuipd and people should get at least 7 points for this julian64 said:
You be a bunch of idiots.
It is/was always possible to make a phone call while driving. It was legal in this country ten years ago, and its still legal for the majority of the driving world.
Its just the people who are incapable and weave all over the road that cause the headlines, which cause the laws. And then after the law has been in place for a number of years thread like this are produced to vilify anyone on a phone because its an easy thing to do.
You've stopped questioning a law and are happy with the lowest common denominator driving level.
Made all the more interesting as BB is continually complaining of speed limits made ever lower for the self same reasons.
I'm not sure if this is serious or not, but if it is, it's a rather flippant statement to make.It is/was always possible to make a phone call while driving. It was legal in this country ten years ago, and its still legal for the majority of the driving world.
Its just the people who are incapable and weave all over the road that cause the headlines, which cause the laws. And then after the law has been in place for a number of years thread like this are produced to vilify anyone on a phone because its an easy thing to do.
You've stopped questioning a law and are happy with the lowest common denominator driving level.
Made all the more interesting as BB is continually complaining of speed limits made ever lower for the self same reasons.
I might not the best driver around but I'm certainly not a bad driver and I've stupidly played around with my phone in the past, either to dial a number or send a "quick SMS". I immediately noticed during those times, it would be quite easy to veer off course even for a split second putting myself and the people around me at risk.
You say making a phone call is fine but what about when looking up the number or even dialing it in? Or perhaps you drop your phone and get distracted looking for it or even a car suddenly brakes or you need to make a sudden gear change and you haven't got your hand available?
Fact of the matter is using a mobile phone without a handsfree kit is dangerous and puts lives at risk and even the best of us are not capable of using a phone while driving.
Only a short while ago, somebody published a shocking video of the aftermath of a huge pile-up crash in the US. The apparent cause of the incident; A driver f
king about with their phone.Here it is if you hadn't seen it: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=6256549608752...
What about rolling a fag, I was quite good at being able to drive perfectly normal whilst prepping a fag.
I could change gear and everything.
To be honest I can text without even looking at the phone, the keyboard has been in the same layout since I was like 5, after 20 years I know every key position and am able to type at a ludicrous speed. I mean seriously its the helicopter typer's you have to worry about.
I could change gear and everything.
To be honest I can text without even looking at the phone, the keyboard has been in the same layout since I was like 5, after 20 years I know every key position and am able to type at a ludicrous speed. I mean seriously its the helicopter typer's you have to worry about.
Fleegle said:
julian64 said:
You be a bunch of idiots.
It is/was always possible to make a phone call while driving. It was legal in this country ten years ago, and its still legal for the majority of the driving world.
Its just the people who are incapable and weave all over the road that cause the headlines, which cause the laws. And then after the law has been in place for a number of years thread like this are produced to vilify anyone on a phone because its an easy thing to do.
You've stopped questioning a law and are happy with the lowest common denominator driving level.
Made all the more interesting as BB is continually complaining of speed limits made ever lower for the self same reasons.
My post isn't about the use of a handsfree device, it is about emailing and texting whilst driving.It is/was always possible to make a phone call while driving. It was legal in this country ten years ago, and its still legal for the majority of the driving world.
Its just the people who are incapable and weave all over the road that cause the headlines, which cause the laws. And then after the law has been in place for a number of years thread like this are produced to vilify anyone on a phone because its an easy thing to do.
You've stopped questioning a law and are happy with the lowest common denominator driving level.
Made all the more interesting as BB is continually complaining of speed limits made ever lower for the self same reasons.
You be the idiot!
How many points is it for trying to type in the new destination into your car navigation system while driving?
Why oh why isn't there a law against that sort of anti children behaviour?
What, you say there is a law against weaving all over the road. How did we ever cope prior to making one specifically about a mobile phones.
I have no problem with hands free phone calls/phone usage as long as it doesn’t require the screen to be read but use of the phone where the screen needs to be read does piss me off.
I hate to see other drivers doing it as their concentration with regards to driving is, at best, avoiding running into the car in front and keeping it roughly in lane. Anything else, like watching for motorbikes filtering etc. is in the too difficult pile and gets ignored.
I would guess from my totally unscientific observations that in excess of 25% of road users are doing it while moving in congested traffic.
Enforcing the law against it will always be a problem as you can’t easily automate the enforcement. I’m not sure I’d want an increase in the penalty for use of the phone but I think more prosecutions relating to a lack of care and attention (THE biggest single cause of accidents on the roads) would be welcome although, again, these may be more difficult to prove.
I hate to see other drivers doing it as their concentration with regards to driving is, at best, avoiding running into the car in front and keeping it roughly in lane. Anything else, like watching for motorbikes filtering etc. is in the too difficult pile and gets ignored.
I would guess from my totally unscientific observations that in excess of 25% of road users are doing it while moving in congested traffic.
Enforcing the law against it will always be a problem as you can’t easily automate the enforcement. I’m not sure I’d want an increase in the penalty for use of the phone but I think more prosecutions relating to a lack of care and attention (THE biggest single cause of accidents on the roads) would be welcome although, again, these may be more difficult to prove.
Dog Star said:
rat840771 said:
I am curious as to where the law stands with the use of Siri and texting?
I had my phone running my sat nav on Saturday and I used Siri to send a text to mate which didn't require being 'hands on' with the phone as it was stuck to the window.
Is this allowed by law?
Was the phone in your hand?I had my phone running my sat nav on Saturday and I used Siri to send a text to mate which didn't require being 'hands on' with the phone as it was stuck to the window.
Is this allowed by law?
anonymous said:
[redacted]
when its connected to power you just say 'hey siri' and it activates and then ask to send text to 'contact' etc. all very clever.But I must admit in this instance I did press and hold the home key to activate the Siri.
To be honest I think I would be breaking the law as it is not strictly hands free and also if there was a crash and Cops viewed my phone they would have seen that I had sent a text message and I guess there would be no way of proving that I used Siri.
Whilst I am not defending people texting or using the web whilst driving, I often see plenty worse. In the summer riding home from central Manchester I can guarantee smelling/seeing drivers smoking cannabis in traffic jams and Mum's turning round to deal with rowdy kids in the back seat.
black-k1 said:
I have no problem with hands free phone calls/phone usage as long as it doesn’t require the screen to be read but use of the phone where the screen needs to be read does piss me off.
I hate to see other drivers doing it as their concentration with regards to driving is, at best, avoiding running into the car in front and keeping it roughly in lane. Anything else, like watching for motorbikes filtering etc. is in the too difficult pile and gets ignored.
I would guess from my totally unscientific observations that in excess of 25% of road users are doing it while moving in congested traffic.
Enforcing the law against it will always be a problem as you can’t easily automate the enforcement. I’m not sure I’d want an increase in the penalty for use of the phone but I think more prosecutions relating to a lack of care and attention (THE biggest single cause of accidents on the roads) would be welcome although, again, these may be more difficult to prove.
A fact I found interesting recently on a driver awareness course was that the stopping distance for an emergency stop was less for somebody driving with a phone to their ear than the distance of someone using a handsfree phoneI hate to see other drivers doing it as their concentration with regards to driving is, at best, avoiding running into the car in front and keeping it roughly in lane. Anything else, like watching for motorbikes filtering etc. is in the too difficult pile and gets ignored.
I would guess from my totally unscientific observations that in excess of 25% of road users are doing it while moving in congested traffic.
Enforcing the law against it will always be a problem as you can’t easily automate the enforcement. I’m not sure I’d want an increase in the penalty for use of the phone but I think more prosecutions relating to a lack of care and attention (THE biggest single cause of accidents on the roads) would be welcome although, again, these may be more difficult to prove.
I was almost side-swiped by a mum in an SUV the other day. I was about to tell her to watch the f*cking road at the next set of lights, but I saw that she had a dog on her lap that was licking her face and she was laughing. What's the point shouting at someone like that? Beyond help.
This topic comes up regularly and I'm still waiting for replies to some of the key questions.
The science is fairly clear. Using a device such as a mobile phone while driving is very distracting. It makes no difference whether you are hands free or not. Lots of links to published papers here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/talking-on-a-hands-...
I would postulate that voice recognition is as bad or worse than a hands free call to a real human although I have not seen any evidence to back that up.
The current law in the UK is an abomination that does not actually define what is (and more importantly what is not) classified as driving. Additionally it does not following the scientific evidence because it still allows hands free and two way radio usage.
I personally do what the evidence implies is safe. If sat in a traffic jam I'm happy to use my phone even though I'm still 'driving' and hence I regularly break the law. I also never use a hands free system to take or receive calls while moving.
Has anyone who uses a hands free system actually looked at the evidence? How do people justify to themselves that a hands free system at 70mph is safer than holding a phone at 0mph in a traffic jam? Are they just blindly following the law with their head in the sand or have they actively read and then dismissed all published scientific papers on the subject?
The science is fairly clear. Using a device such as a mobile phone while driving is very distracting. It makes no difference whether you are hands free or not. Lots of links to published papers here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/talking-on-a-hands-...
I would postulate that voice recognition is as bad or worse than a hands free call to a real human although I have not seen any evidence to back that up.
The current law in the UK is an abomination that does not actually define what is (and more importantly what is not) classified as driving. Additionally it does not following the scientific evidence because it still allows hands free and two way radio usage.
I personally do what the evidence implies is safe. If sat in a traffic jam I'm happy to use my phone even though I'm still 'driving' and hence I regularly break the law. I also never use a hands free system to take or receive calls while moving.
Has anyone who uses a hands free system actually looked at the evidence? How do people justify to themselves that a hands free system at 70mph is safer than holding a phone at 0mph in a traffic jam? Are they just blindly following the law with their head in the sand or have they actively read and then dismissed all published scientific papers on the subject?
rat840771 said:
But I must admit in this instance I did press and hold the home key to activate the Siri.
To be honest I think I would be breaking the law as it is not strictly hands free..
Nope - it's OK if it's in a holder.To be honest I think I would be breaking the law as it is not strictly hands free..
Although of course you could still be done for careless driving if it was thought that you were distracted.
alock said:
This topic comes up regularly and I'm still waiting for replies to some of the key questions.
The science is fairly clear. Using a device such as a mobile phone while driving is very distracting. It makes no difference whether you are hands free or not. Lots of links to published papers here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/talking-on-a-hands-...
I would postulate that voice recognition is as bad or worse than a hands free call to a real human although I have not seen any evidence to back that up.
The current law in the UK is an abomination that does not actually define what is (and more importantly what is not) classified as driving. Additionally it does not following the scientific evidence because it still allows hands free and two way radio usage.
I personally do what the evidence implies is safe. If sat in a traffic jam I'm happy to use my phone even though I'm still 'driving' and hence I regularly break the law. I also never use a hands free system to take or receive calls while moving.
Has anyone who uses a hands free system actually looked at the evidence? How do people justify to themselves that a hands free system at 70mph is safer than holding a phone at 0mph in a traffic jam? Are they just blindly following the law with their head in the sand or have they actively read and then dismissed all published scientific papers on the subject?
To be honest, I question the scientific merit of these studies. The science is fairly clear. Using a device such as a mobile phone while driving is very distracting. It makes no difference whether you are hands free or not. Lots of links to published papers here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/talking-on-a-hands-...
I would postulate that voice recognition is as bad or worse than a hands free call to a real human although I have not seen any evidence to back that up.
The current law in the UK is an abomination that does not actually define what is (and more importantly what is not) classified as driving. Additionally it does not following the scientific evidence because it still allows hands free and two way radio usage.
I personally do what the evidence implies is safe. If sat in a traffic jam I'm happy to use my phone even though I'm still 'driving' and hence I regularly break the law. I also never use a hands free system to take or receive calls while moving.
Has anyone who uses a hands free system actually looked at the evidence? How do people justify to themselves that a hands free system at 70mph is safer than holding a phone at 0mph in a traffic jam? Are they just blindly following the law with their head in the sand or have they actively read and then dismissed all published scientific papers on the subject?
For sure, for some driving and talking on the phone will be a challenge, hell when im out having a puff I regularly see people struggle to drive into a space.
I personally think it depends on your standard of driving to start with, lets be honest, driving within the speeds is f
king easy, yet hundreds of thousands find it a challenge. If you are going to conduct a survey you have to detail the level of the driver to begin with. I should add that talking on a phone is no where near as dangerous as drink driving. I mean lets be honest, who doesn't drive best when they think they might be over the limit, because your s
tting it you might get stopped. alock said:
Lots of links to published papers here:
http://www.businessinsider.com/talking-on-a-hands-...
See? She spoke to a passenger and went straight through a dead end sign. Luckily, as the article says, they didn't die, but it proves that talking is talking and it's all bad.http://www.businessinsider.com/talking-on-a-hands-...
It's all about personal responsibility. Yes, I speak on hands-free, but (same as when I'm talking to someone in the car) the road takes priority and so I briefly switch off from conversations when high road concentration is needed.
Has anyone raised the "kids on the back seat" argument yet? The amount of parents concentrating more on Fenella and Tarquin in the back of their 4x4 than on the road is astonishing.
Has anyone raised the "kids on the back seat" argument yet? The amount of parents concentrating more on Fenella and Tarquin in the back of their 4x4 than on the road is astonishing.
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