Dave the Renegade:
There is no need to get caught using a mobile phone. There are plenty of good hands free kits on the market.
My work phone wont pair up to the in cab hands free. Result is work phone is switched off when leaving sites. If they want me they have to call my own phone which is connected to a hands free unit.
i may be corrected but i believe that the person calling you can also be prosecuted if they know you are driving as they are guilty of encouraging you to commit an offence. A transport office calling a driver is a pretty clear case of this. I spend half my shift yakking to another driver but that phone is connected to Bluetooth. The number i give to clients is not connected to Bluetooth so i wont answer it. That’s assuming i have it with me. My phone, my choice to carry it or not. They can fit cameras, trackers and not cab phones so its their prerogative to provide a means of communication if they want me to be contactable in the wagon
tachograph:
Depending on the circumstances I don’t have a problem with people using mobiles for voice calls while driving, but anyone who believes they can drive safely while texting needs a reality check
Would you feel the same if (god forbid) someone you care about was killed when hit by someone who was using their phone while driving. Even the simple action of talking on a phone even while using hands free distracts people from fully concentrating on what is going on ahead of them. How many times have you seen the nice fast bmw sitting up a trucks arse doing 50 and not using indicators etc because they’re talking in the phone.
Seriously, nothing is worth a life. Driving is all about concentrating on what you are doing. Professional drivers will do that… Others won’t.
tachograph:
Depending on the circumstances I don’t have a problem with people using mobiles for voice calls while driving, but anyone who believes they can drive safely while texting needs a reality check
Would you feel the same if (god forbid) someone you care about was killed when hit by someone who was using their phone while driving.
Like I said it depends on the circumstances, being illegal isn’t necessarily the same as being unreasonably risky.
Oh and by the way I don’t use a hand held mobile whilst driving, just in case anyone gets the wrong idea
ROG:
IMO the law was made badly and should have been - no mobile communication at all unless stationary with the hand/park brake fully applied
That would legally allow those stopped in a queue with the handbrake on to make safe calls etc and prevented any distraction whilst driving
Without enough law enforcement any law is virtually useless
What about people talking to passengers, would you ban that to ?
tachograph:
What about people talking to passengers, would you ban that to ?
Passengers are in the vehicle and can get an idea of what is happening so tend not to cause such of an issue when compared to talking to someone who is not there
That question always comes up when discussing distractions and is usually followed by the rowdy kids issue
tachograph:
What about people talking to passengers, would you ban that to ?
I totally agree with the point you make there Tachograph; humans talking face to face use far more than just their mouth and ears to converse, we study the body language of the person we are talking to and observe all the subtle nuances of eye movement, facial expression, body position etc.
It has been thus ever since the beginnings of speech, so the fact that you’re driving a vehicle talking to a passenger makes no difference at all. No matter how hard you may try not to I defy anyone to converse with a passenger without the occasional glance at them.
Compare that then to a driver holding a telephone conversation. All of a sudden he/she is free of centuries of social etiquette and thus can concentrate more on the act of driving whilst talking rather than constantly gauging the body language of a passenger.
In fact some people are that good at driving that they manage to combine driving with other stuff, such as listening to Chris Evans describe an upcoming week in Monaco, turning up or down the heater, glancing out of the side windows, or all manner of stuff which is far more distracting than a telephone conversation.
I’d like to add for the record that I am perfectly happy with the law on mobiles as it stands, and am merely playing Devils advocate as to why we unquestionably accept any measure imposed upon us in the name of “safety”.
ROG:
IMO the law was made badly and should have been - no mobile communication at all unless stationary with the hand/park brake fully applied
That would legally allow those stopped in a queue with the handbrake on to make safe calls etc and prevented any distraction whilst driving
Without enough law enforcement any law is virtually useless
although distracting drivers is perfectly acceptable,if your a multi billion pound blue chip,who likes to put great big ■■■■ off neon advertisments overlooking the raised sections of the m5/6.
talking to your passengers…talking on the phone…talking to yourself.can`t see what difference it makes.
if pigs can give a running comentary whilst involved in a pursuit,i see no reason whilst I can`t have a moan with my mate,on the hands free.
Hands free should be banned…well for my Mrs at any rate.
She insists on calling me “for a chat” while she is driving home from work we have ■■■■ all to talk about when we see each other so whats different on the phone?
The worst offenders are the ladies (sorry but you are) I’ve noticed much more phone use from women in cars than men, I think the men are just enjoying the peace and quiet, and the women are believing the stereotype that they can multitask !!
to provide a means of communication if they want me to be contactable in the wagon
