Mobile phone usage

Steveocee

Steveocee

Steveocee

Soldato
Joined
5 Nov 2011
Posts
5,599
Location
Derbyshire
Is it me or are more people starting to use mobile phones whilst driving?
A few years ago I saw hardly anyone using a phone whilst driving as the law was being enforced so hard you didn't dare even look at your phone.

Daily now I'm seeing people on the phone whilst driving, 2 today and 1 I had to jam the brakes on because she was so busy texting she didn't notice she had veered over from lane 1 to 2.

Really annoys me as every car I have owned for the past 8 years has had a bluetooth device so I am handsfree and it just seems its easier to break the law and cause some discontent.
 
All the time but what can you do? People smoking eating a Mc Donalds seen a few people read a map whilst at the wheel, bluetooth can be a distraction, sometimes I tend to forget the 5 mins of driving I have just done and think wth how did even drive?? Very strange.

But yeah tends to be more Female based when it comes to phone usage, sending texts and what not, maybe I am been sexists.
 
Not seen any drop in people using mobiles since the law came out, if anything more are doing it and blatantly texting while driving. Then again, I have not seen many police cars around either to enforce the law.
 
Ryan-3 said:
I've only seen women texting at the wheel. Men are usually in a phone call.
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Texts, Twitter, Facebook etc. People can't resist checking their phones and with smartphones making a noise every time anyone does anything on social media these days, the lure is even greater.
 
I've never understood the difference between speaking on bluetooth, and holding the phone to your ear.

Genuine question here - is it simply due to only have one hand on the wheel, or is it more distracting having a voice in your ear, as opposed to in the cabin?
 
Banning mobile phones at the wheel was a stupid decision. They should have just used the existing careless driving laws: i.e. if you're swerving all over the place or obviously not paying attention, you get points on your licence, regardless of whether you're on the phone, talking to someone, or messing with the radio.

Nothing dangerous about talking on the phone in most situations: I do it all the time and have never had any issues. It's the people who are staring down at their phone for ages who are the dangerous ones.
 
It's legal to talk on the phone but not text here, but you may text at a red light... which just means that you need to honk the horn to get people moving when it goes green (literally everyone honks half a second after it goes green lol)

Standard of driving because of this is pretty poor, you see people swerving and slamming on brakes enough to lock the front tires on many occasions.

I do it, because I'm legally allowed to, but I hate it... I hated in the UK and I hate it here... such a hypocrite :)
 
Ive stopped myself using the phone when not on hands free, it simply is a distraction, no least when I am trying to play clash of clans.
 
Actually saw a considerable drop in usage while driving for the last 3-4 years or so but does seem to be on the rise again now :|
 
I used to do it, but my car now has Bluetooth so don't need too.

Hate it when I see people doing it when on my bike.

Yes I'm a hypocrite haha
 
TripleT said:
I used to do it, but my car now has Bluetooth so don't need too.

Hate it when I see people doing it when on my bike.

Yes I'm a hypocrite haha
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I just treat them extra carefully, you can see them coming up with thier head movements through the headredt
 
Personally - fingers crossed to this becomming a 6pt offence. Maybe people feel that the current 3pts and £100 is worth the risk - probably won't get caught.
Maybe people will start thinking twice when 1 speeding and 1 mobile phone use puts you on 9pts.
 
All the time. I just give them a wide berth and keep my distance. Nothing I can do about it.

As a pedestrian I often shout "get off your phone" more often then not I get a rude gesture back twice the person came out of the car I just laughed and carried on walking. People know they're doing something wrong but they take the chance like those that drive above the speed limit.
 
stoofa said:
Personally - fingers crossed to this becomming a 6pt offence. Maybe people feel that the current 3pts and £100 is worth the risk - probably won't get caught.
Maybe people will start thinking twice when 1 speeding and 1 mobile phone use puts you on 9pts.
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Maybe 6 points is simply disproportionate for someone who has pulled over safely to answer their phone but forgotten to turn their engine off?
This is the sort of story you might end up hearing about.
 
I see loads on my commute to and from work, especially when I'm filtering on the bike past traffic. Phones held in one hand with the speaker on, texting/facebook etc at the traffic lights, and the good old fashioned talking on the phone held to the ear with one hand while swerving all over the road. Some people even watch netflix/youtube while driving, I **** you not!

People won't stop doing it until the chances of being caught are higher - 6 points doesn't make a difference if there's no police around to catch them. A quick check around or any cops and if it's clear, people will use their phones.
 
The car I have just now lets you also read your text messages on the in-car screen and can even read them out to you and let you reply with a few pre-determined responses....

Would not buy a car without bluetooth now.
 
Worser still I see loads of people holding the phone upside down on loudspeaker, they think cos it's not against their face, it's legal :confused:
 
Richie said:
The car I have just now lets you also read your text messages on the in-car screen and can even read them out to you and let you reply with a few pre-determined responses....

Would not buy a car without bluetooth now.
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Can you not just go a few hours without the need for information? I have Bluetooth built in, but find it very distracting and will generally not answer unless I think it's an important call.
 
The best part is you can still legally use walkie talkies in cars as long as its push button. Its what we do when driving up north on day trips but its not the first time I have had to educate a police officer.
 
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