Driving while on a mobile phone!

[Wrong-Direction]

The ice cream had nothing whatsoever to do with the accident he caused.

How the hell do you know?[emoji509][emoji594]

 

[Clive Walker]

I do this all the time, I find it quite amusing when people get pissed off about it!

The stupid thing is that I can eat a maccys or KFC burger at the wheel and nobody bats an eyelid. I stand by my record though, approx 100,000 miles since it was made illegal and never had one near miss and never been busted.

It's perfectly safe as long as you bear in mind it's illegal and take extra care to get the basics right - Slow down a bit to account for an extra bit of reaction time, keep an acceptable distance from the car in front and keep an eye in your mirror for colourful blue and yellow stripes.

If you crash when you're on the phone it's because you're a **** and a crap driver who couldn't pay attention or change their driving according to the conditions. Every driver risks killing someone the second they get on the road, doing it because you were on the phone is no better or worse than for any other reason - there's tons of things that can take your attention if you don't recognise tham and deal with them.

New car is being delivered next month though and it's got built in bluetooth so it's with great sadness that I won't be able to wind up the busybodies anymore

Just think about it....... You are in the dock and the prosecutor asks you to look the mother of the child that you killed in the eye and asks you to explain the single important reason why you needed to be on the phone causing her to be without her child.......

I would be interested in what your reply would be.

 

[Creaky]

How the hell do you know?[emoji509][emoji594]

Because the article describes exactly what happened

"The former footballer, who was eating an ice cream bought from McDonald's moments earlier, then slammed his brakes on in frustration, forcing Mr Beck to perform an emergency stop.
A third car crashed into the back of the Polo, pushing it into the back of King's Porsche."

So unless he was frustrated with his ice cream then it had nothing to do with the accident

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Does anyone know how to simultaneously and safely hold a phone to your ear, have a deep and meaningful conversation (or alternatively a deep and meaningful text exchange), change gear, steer round a sharp bend at speed, and suddenly brake when someone steps into road, swevre to avoid oncoming traffic, and brake hard all at the same time.

I only have two hands and one is gripping the steering wheel while the other is frantically trying to change gear.

Grass the *******s up I say without a second thought.

 

[Creaky]

Why is it OK to use a CB radio mike or for the Police/Ambulance to use radio comms if it's not OK to use a mobile

 

[danish seagull]

You only get a fine for speaking on the phone in Denmark so everyone just does it. I'll admit that when I'm on the motorway for any length of time I usually speak on the
phone. It makes the time pass quicker

I think it is still legal to use your phone whilst driving in Sweden too.

 

[Clive Walker]

Why is it OK to use a CB radio mike or for the Police/Ambulance to use radio comms if it's not OK to use a mobile

Why is it ok for the police to speed and go through red lights.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Just think about it....... You are in the dock and the prosecutor asks you to look the mother of the child that you killed in the eye and asks you to explain the single important reason why you needed to be on the phone causing her to be without her child.......

I would be interested in what your reply would be.

I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. I'd imagine it will be similar to what I'd say if I crashed as a result of being tired, not concentrating or getting something in my eye etc etc. Or if I ever accidently drop a heavy object out of a window on someone, or if I take up smoking and cause a fire by disgarding it carelessly, if I was playing silly buggers while drunk and carelessly waved my arms causing someone to fall and hit their head etc etc

It's this hysterical level of moralising that I don't understand. People didn't get like this before it was made illegal and they don't get like this over eating at the wheel. I honestly think people get more angry about others breaking the rules than the element of impaired safety.

I'm happy to hold my hands up and admit I'm an A-hole for believing the rules don't apply to me. But I honestly don't believe that taken in isolation, being on a phone makes you inherently dangerous It still comes down to the usual factors of speed, driving position and concentration.

 

[Creaky]

Why is it ok for the police to speed and go through red lights.

Not the same thing - you can train a driver how to cross a red light or drive fast in order to minimise risk - distraction causing an increase in reaction times is a matter of brain function - practice can improve reaction times but this doesn't reduce the effect of distractions which remain an absolute - by definition distraction splits the subjects attention.

 

[Driver8]

I do this all the time, I find it quite amusing when people get pissed off about it!

The stupid thing is that I can eat a maccys or KFC burger at the wheel and nobody bats an eyelid. I stand by my record though, approx 100,000 miles since it was made illegal and never had one near miss and never been busted.

It's perfectly safe as long as you bear in mind it's illegal and take extra care to get the basics right - Slow down a bit to account for an extra bit of reaction time, keep an acceptable distance from the car in front and keep an eye in your mirror for colourful blue and yellow stripes.

If you crash when you're on the phone it's because you're a **** and a crap driver who couldn't pay attention or change their driving according to the conditions. Every driver risks killing someone the second they get on the road, doing it because you were on the phone is no better or worse than for any other reason - there's tons of things that can take your attention if you don't recognise tham and deal with them.

New car is being delivered next month though and it's got built in bluetooth so it's with great sadness that I won't be able to wind up the busybodies anymore

So you can steer, indicate and change gear with one hand? Very impressive.

 

[Billy the Fish]

But if not, does being a total p1llock come naturally, or does it take years of practice?

I practice every day.

So you can steer, indicate and change gear with one hand? Very impressive.

You don't need to do that on the motorway. Just steer and brake.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it should be allowed across the board. I'm just saying that if I'm on the phone on the inside lane doing 65 with plenty of breaking distance and taking extra care to concentrate on the road, it doesn't make me jack the ripper. I find it hypocritical that people focus on this one single thing but are happy to ignore all manner of bad driving which is more dangerous. The people getting angry about me being on the phone are probably concentrating less than I am! Careless driving is careless driving, why is one type stigmatised more than any other?

 

[MarioOrlandi]

Why is it OK to use a CB radio mike or for the Police/Ambulance to use radio comms if it's not OK to use a mobile

Now that is an interesting point. As a taxi driver I wondered about this when the mobile phone law came into force, but I think the term " 2way radio" is the get out clause here. You reach forward press a button and speak, with a mobile phone you look who is calling (taking your eyes off the road) and the slippery slope begins.

 

[champion7]

A new law coming in soon is that at every accident the police will have the power to seize mobile phones to check if a call or txt was m are at the time of the accident.

 

[Clive Walker]

I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. I'd imagine it will be similar to what I'd say if I crashed as a result of being tired, not concentrating or getting something in my eye etc etc. Or if I ever accidently drop a heavy object out of a window on someone, or if I take up smoking and cause a fire by disgarding it carelessly, if I was playing silly buggers while drunk and carelessly waved my arms causing someone to fall and hit their head etc etc

It's this hysterical level of moralising that I don't understand. People didn't get like this before it was made illegal and they don't get like this over eating at the wheel. I honestly think people get more angry about others breaking the rules than the element of impaired safety.

I'm happy to hold my hands up and admit I'm an A-hole for believing the rules don't apply to me. But I honestly don't believe that taken in isolation, being on a phone makes you inherently dangerous It still comes down to the usual factors of speed, driving position and concentration.

Your selfish attitude requires me to rephrase my point......how would you feel if given the choice, a slap on the wrist or a lengthy jail term?

 

[beorhthelm]

The stupid thing is that I can eat a maccys or KFC burger at the wheel and nobody bats an eyelid.

the stupid thing is you think not getting caught makes it alright. eating a burger is driving without due care an attention, and people have been done for it, if driving like a cock. funny thing is most people holding a phone are indeed driving like a cock. and its far more common that people eating and driving, and that why it was made a specific offense.

 

[Clive Walker]

I practice every day.



You don't need to do that on the motorway. Just steer and brake.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it should be allowed across the board. I'm just saying that if I'm on the phone on the inside lane doing 65 with plenty of breaking distance and taking extra care to concentrate on the road, it doesn't make me jack the ripper. I find it hypocritical that people focus on this one single thing but are happy to ignore all manner of bad driving which is more dangerous. The people getting angry about me being on the phone are probably concentrating less than I am! Careless driving is careless driving, why is one type stigmatised more than any other?

I honestly do get some of your points but it is careless driving in general that is wrong but this particular thread is concerning mobile phones as this is the one law I see broken on a day to day basis and in which I have seen tragedy

 

[Garage_Doors]

A new law coming in soon is that at every accident the police will have the power to seize mobile phones to check if a call or txt was m are at the time of the accident.

I thought that was already standard police procedure

 

[Creaky]

the stupid thing is you think not getting caught makes it alright. eating a burger is driving without due care an attention, and people have been done for it, if driving like a cock. funny thing is most people holding a phone are indeed driving like a cock. and its far more common that people eating and driving, and that why it was made a specific offense.

No it's not

Careless driving or driving without due care and attention or careless driving is defined as;

1. Driving that falls below the standard expected of a competent driver; or
2. Driving that does not show reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or pathways.

Eating a burger or using a mobile phone doesn't necessarily mean that your driving falls below the standard of a competent driver - it might well cause it to do so but that's not the same as saying it will.

According to the Department of Transport in 2012 there were 88 fatalaties where 'distraction' was a major factor in the accident, use of a mobile phone accounted for 17 of those 'causes for distraction'.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Your selfish attitude requires me to rephrase my point......how would you feel if given the choice, a slap on the wrist or a lengthy jail term?

If they made it a jail term then I wouldn't do it. It's not a jail term because it's not as bad as you're making it out to be! Will you admit that you hate people breaking the rules more than you're worried about safety?

the stupid thing is you think not getting caught makes it alright. eating a burger is driving without due care an attention, and people have been done for it, if driving like a cock. funny thing is most people holding a phone are indeed driving like a cock. and its far more common that people eating and driving, and that why it was made a specific offense.

It kind of does make it alright, I get away with it because I don't drive like a cock and if I did I would've been busted by now. At the end of the day we all have to make our choices. I make a decision that I can do both things safely, regardless of what the rules says. If I do get told off by police or have an accident as a result of my own stupidity then I'll take my medicine and I certainly won't bleat about it afterwards.

 

[Clive Walker]

If they made it a jail term then I wouldn't do it. It's not a jail term because it's not as bad as you're making it out to be! Will you admit that you hate people breaking the rules more than you're worried about safety?



It kind of does make it alright, I get away with it because I don't drive like a cock and if I did I would've been busted by now. At the end of the day we all have to make our choices. I make a decision that I can do both things safely, regardless of what the rules says. If I do get told off by police or have an accident as a result of my own stupidity then I'll take my medicine and I certainly won't bleat about it afterwards.

I admit that I hate people breaking the law especially when it puts lived at risk. If you kill someone tomorrow while using a mobile phone it will certainly be a jail term