[Travel] Using Phone while driving

[BensGrandad]

I have said many times that I accept that he was at fault and should have just ignored it and have told him so but I think the officer having agreed that he rejected the call was being a jobsworth.He could quite easily have said " I know, because I saw you reject the call but this is a warning that doing so is still an offence." It would have achieved the same result as regards my son.,

 

[Sorrel]

The law is against holding electronic devices in the car. If you pick up a phone you are breaking the law. If you don't pick up the device, you are not breaking the law - hence why there are numerous hands-free holders you can buy for phones that mean you can operate them without picking them up. It's not texting that is illegal in itself, it's holding the device.

BUT there is also the offence of careless driving and others where the police determine you are not in full control of the vehicle. In those circumstances you can still be fined and get points even if you have a hands-free device. So, if you text on a hands-free system you may still get a fine and points, but you won't be fined for using a handheld electronic device.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

and......holding the steering wheel--isn't that the law--the law doesn't say you can't hold the steering wheel and the phone at the same time.

driving without due care and attention , you tell me ?
regards
DR

 

[Lady Whistledown]

It would appear that it is going to which raises a point are people fully concentrated on the road ahead when using a sat nav which shows road directions and turns.

No, because you're not using a sat-nav to perform an interactive communication function, such as calling, texting, using the internet. It's just telling you which way to go. It's not covered by the mobile phone legislation.

However, if I saw you driving whilst clearly being distracted by fiddling with your sat nav, I'd give you a ticket anyway, either driving without due care & attention, or not being in a position to have proper control of your vehicle.

 

[swindonseagull]

If I received a text I would pull over and read it then act accordingly having heard the tone to tell me I have a text. As regards the tracking it is easy for them to check if a van is moving if so dont call the driver.quite simple. Check before making the call. I know the onus is on the driver not to answer the phone but he rejected the call because he was driving. As you say dont touch the phone so why give a driver a company phone?

My phone ( Not an Omsung) will not tell me that I have any messages........as soon as the phone is connected to the car bluetooth it blocks the messages, then you can only view them when bluetooth is disconnected or you STUPIDLY click 'Im not driving ' on the phone screen........of course most cars have blue tooth for phone calls as well...if not put the phone where you cant reach it.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I have said many times that I accept that he was at fault and should have just ignored it and have told him so but I think the officer having agreed that he rejected the call was being a jobsworth.He could quite easily have said " I know, because I saw you reject the call but this is a warning that doing so is still an offence." It would have achieved the same result as regards my son.,

How many times do you think they hear the "Oh, I was just rejecting a call", or "I was just turning it off", or "I was just [anything else]", though?

For what it's worth, I had somebody tell me once "Oh, it's OK: I wasn't using the phone. I was just sending an email"

 

[Lady Whistledown]

It is not illegal as you say but I consider it inconsiderate by the firm to ring somebody and expect an answer, which presumably they do by ringing the person., The simple answer is to make it compulsory for company vehicles to be fitted with hands free and steering wheel controls.in the modern technology based age,.

Jeez. GPS trackers on vehicles aren't actually that accurate, and often update positions and speeds at fixed intervals (say every thirty seconds) rather than constantly. So there's actually no way they could tell if your son was driving or not, not to the nearest few seconds anyway. And what if they thought he'd stopped but was in fact stationary at traffic lights??

I presume that, by your logic, if you'd called him yourself and he got stopped by the police in the same circumstances, you'd be offering to stump up the cash for his fine.

 

[BensGrandad]

The officer in the plain unmarked Audi old him he had rejected the call while he was sat at the traffic lights. It is not the fine which ios the problem it is the 6 points.

 

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

My other half spent an inordinate amount of time changing the clock on her car touch screen whilst driving. I guess this is illegal then.

 

[BensGrandad]

Apparently Thames Valley Essex and The Met offer a course for such cases of technically being guilty but not actually using the phone.do Sussex. Police?

 

[AmexRuislip]

If you're caught using your phone whilst driving and get caught, I hope the book is thrown at whoever is.
Round here I'm always seeing people on their phones whilst driving, typically there are no police around to catch these cretins.
Without stereotyping, it seems that it's mum's collecting their kids from school, lorry and van drivers. IMO

 

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

I know quite a few people who chat with their phone in their lap. Or rather shout.

 

[Coalburner]

The original post was "using phone whilst driving". Answer - turn it off before you set off, put it out of reach and don't turn it on again until you sre safely stopped and off the road. All this guff about swatting flies, turning on radios etc, has nothing whatsoever to do with it

 

[Surrey Seagull]

Serious question, am I breaking the law as my car has been adapted to be driven with only 1 hand?

 

[Garage_Doors]

No, because you're not using a sat-nav to perform an interactive communication function, such as calling, texting, using the internet. It's just telling you which way to go. It's not covered by the mobile phone legislation.

However, if I saw you driving whilst clearly being distracted by fiddling with your sat nav, I'd give you a ticket anyway, either driving without due care & attention, or not being in a position to have proper control of your vehicle.

How does using a phone in a cradle stuck to a windscreen as a sat nav? If your inputting a destination? Is that under the mobile phone legislation ? Or using a sat nav whilst driving?

 

[hitony]

Agree. I had the smell of whisky in my car for weeks after this happened to me.

I'm starting to think I'm clearly quite lucky! driving the car with a bottle of brandy in one hand and a fag in the other whilst steering the wheel with my knees, has always come easy to me, I also think this new law is unfair to those of us who have to eat there lunch whilst driving!

 

[Lady Whistledown]

How does using a phone in a cradle stuck to a windscreen as a sat nav? If your inputting a destination? Is that under the mobile phone legislation ? Or using a sat nav whilst driving?

No specific legislation for sat-navs, but as suggested previously, there are other offences that would easily fit the bill if you were seen doing what you describe whilst driving.

Let's be honest- if you're typing in a destination as you drive along, you are going to have your eyes and thoughts off the road in exactly the same way you are whilst texting. Some sat-navs will tell you not to do it, though of course you can override it if you're the passenger, or you just don't care

 

[Garage_Doors]

No specific legislation for sat-navs, but as suggested previously, there are other offences that would easily fit the bill if you were seen doing what you describe whilst driving.

Let's be honest- if you're typing in a destination as you drive along, you are going to have your eyes and thoughts off the road in exactly the same way you are whilst texting. Some sat-navs will tell you not to do it, though of course you can override it if you're the passenger, or you just don't care

I was thinking is it a lesser offence of using a sat nav while driving rather than using a phone whilst driving although your using the phone as a sat nav

 

[banjo]

Surely you can do without a phone whilst driving. I’m that old I can remember standing in a box to make a phone call.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Surely you can do without a phone whilst driving. I’m that old I can remember standing in a box to make a phone call.

I actually saw someone using a phone box the other day. Took me back....