Just noticed this,,,,,,,,,,,   ,being equated to drunk driving,doesn’t say a lot for police using one hand to operate their radios and drive at high speeds 

 

I read this piece on the BBC this morning and thought that if you ban hands free you will have to ban passengers, as holding a conversation is a distraction to a driver.

Listening to the radio= 3 pints ,who said MPs are out of touch or is it me.

From another Forum:

 

" Rumour has it someone on here liberated a mobile from a person using it at a filling station & flung it onto the canopy.
Apparently it was rather sad hearing it get quieter & quieter as the days passed by.
I'd laugh at that!   "

Another was a boss of mine who regularly drove from York to Kent ( pre- plumbed in phones )

all went well until he went under the Hatfield Tunnel when all went quiet

What about animated conversations with a passenger?.

they’ll be banning radios soon enough, looking down to change stations is a distraction... what’s next 😐

Edited 14 August, 20196 yr by LGM

18 hours ago, moley said:

 

I read this piece on the BBC this morning and thought that if you ban hands free you will have to ban passengers, as holding a conversation is a distraction to a driver.

Passengers can look out the window and see when a situation is developing that demands your immediate attention. Someone on the other end of the phone cannot.

Interestingly, I was part of a survey a while back where this banning idea was raised. Opinion was overwhelmingly in favour of the ban.

 

Doesn't make any difference, though - Using handheld phones while driving has been illegal since 2003 but I saw several people using theirs, in just my 15 minute drive to work today. I'm sure most of those cars had bluetooth handsfree kit built in.

6 hours ago, Ttaskmaster said:

Doesn't make any difference, though - Using handheld phones while driving has been illegal since 2003 but I saw several people using theirs, in just my 15 minute drive to work today. I'm sure most of those cars had bluetooth handsfree kit built in.

Every time we go out we see people looking down at their phone and appearing to try to reply to a text message while driving with one hand on the steering wheel.

 

Increasing the penalties and making things illegal is pointless if there are no Traffic Police to enforce the law 

6 hours ago, Ttaskmaster said:

Passengers can look out the window and see when a situation is developing that demands your immediate attention. Someone on the other end of the phone cannot.

Likewise, someone on the end of the phone doesn't get their big head in the way when I'm at a junction, or leaning forward to get something out of their handbag blocking my view of the nearside door mirror. 

Toddlers can be just as much as a distraction as someone using a mobile phone, if not worse. 

 

 

What do 'experts' know, eh?
 

Quote

Driving with an illegal or almost-illegal level of blood alcohol is often no more dangerous than taking a call using a hands-free device at the wheel, according to new research by scientists in Australia and Spain.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/03/15/drunk_driving_hands_free_calls/

You can have all the rules and regulations you want, but if you don't have the means to enforce it*,  those rules and regulations are about as effective as trying to catch a fart with a fishing rod. 

 

*I'm lucky if I see one PS Traffic Unit once every few months. And if the driving standards of PS officers is typical of police forces nationwide,  the first people they should be investigating is themselves.

18 hours ago, moley said:

Likewise, someone on the end of the phone doesn't get their big head in the way when I'm at a junction, or leaning forward to get something out of their handbag blocking my view of the nearside door mirror. 

 

Most of those situations can be resolved in less than a second, with one word or a sweeping motion... and no ****** ever does it twice in my car!!

There is almost no enforcement now. I see people on their phones in cars (cars which will absolutely have handsfree capability i.e. brand new RangeRover this morning) every day.

 

If they can't be bothered to hook up a phone to car that has bluetooth and are still happy to hold the phone in one hand then clearly the preceived risk of being caught is neglegable.

 

It's like speeding. If you know the chances of being caught are low then the majority will speed.

Average speed cameras, very few people speed and if they do it's by a tiny margin. They believe that the chance of being caught is high because it's much harder to evade an average speed camera.

 

Bizzarely in average speed zone you get guys doing crazy speeds becuase they know there is nearly 0% chance of cops and if they pull off before the next camera there is nearly 0% chance of being caught. so you get some really high peak speeds.

 

 

I see them in Lorries, Vans. Cars & Tractors on the phone, even driving crop sprayers through town.

 

3 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

I see them in Lorries, Vans. Cars & Tractors on the phone, even driving crop sprayers through town.

 

 

The mechanics going to AM Philip are the only guys doing 90+ on the A90 now since they turn off for their work or home before the next 'yellow vulture'.

That would never be my upstairs neighbour.