Soldato
Preeeety home oh!
6 points & £200 fine for phone while driving going live today
- Thread starter Diddums
- Start date
Preeeety home oh!
I know people like to over react but there is an importance of a proportional punishment.
Whilst many cases of injury because of dangerous driving is caused through mobile phone use, the frequency also matters. Otherwise as some have mentioned mobike phone use would be completely banned, permitted blood alcohol level would be zero, etc.
Mobile phone use whilst driving is very prevalent and yet we aren't having hundreds die on the roads every die as a consequence.
For the same reason speeding does not result in an immediate ban.
Whilst many cases of injury because of dangerous driving is caused through mobile phone use, the frequency also matters. Otherwise as some have mentioned mobike phone use would be completely banned, permitted blood alcohol level would be zero, etc.
Mobile phone use whilst driving is very prevalent and yet we aren't having hundreds die on the roads every die as a consequence.
For the same reason speeding does not result in an immediate ban.
Associate
- Joined
- 20 Mar 2014
- Posts
- 2,361
I don't do it because I don't want to get done, but talking on your phone isn't that dangerous imho. I can easily do it safely.
Man of Honour
Complete utter BS, a motorist who apologised to a cyclist?
Anyway, just cycling to work this morning I saw 3 on their phones and I am off road for most of my commute.
This evening I cycled past a motorist in traffic with his window open and I said "6 points for that now" and he just told me to FO.
There is so much technology now for peanuts that I don't know why any driver doesn't go hands free.
Saw unmarked 7 cars down the M40/M42 today pulling people over on my journeys.
Great they're doing a push, but for it to be effective they need to keep it up.
Great they're doing a push, but for it to be effective they need to keep it up.
It has to be said, there is a part of me that has always felt this way.
Talking/Txting and driving (And yes, along with DUI, the other sacred Cow of road safety that must never be questioned) are "Obviously" dangerous, but are they really??
What we have here are dangerous behaviours that, statistically, are not dangerous at all!
Millions, literally Millions, of journeys are made every single day by people who are using their phones, DUI, and engaging in a whole load of other stupendously dangerous behaviour too.
And you know what?
The numbers of people who die each year from this run into the dozens to hundreds,
The numbers who are seriously injured (IE with long term consequences) run into the low thousands.
There is an old legal saying.
"Hard cases make bad Law"
(What this means is that you should NOT create new laws as a consequence of tragic, but nevertheless rare, events (See also, "Dangerous Dog Act") because it almost always results in bad laws that are hard to enforce and create a great deal of injustice)
What exactly is the point of these new laws, what are they trying to achieve??
Soldato
Yes the ones that do it all the time just won't care.
Soldato
I'll admit that I've done it. I've also eaten food and drank coke/water while driving. messed with the GPS etc.
Some situations I'd never do it, texting definitely effects driving capability, I wouldn't say drinking/eating/talking does though.
Some situations I'd never do it, texting definitely effects driving capability, I wouldn't say drinking/eating/talking does though.
Soldato
So why don't you just go handsfree?
Soldato
Been following a few police tweets about this, all stating how they are running high profile road campaigns to catch drivers.
Whilst I agree with the new legislation, the cynic in me thinks running the campaign now smacks of just money making potential.
If they really want to catch and stop drivers and educate, why not have run high profile road campaigns running up to the law change, catching drivers and warning them of the increased penalties if they do it again?
As others have said as well, why even use it handheld?
Nearly all the drivers I see using phones are taking calls, and, judging by the age and type of car, would almost cdrtainly have a hands free kit as standard. Hell, even my Aygo has one!
Whilst I agree with the new legislation, the cynic in me thinks running the campaign now smacks of just money making potential.
If they really want to catch and stop drivers and educate, why not have run high profile road campaigns running up to the law change, catching drivers and warning them of the increased penalties if they do it again?
As others have said as well, why even use it handheld?
Nearly all the drivers I see using phones are taking calls, and, judging by the age and type of car, would almost cdrtainly have a hands free kit as standard. Hell, even my Aygo has one!
Soldato
Daft as it sounds, it was because I couldn't be bothered to spend £20+ and it wasn't a regular occurrence, plus I wasn't on the road a lot to make the most of it.
Barely drive now but I'm anti-phone now anyway, turned off most of the time.
Man of Honour
There's a lot I agree about this.
Today 100s of people will be killed on the roads but how many will be killed because of somebody using their phone?
Man of Honour
You would not be in trouble as the phone is mounted and you're not breaking any law. If you then started driving awkwardly from lane edge to lane edge, then other laws would then be broken like driving without due care and attention. So whilst you didn't break this new law, you would step into another.
Just continue to use common sense and driving experience. Seasoned drivers with years of experience behind them can talk to passengers/pay attention to satnav and drive and be aware of other drivers on the road at the same time without issue.
For the majority of experienced drivers, this new law won't make the slightest bit of difference to their lives. This won't stop social networks and people in general waving their arms about it though!
This also won't change poor driving habits regardless of experience though, just in the same way the MLMs will always hog the middle lane, or "BMW drivers" will mostly never indicate.
I was thinking about this the other day while changing the album music on the iDrive. I also like to change the sat nav view from north orientated to perspective on the iDrive when getting nearer to my destination. Will these tasks be illegal because of their distracting nature? Yes, I'm taking my eyes off the road while I'm doing these things but no more than if I was checking my speed. I would use the voice recognition system for these tasks but alas, I'm Glaswegian.
I was almost killed by an 18 year old lass checking her Fudbook status or looking at her twatnav for too long or whatever, when she crashed in to my parked car in a wide open street. I was underneath another car on jacks next to it working on it and if she had been distracted a few seconds earlier I wouldn't be typing this.
I'm glad something is being done about it, but it's the wrong thing being done about it.
I was almost killed by an 18 year old lass checking her Fudbook status or looking at her twatnav for too long or whatever, when she crashed in to my parked car in a wide open street. I was underneath another car on jacks next to it working on it and if she had been distracted a few seconds earlier I wouldn't be typing this.
I'm glad something is being done about it, but it's the wrong thing being done about it.
Man of Honour
Just read the thread, it has been explained over and over in big letters.
I should have been more specific, I was wondering about those actions being ousted in the near or distant future.
Caporegime
I think I'm remembering why I asked to be banned from gd.
Soldato
It's €1000 over here but only3 points IIRC.
Anyway, saw this posted elsewhere....
Nate
Anyway, saw this posted elsewhere....
Nate