Using phone while driving

[MGJohn]

m3jappa said:

MGJohn said:

m3jappa said:

.
If you can't drive and hold a phone to your ear you should t be fking driving IMO. It's incredible how people are conditioned to truly believe its very dangerous.
.

It's still a distraction ! Your mindset will find even you out one day.

Distractions are dangerous no matter how good the driver and how easy to use a phone.

There are good reasons it is against the law. I do not need to see or read statistics. Several personal experiences by those using the phones whilst driving convince me that the likes of you and your mindset are fking dangerous! End of particularly if you drive a white van the way white vans of any colour are driven.

Wow calm down, and when did I say I did it, I just said I don't think it's that bad. I don't want points so I don't do it. And after probably half a million miles or so I have a clean licence thanks.

And yes because I drive a white van I must be bad, what a fking stupid thing to come back at me with. Just about sums up your mindset.

I AM PERFECTLY CALM !!

...

[Kentish]

I had a chauffeur pick me up at Boston (US) airport once who a few minutes into the journey started holding his phone to make calls and after he finished doing that started to text whilst driving down the I95.

I don't think he expected a polite Englishman to say "can you put the fking phone down and look at the road"

[m3jappa]

MGJohn said:

m3jappa said:

MGJohn said:

m3jappa said:

.
If you can't drive and hold a phone to your ear you should t be fking driving IMO. It's incredible how people are conditioned to truly believe its very dangerous.
.

It's still a distraction ! Your mindset will find even you out one day.

Distractions are dangerous no matter how good the driver and how easy to use a phone.

There are good reasons it is against the law. I do not need to see or read statistics. Several personal experiences by those using the phones whilst driving convince me that the likes of you and your mindset are fking dangerous! End of particularly if you drive a white van the way white vans of any colour are driven.

Wow calm down, and when did I say I did it, I just said I don't think it's that bad. I don't want points so I don't do it. And after probably half a million miles or so I have a clean licence thanks.

And yes because I drive a white van I must be bad, what a fking stupid thing to come back at me with. Just about sums up your mindset.

I AM PERFECTLY CALM !!

...

Good good we are all calm and harmonious

[Dusty964]

The way some folk are getting so outraged and throwing insults around, you would think that driving is one of the single greatest feats mankind has ever mastered. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I put in a key, press a button to start the engine, pull a lever to engage 'D', I then use the large round thing in front of me to turn (this can be done very easily with one hand) and I use one of my feet to either go faster, or if I choose, stop completely. Granted, the situation may be more complex for those of you that pilot a traction engine, but the reality is, it's not that hard to do.
I adore the professional outrage mob on here, each more stunned than than the last.

[405dogvan]

The problem is that driving, whilst not the hardest of skills a person can ever master, does require a degree of

a - attention
b - anticipation
c - quick reactions

Some people can probably give enough of those AND juggle/have sex/write a book at the same time - but some people actually struggle to do those when not distracted by anything else at all.

As we cannot test people for their specific capability in those respects, we assume everyone is somewhere in the middle and that by doing other things, they might not quite be upto the important stuff which is not crashing and killing people.

Anyone who's actually paid attention to other drivers would realise this was the case - some people cannot read a roundabout, judge a junction or find their way out of their own street without considerable confusion - allowing them to engage their mental capacity on the phone where they may need to make decisions or control their temper or whatever is risky, to say the least.

It's very much a Dunning-Kruger thing - people who think they can drive safely whilst holding a phone and even texting/surfing etc. are almost certainly not good enough at driving to do it.

People who ARE good enough, know that there's still a risk and thus don't do it.

Summary - if you're using a phone whilst driving - you're a st driver.

p.s. if your life is so rammed-packed with things that you must take calls whilst driving, consider what the fk you would have done 20 years ago

[g3org3y]

m3jappa said:

I don't do it, not because I'm not capable of holding my ear and speaking but because I'm so fking scared of either getting caught and getting points

Likewise tbh.

Unfortunately, the lowest common denominator is indeed low. Fear rules the masses.

There is a (growing) proportion of the public that can't be trusted with a spoon for fear they might cut themselves. The rules for 'looking after' these fkwits do sadly restrict those more able in mind.

[NRS]

marksbike said:

I drove for years using a mobile before the law came in, and guess what, never crashed or died!

I believe if people who drive well, can have a conversation whilst driving. Its the people who find driving hard, or have to fully focus all their attention just to drive should stick to only driving.

How many bad drivers are out there which nearly caused an accident every time they get behind the wheel without the distraction of a phone to their ear.

Often it's the case that the person driving with the phone doesn't see the mistakes they make because they're focusing on other stuff. Phoning isn't too bad generally, however texting is just crazy.

[pb1695]

There were over 200,000 reported casualties on the roads due to accidents in 2011. 1901 people died, and 24,000 were seriously injured.

It is carnage out there. Not all accidents are caused by people talking and texting, but all have a cause, and normally a lack of concentration and anticipation will be at the route of it.

If driving was so easy, nearly 550 crashes would be avoided every day, and 5 people each day would not be dead.

Driving is a privilege, it requires skill, concentration and anticipation. When you are in control of a car, you are not just responsible for yourself, but for every other road user and pedestrian. When driving a car, you are in charge of a very heavy, very fast, deadly weapon. That should be understood and respected.

Talking on phone, whilst driving, is a distraction as you are concentrating on the conversation and not what is going on around you as your primary focus. The fact that most of the time,for most people, nothing goes wrong and you still live does not reduce the need to concentrate - as the 5 people that will die today will confirm.

[northernmonkey]

In general though I have to admit it does boil my yellow stuff when i see anyone driving holding a phone as invariably they are driving badly, holding phone, not in control of car, struggling to change gear and use the rest of the controls, there's just no need for it.....get a proper hands free kit, drive an automatic, if you really must! (not that i'm suggesting doing those things makes it ok but it does make is easier)

As others have said people that do this whilst also clearly driving a VERY expensive NEW car that definitely has a built in bluetooth system i find simply staggering. Case in point last night on M40, guy driving (and talking, phone wedged between shoulder/ear) in middle lane doing a bit of weaving across the lines in his 62 reg very very nice Bentley Continental, now you cannot tell me that car (£130K+???) doesn't have a bluetooth system???????

Another worrying trend and i've seen personally in my current car for example is that if you opt for the "all singing all dancing" media/sat nav systems with in dash screen as i've done, not only does this give you bluetooth handsfree which works well and seems as safe as you could possibly make such a system but more concerning is it also (via the big in dash screen) allows you to:

- read email coming in via your mobile device
- read txt messages
- see your twitter stream
- see your facebook stream
- see your RSS news feed stream
- use the internet!!!!

FPN's and points for phones are one thing but noone seems to be controlling what other services manufacturers are allowed to bundle in. Don't get me wrong i love my gadgets and optional extras but some of the above features just seem like a recipe for disaster...not that i thought about that when i ticked the box to include that option

[SS2.]

Cliftonite said:

keemaklan said:

I have a friend who's always on the phone. Always put his phone to his ear or on loudspeaker and in his hand and has never been caught. One day, his phone rang. For some bizarre reason he decided to pull over and answer it...

A month later, a fixed penalty notice for £130 or £65 if paid within 2 weeks was delivered to his door.

Why did he get an FPN if he pulled over to answer the 'phone? And why did it take a month for an FPN to arrive?

He didn't get the FPN for being on the phone - the penalty would have been for drifting across a bus lane, stopping on a red route, or some such..

[GreigM]

northernmonkey said:

now you cannot tell me that car (£130K+???) doesn't have a bluetooth system???????

I may be wrong, but have a feeling that bluetooth is only available in the Bentley as part of a (very expensive - £000s) option package. This is the same with many "prestige" manufacturers.

With many of these cars being bought through either leasing or corporate schemes then many won't have expensive options like this added.

[Dusty964]

405dogvan said:

take calls whilst driving, consider what the fk you would have done 20 years ago

I would have picked up my Sony 'mars bar' and taken the call.
And not crashed.

[The Vambo]

I don't think that's going to be a problem much longer....

http://www.techradar.com/news/video/google-glass-w...

Watching porn while driving could be whole new one though.

[ensignia]

nightflight said:

I saw a right tosser yesterday, driving down the middle lane of the motorway (lane 1 empty) at around 60 MPH, he had his phone wedged between his ear and his right shoulder, and had a pad of paper on the steering wheel which he was writing on. Unfortunately for him, he was in a company vehicle, with their phone number all over it (G4S). I used my bluetooth handsfree kit to phone his company, and reported him. I hope he gets sacked.

You snivelling little toad. This place is full to the brim with little cleanshirt busybodies, and you've just outed yourself as a bit of a jobsworth cum bubble.

[Cliftonite]

ensignia said:

nightflight said:

I saw a right tosser yesterday, driving down the middle lane of the motorway (lane 1 empty) at around 60 MPH, he had his phone wedged between his ear and his right shoulder, and had a pad of paper on the steering wheel which he was writing on. Unfortunately for him, he was in a company vehicle, with their phone number all over it (G4S). I used my bluetooth handsfree kit to phone his company, and reported him. I hope he gets sacked.

You snivelling little toad. This place is full to the brim with little cleanshirt busybodies, and you've just outed yourself as a bit of a jobsworth cum bubble.

I'm with nightflight on this one!

[NRS]

The Vambo said:

I don't think that's going to be a problem much longer....

http://www.techradar.com/news/video/google-glass-w...

Watching porn while driving could be whole new one though.

Look at that person trying to hide his phone while texting... hang on on a minute!

[keemaklan]

Cliftonite said:

Why did he get an FPN if he pulled over to answer the 'phone? And why did it take a month for an FPN to arrive?

The FPN was from Newham Council, for parking on a single yellow line for under a minute.

[Vipers]

marksbike said:

I drove for years using a mobile before the law came in, and guess what, never crashed or died!

How many of us drove without seat belts, ABS etc and never crashed or died!

[Bohemianesque]

pb1695 said:

There were over 200,000 reported casualties on the roads due to accidents in 2011. 1901 people died, and 24,000 were seriously injured.

It is carnage out there. Not all accidents are caused by people talking and texting, but all have a cause, and normally a lack of concentration and anticipation will be at the route of it.

If driving was so easy, nearly 550 crashes would be avoided every day, and 5 people each day would not be dead.

Driving is a privilege, it requires skill, concentration and anticipation. When you are in control of a car, you are not just responsible for yourself, but for every other road user and pedestrian. When driving a car, you are in charge of a very heavy, very fast, deadly weapon. That should be understood and respected.

Talking on phone, whilst driving, is a distraction as you are concentrating on the conversation and not what is going on around you as your primary focus. The fact that most of the time,for most people, nothing goes wrong and you still live does not reduce the need to concentrate - as the 5 people that will die today will confirm.

Well said pb.

I cover many miles with my work; a handful of times in the last year alone, I've nearly been taken out by being hit head.......at the last minute the vehicle drifting into my lane has swerved back......virtually every time the other driver, I could see, was distracted by being on the phone (ear to shoulder....or hand to ear).....don't try telling me all of them weren't t@@ts....

[Vipers]

ensignia said:

nightflight said:

I saw a right tosser yesterday, driving down the middle lane of the motorway (lane 1 empty) at around 60 MPH, he had his phone wedged between his ear and his right shoulder, and had a pad of paper on the steering wheel which he was writing on. Unfortunately for him, he was in a company vehicle, with their phone number all over it (G4S). I used my bluetooth handsfree kit to phone his company, and reported him. I hope he gets sacked.

You snivelling little toad. This place is full to the brim with little cleanshirt busybodies, and you've just outed yourself as a bit of a jobsworth cum bubble.

I would have done the same, when he gets a bolloking, he may just may stop being a twonker and be a better driver. Ignore it, he causes an fatal accident, no point thinking then I wish I had reported him.