Regacy

As it says.
I’m sure the sellers of hand free kits are going to make a killing but I can’t help thinking the timings bad, there must be a lot of people who will wait and get this as a Christmas present. (or am I just being tight?)

So what category do you fall into?

1) Ready
Or……
2) Risk it

Tiggs

you are tight, the law should give 6 points to anyone not using a hands free kit.

Scott W

Ready

scoobyvirgin

Steady

Dracoro

or

3) Don't use your phone whilst driving! Can it be made any simpler?

BEL

Just yet another way of extorting money from the innocent motorist isn't it.. I won't be rushing out to buy a hands free

Strange thing is, that according to the legislation it's still ok to use a hand held two-way radio when you're driving.. can't see how that's any safer than using a moby

suprabeast

i've got a handsfree kit and have had one for about a year.. i dont really care about the law cos i never see enough police cars on the road for it to matter..

i just have a handsfree kit cos its really simple to use and is just less hassle.

I dont like all the adverts these days telling everyone you will do this, you will do that. How do they know that i'm 4 times more likely to have a crash when on a phone? Have they ever watched me drive?

So to sum up... i'm ready!!

Hobo_Jojo

people using mobiles while driving do my nut in, hands free or not

ProperCharlie

i've had hands free for ages. however i admit that i am not as attentive when having a 'phone conv. as when not. i sometimes find that if someone 'phones when i am, say, leaving the house to go somewhere, by the time they have hung up i have started driving to the yard instead of the office, or visa versa. i try and be as alert as possible, and if i get into a tricky situation i just stop talking and listening until it's sorted.

OTOH i spend 2 hours or more each working day in the car, and if i can make calls that's productive time, if not i would have to make them either at home or from the office, and work an even longer day. so no real decision there, then.

TBMeech

Had hands free for a while now, can't stand people on the phone when driving

Scooby96

Whats this bollox about handfree being just as dangerous - TOSH!

Using a handsfree (with voice dialling) is no more dangerous than having a conversation with a passenger or talking to yourself (wibble)

Andrewj

Personally, I don't think that talking on a hands free phone while driving is any more dangerous than talking to a child in the back of the car or smoking...

NotoriousREV

I'm ready, I've stopped using my phone in the car full stop.

civictyper

Have to say that, living in Milton Keynes, I get cut up on roundabouts a lot. Lane discipline is not great here but 80% of the time I get cut up because some nonce is using a moby [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img].

Hate the bloody things myself (and all the text crap that goes with it these days) so don't own one. Partner has a PAYG brick but that's it so we'll be fine in 4 days time.

suprabeast

smoking is more dangerous while driving than talking on the phone

Goochie

yes! smoking is just as dangerous.

I'll be turning my phone off when in the car as usual - especially as I drive past Thames Valley Poilce traffice HQ about 4 times a day.

Fatman

There seems to be (amoungst people I've asked) a fair amount of confusion about what's legal and what's not. So, as of Dec 1st, is it...

1) legal to use (i.e. make/receive calls) a mobile with any handsfree kit
2) legal to use an auto-pickup mobile with handsfree kit
3) none of the above: cradle-based/speaker/microphone kit only legal means of using phone
...?

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Drivers using a phone while driving risk prosecution under existing legislation for careless or dangerous driving. The changes to the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (as amended) to be introduced on 1 December 2003 provide much more specific legislation on the use of hand-held mobile phones or other similar devices while driving.

The offence applies to drivers speaking or listening to a phone call, using a device interactively for accessing any sort of data, which would include the Internet, sending or receiving text messages or other images if it is held in the driver’s hand during at least part of the period of its operations. Pushing buttons on a phone while it is in a cradle or if it is being operated via buttons on the steering wheel would not be a breach of the new regulations. However, hands-free phones are still considered to be distracting and individuals therefore still risk prosecution for failing to have proper control of a vehicle.

The penalties are as follows:
A fixed fine penalty of £30.
A fine of up to £1,000 for conviction in court up to a maximum of £2,500 for drivers of goods vehicles.

D

ChrisB

My understanding is that you CAN use a Nokia-esq ear piece / mic on a wire into a phone, as long as you don't have to hold the phone whilst you use it. In my car it sits in a slot under the handbrake. Hence using the press switch on the mic, you can answer and voice dial calls whilst complying with the new law.

http://www.jabra.com/news/viewarticle.cfm?ID=162 has a small PDF file which explains things more.

Texting will still need me to steer with my knees though

Student Bloody Lamo.

ready, in as much as I switch my phone off in the car, I mean youve got to be an absolute Pr1ck to use a phone while driving, worse is when they are wedged precariously twixt shoulder and ear to facilitate gear change, thus leaving said purpetraitor to kill small children or motor cyclists.
I mean, is it that hard to wait your commute time without conversation via telephony?
back in the old (pre-mobile) days we did a wonderfull thing..... we planned things, and waited til we got home and made the call then.
when I was on my cbr6, I used to pull up next to people stuck in traffic on their phones and stop there, they`d literally **** themselves when they finally clocked me, you sad w4nkers who say that your as attentive on the phone truely believe that?
please, you can die in a mangled mess of your own doing, but could you live with another life lost on your conscience?
turn the damn phone off or buy a voice activated hands free kit and have it properly wired in, you really ought to use both hands to move the vehicle.

SBL.

Chip

I dont think so. Many accidents have been caused by idiots typing text messages etc whilst driving. If you dont get a hands free then risk the penalty.

Chip.

Fatman

ChrisB/Dunk - you both suggested that hands-free ('headset') use would be OK provided that the user doesn't handle the phone at any stage of the call. That's my understanding too. However, the Jabra PDF (p2, "4. Corded personal hands-free kits") suggests that a cradle would still be required to be compliant.

Of course Jabra are hardly impartial - they'd love to sell as many cradles (etc) as possible. Has this question been asked/answered on 5ive-O?

GarethE

iTrader: (1)

5ive-O has a FAQ guide to the latest legislation, well worth taking a look....not sure if it can be made clicky as its a registration site....as for me, yep, ready, as I have been for about 10 years with a handsfree kit.

Fatman

Thanks GarethE. The 5ive-O guide is here. That FAQ claims that use of a mobile phone (with headset) would only be illegal if the user had to touch the phone during a call. Hence if the user doesn't touch the phone (say, one set to auto-answer) then you're OK.

Freak

I will continue to use my earpeice plug in hands free kit as i have been doing for the last god knows how many years.

if they want me to use a hardwired kit they can pay for the fecking thing

S.B.

So is it it ok for my phone to be on auto answer and strapped to my head with a big elastic band?

ChrisB

Fatman, it's certainly a bit wishy washy. I read it as being that a corded hands free is no good if you still hold the phone in one hand.

Spoon

Yep, I've been ready for 20 years now. Alway's had a car kit fitted mainly for superior signal strength in the early days.

civictyper

Yeah maaaan !!

As long as its set up like the bloke on the Malibu ad

Paulo P

iTrader: (42)

I have 2 mobiles but only one fits into my handsfree kit Not sure what to do yet.