Using a mobile phone while driving.
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From: Where It Rains A Lot.
A few years ago I was cycling home from work, approaching a set of lights, when a black BMW swerved into the bike/bus lane and missed me by inches as I had to brake hard. Now I'm used to close calls with city centre cycling and tend not to react, but this was seriously close and at speed.
So, BMW gets stopped at lights in front of me and I pull up beside the guy and you guessed it, he's busy chatting on the phone with the phone lodged between his shoulder and ear, whilst smoking a ***.
I tap his window and he looks up, rolls his eyes, ignores me and carries on his conversation. Tap tap again, this time a bit more solidly.
This time he puts his window right down and says "hang on Tony, some arsehole cyclist has a point to make", he then looks at me and says "WTF do you want, can't you see I'm on the phone".
So I 'calmy' see red and utterly lose the plot with this pompous c***, grab his phone and launch it as far as i could, over the back of the houses at the side of the road and into the fields behind. Never said a word to him (though in hindsight 'not now you're not', would have been good).
Yes, he could have run me over as I cycled away and yes, as per usual I didn't fully think about the consequences of my actions. Stupid, yes, but to this day, I'm glad he didn't get out the car as I hate to think what would have happened to one or both of us, all because of an idiot on the phone.
PS Save any anti-cyclist comments as I would have acted the same way had I been driving.
So, BMW gets stopped at lights in front of me and I pull up beside the guy and you guessed it, he's busy chatting on the phone with the phone lodged between his shoulder and ear, whilst smoking a ***.
I tap his window and he looks up, rolls his eyes, ignores me and carries on his conversation. Tap tap again, this time a bit more solidly.
This time he puts his window right down and says "hang on Tony, some arsehole cyclist has a point to make", he then looks at me and says "WTF do you want, can't you see I'm on the phone".
So I 'calmy' see red and utterly lose the plot with this pompous c***, grab his phone and launch it as far as i could, over the back of the houses at the side of the road and into the fields behind. Never said a word to him (though in hindsight 'not now you're not', would have been good).
Yes, he could have run me over as I cycled away and yes, as per usual I didn't fully think about the consequences of my actions. Stupid, yes, but to this day, I'm glad he didn't get out the car as I hate to think what would have happened to one or both of us, all because of an idiot on the phone.
PS Save any anti-cyclist comments as I would have acted the same way had I been driving.
I have, for a lot less!
on wednesday i was dropping son to primary school and outside is a mini roundabout...as i came up to the roundabout a woman in a black 3 series bmw drove straight across the roundabout.she had a kid in the front and was on the phone.when i shook my head she shouted **** off out the window.worst ones seem to be hgv drivers and seen loads driving whilst smoking and on the phone.
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From: manchester
You are a double dyed pratt for that post.
Myles is absolutely right with his attitude to mobile phone users while driving and the danger involved in such behaviour is very real.
I think the penalties should be very harsh even for a first offence, it is akin to dangerous driving!
Les
Myles is absolutely right with his attitude to mobile phone users while driving and the danger involved in such behaviour is very real.
I think the penalties should be very harsh even for a first offence, it is akin to dangerous driving!
Les
Not just mobiles that annoy me, I do get confused by the fact it's fine to smoke and drive but you can get done for drinking/eating. Both require removing a hand from the wheel but only one is on fire if you drop it (ok hot drinks are probably a bad)! Also smoke in the eye or a bit of ash blowing back really distracts you!
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From: riding the crest of a wave ...
Not just mobiles that annoy me, I do get confused by the fact it's fine to smoke and drive but you can get done for drinking/eating. Both require removing a hand from the wheel but only one is on fire if you drop it (ok hot drinks are probably a bad)! Also smoke in the eye or a bit of ash blowing back really distracts you!
Last edited by dpb; May 6, 2012 at 06:57 AM.
This is my biggest hate in my line off work as we have to try and save a patients life even tho there in the wrong. Anyone caught texting or calling on their phone should see £1000 fine. We have unmarked vehicles in the ambulance service so any one i see gets the sirens and the blues. No they dont realise im part of the ambulance service but they soon pack fheir ideas up. Ive even lit a copper up before. Now im probably gonna get the odd comment about what i do is wrong and i should be the phone law etc but its not very nice when your trying to save a 5 year old kid coz some dweeb hit the kid as he was chatting on the fone. No the kid didnt survive and still to this day i wish i put my foot down harder in my response car. What happens to that idiot £60 fine n 3 points....
Anyone talking on their phone, think off what can happen and how it would feel if your trying to save the innocent member. Sorry if it sounds like a rant but people dont understand how it feels
Anyone talking on their phone, think off what can happen and how it would feel if your trying to save the innocent member. Sorry if it sounds like a rant but people dont understand how it feels
*Flame suit on*
Whilst I understand its illegal and some people consider it dangerous, how hard is it to have a conversation on the phone and drive along at 30mph without causing an incident ?
Not very imo
I'd bet a majority of the people on this forum can be on the phone, smoking a cigarette whilst driving and they'd still probably be much safer than half the idiots I see on the road every single day
Whilst I understand its illegal and some people consider it dangerous, how hard is it to have a conversation on the phone and drive along at 30mph without causing an incident ?
Not very imo
I'd bet a majority of the people on this forum can be on the phone, smoking a cigarette whilst driving and they'd still probably be much safer than half the idiots I see on the road every single day
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From: riding the crest of a wave ...
Maybe for you darling. 
Remember half the population here can not only barley string a sentence together but are also male
Remember half the population here can not only barley string a sentence together but are also male
Last edited by dpb; May 6, 2012 at 11:13 AM. Reason: Scrub that , your the one who keeps spares on the same keyring lol
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From: Scotland
But in YOUR opinion you don't see a problem ?
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From: Where It Rains A Lot.
*Gimp suit on*
Whilst I understand its illegal and some people consider it dangerous, how hard is it to have a conversation on the phone and drive along at 30mph without causing an incident ?
Not very imo
I'd bet a majority of the people on this forum can be on the phone, smoking a cigarette whilst driving and they'd still probably be much safer than half the idiots I see on the road every single day
Whilst I understand its illegal and some people consider it dangerous, how hard is it to have a conversation on the phone and drive along at 30mph without causing an incident ?
Not very imo
I'd bet a majority of the people on this forum can be on the phone, smoking a cigarette whilst driving and they'd still probably be much safer than half the idiots I see on the road every single day
And to compare it to drink driving in anyway, no matter what a 'study' says is absolutely mindboggling
Cheers
Last edited by stef_2010; May 6, 2012 at 12:25 PM.
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From: Scotland
I would like to see this research and what it actually states. To say that every single person, in using a mobile phone while driving, is impaired to the same extent as a drink driver, regardless of the nature of the use, or the judgement exercised by the user in the way that they use it, is ludicrous and blatantly untrue.
So that is not what the research states; if it does, it's of extremely poor quality.
So that is not what the research states; if it does, it's of extremely poor quality.
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From: Scotland
http://www.unews.utah.edu/old/p/062206-1.html
Can't even be bothered looking for more as its so feckin obvious its a huge distraction.
......obviously not to some on here though
Can't even be bothered looking for more as its so feckin obvious its a huge distraction.
......obviously not to some on here though
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From: Scotland
A distraction, maybe. But are you saying that it is impossible to use a mobile phone while driving in a manner that puts you above the standard of a minimum-amount drunk driver? The study also suggests that it is the conversation rather than the act of using the phone which is distracting. Surely, by that logic, all conversation in cars should be banned? It's presumably as dangerous as talking on a hands-free, which according to this study is as dangerous as a hand-held, which is as dangerous as a minimum-amount drunk driver? And then the next level of activity which increases risk should be banned, and then the next...
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From: Scotland
All I am saying is that it's a huge distraction to most
I didn't conduct the research that says its as dangerous as drink driving but from the standard of drving that is exhibited by most drivers on the phone, then it seems entirely feasible
I didn't conduct the research that says its as dangerous as drink driving but from the standard of drving that is exhibited by most drivers on the phone, then it seems entirely feasible
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From: Scotland
The observation in my first post still stands. Even in that study, and supposing that every single person tested in a situation like that would be of a noticeably lower standard of driving with a phone than without, it still stands to reason that some of them may be of a better standard of driving while using a phone than others are when not using a phone. Yet these poorer drivers are still permitted to drive while the better drivers are considered, in a blanket manner, as being akin to ruthless killers in their irresponsibility (with massive forcible removal of property in the form of fines being seemingly completely justified!). At the same time, those poorer drivers are considered responsible, moral human beings while in actual fact posing a greater danger.
Sensible?
Sensible?
id say, just use common sense
pull over if you want to talk - its not a hardship,
mobiles havent been around that long, most of us wouldve been driving pre-mobile phone days, it can be done.
if arguing about things like total driving standard, and taking that into consideration, it opens things up to so many more affecting factors, eg phone design, touch screen texting requires total attention, but with a standard phone its easily possible to write out full texts without looking at the phone once.
not saying total standards should be "in or out" just that there are other possibilities it then could open up
pull over if you want to talk - its not a hardship,
mobiles havent been around that long, most of us wouldve been driving pre-mobile phone days, it can be done.
if arguing about things like total driving standard, and taking that into consideration, it opens things up to so many more affecting factors, eg phone design, touch screen texting requires total attention, but with a standard phone its easily possible to write out full texts without looking at the phone once.
not saying total standards should be "in or out" just that there are other possibilities it then could open up
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From: South Bucks
There's a simple answer to this issue, a zero tolerance approach. Target troublesome or vulnerable areas like choke points and the vicinity of schools first. Why we don't already do this I dunno. Most senior police positions aren't "supposed" to be political!
J.
J.
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From: Just beyond the limits of adhesion
When on the phone you tend to visualise and drift off into a daydream like state, not the best idea when controlling a 1.5 tonne (±) piece of metal and plastic at speed in a confined area shared by other vehicles and flimsy human bodies.
A little light reading....
http://www.distraction.gov/research/...unk-driver.pdf
A little light reading....
http://www.distraction.gov/research/...unk-driver.pdf
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From: Scotland
When on the phone you tend to visualise and drift off into a daydream like state, not the best idea when controlling a 1.5 tonne (±) piece of metal and plastic at speed in a confined area shared by other vehicles and flimsy human bodies.
A little light reading....
http://www.distraction.gov/research/...unk-driver.pdf
A little light reading....
http://www.distraction.gov/research/...unk-driver.pdf
I'm away out for a drive. Need to make a couple of calls...
Disclaimer: that was a joke - before the po po come a'running.
It does bug me seeing people on the phone at a time when they need to concerntrate more. roundabouts, fast lane etc..
But what about that stunning bird in the short mini skirt and black thong - Should she not walk next to the road?
But what about that stunning bird in the short mini skirt and black thong - Should she not walk next to the road?
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From: Weston Super Mare, Somerset.
I've picked up the phone from the passenger seat when I was tootling along a quiet road and taken a short message. If it rang when I was in town or coming up to a bend I just ignored it. This didn't strike me as any more dangerous than changing a radio station and certainly not as bad as staring at a screen on one of those ghastly sat nav things that my kids use. Texting while on the motorway is in a different league IMO.
dl
dl
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From: On a small Island near France
As above I think it subjective, you need to understand the drivers ability, the situation, the conditions etc, but to be safe, I agree, it has to be a zero tolerance.
Personally I feel safe using a phone when driving, but I would expect so do the people I consider unsafe, so for that reason I don't.
I also believe smoking should be banned in cars, for the same reason.
Personally I feel safe using a phone when driving, but I would expect so do the people I consider unsafe, so for that reason I don't.
I also believe smoking should be banned in cars, for the same reason.
It never ceases to amaze me that the biggest culprits for using a hand held when driving around are those in fancy cars, ie bmw, merc ,audi.
I used to work for vodafone corporate installing hands free car kits amongst other things, and they are really not expensive in the greater scheme of things and can be moved from vehicle to vehicle, many modern cars even up to 10yrs old have built in blue tooth and only require syncing, but most of these morons don't have the brain cell required to perform this task.
The debate as to how dangerous/ distracting it is to use hands free as opposed to having a conversation with a passenger will go around in circles, and as for the taking one hand off the wheel to answer a call there is the auto answer feature, but considering most drive manual cars it's again questionable how much of a distraction physically answering a call is, no more dangerous than opening the window.
I personally wouldn't hold a long conversation on a hands free kit whilst driving, and quite often when an engineer or the office called me with a query i'd wait until i could pull over to answer or call them back if it was going to be an in depth conversation about something that requires a measure of concentration, how one decides that is again open to speculation.
Anyone that texts whilst in the act of driving is mental....
I used to work for vodafone corporate installing hands free car kits amongst other things, and they are really not expensive in the greater scheme of things and can be moved from vehicle to vehicle, many modern cars even up to 10yrs old have built in blue tooth and only require syncing, but most of these morons don't have the brain cell required to perform this task.
The debate as to how dangerous/ distracting it is to use hands free as opposed to having a conversation with a passenger will go around in circles, and as for the taking one hand off the wheel to answer a call there is the auto answer feature, but considering most drive manual cars it's again questionable how much of a distraction physically answering a call is, no more dangerous than opening the window.
I personally wouldn't hold a long conversation on a hands free kit whilst driving, and quite often when an engineer or the office called me with a query i'd wait until i could pull over to answer or call them back if it was going to be an in depth conversation about something that requires a measure of concentration, how one decides that is again open to speculation.
Anyone that texts whilst in the act of driving is mental....
Last edited by ditchmyster; May 7, 2012 at 09:21 AM.
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From: Where It Rains A Lot.
Recently I saw a nipper riding a twist & go scooter through our village at about 30mph whilst texting.
He never looked at the road ahead at any point down the entire length of the street!
He never looked at the road ahead at any point down the entire length of the street!
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From: Harrogate
I think they should up the penalty to 3pts and a 7 day ban the first time, 6pts and a 28 day ban the second, and 9pts and 1 year off the road the third time, with points becoming active AFTER the ban expires. When caught you can drive for a further 2 hours to move your car to where you would normally keep it, but then the ban begins, with reasonable consideration if you are more than maybe 40 miles from home. Fining people doesn't deter them, especially the wealthy. Inconveniencing people is what is needed to get them to listen.
I say scrap points and make people pay bigger fines. If they don't pay within 28days they take the car.... For those with masses of cash... Repeat offenders do prison time with mrmadcap for a bumming session
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From: Harrogate
Years ago before the current laws i often used to use the phone at the wheel. On a couple of occasions i found that i'd lost huge chunks of a journey from my conscious due to the call. I've since got a hands free but am selective as to when i will use it. When i do use it i try and increase my awareness of what is going on around me and if i find my awareness is compromised i will end the call and save it for later.
As an ex smoker who liked nothing more than a *** at the wheel i don't feel there's anything wrong with it. Sparking a *** (i feel) is no different to changing the radio station (which is not without it's risks) but smoking it imo didn't take any concentration but i'm sure poeple will disagree
As an ex smoker who liked nothing more than a *** at the wheel i don't feel there's anything wrong with it. Sparking a *** (i feel) is no different to changing the radio station (which is not without it's risks) but smoking it imo didn't take any concentration but i'm sure poeple will disagree