Mobile phone driving fines

[thefatelephant]

I understand that drivers will get a £60 fine and 3 points on their licence for using their mobile phone whilst driving, but will you also get 'done' for using your phone whilst stationary? Seems a bit harsh to me...

[jafarcakes]

It's absurd and tyrannical. An overreaction which smacks of revenue-raising.
Why is it not illegal to talk to a passenger if you are driving?
Why is not illegal to retune the radio?
The whole thing is desperately pathetic.

[firefoxxx]

Originally Posted by jafarcakes

It's absurd and tyrannical. An overreaction which smacks of revenue-raising.
Why is it not illegal to talk to a passenger if you are driving?
Why is not illegal to retune the radio?
The whole thing is desperately pathetic.

if you was tuning your radio they might do you for driving without due care and attention..
i think something has to be done..if somebody hit my car while they was on the phone i would want to brain the XXXXXX..lol

would you still think its desperately pathetic if a loved one got killed because the driver of the car was on the phone ordering his dinner????

[jccards]

I dont think £60 is high enough!!!!
I think people who drive while on mobiles are simply thoughtless!!! pathetic!!!
IDIOTS!!!!!!!!

[dassots]

I have seen something recently where a subject was on the phone and in conversation with a person at the same time. The person with them asked them questions about driving and road signs whilst the phone person was just chatting. The subject could not concentrate on the questions about driving.

I agree it would be hard to do if all three were in the same room and not on the phone but still possible I think.

A phone riniging grabs your attention. Think about it, you can be discussing something at work the phone rings you drop your conversation and pick the phone up. How rude would it be if someone walked in the room shouted "hey you" and just cut the other person dead!!! They don't and neither does a passenger when they sense there is a hazard or problem ahead .
But we don't even think about it, the phone ringing is so important we must pick it up.

I have hands free bluetooth and try to use it as little as possible, I know that when I am chatting on it, my full attention is not on the road. If it is a person next to me then I can use expression to get my point across and also glance across at them to read their reaction, which is exactly what I am doing when driving, watching other drivers reactions. On the phone it has to be done without seeing reaction and expression.

Driving whilst on the phone is very dangerous indeed, made worse by then only having one hand on the wheel when no handsfree is available.

[lastrolo69]

well i hit someone while i was changing tracks on my cd. i didnt get done! and a fried of mine was a in a car crash the other week and he wasnt wearing a seat belt, the paramedics said if he was wearing a seat belt he woud have died for sure, where the blooy justice??????? i think we are all responsile for our wn actions, thats y i freely admit i wasnt paying attention, luckily i walked away and no one was hurt.

all i can say is for the other car, he was lost and SLAMMED the breaks, so i would of hit him no one the less!

BLOODY HOLIDAY MAKERS!!!!!!!!

[dassots]

Lastrolo69, firstly I am glad that both you and your friend are OK after both your mishaps .
It is unusual that wearing a seat belt causes death, as I am sure you agree in the vast majority of cases it saves lives. I too was involved in a road traffic accident many years ago as a passenger to a learner driver. I should of been paying more attention. We had just done a three point turn and had set off, I was putting my seatbelt on when we hit a wall. Fortunately for me the windscreen aperture distorted enough on impact for the windscreen to land on the bonnet of the car as my head hit it. I was very lucky I did not go through the glass. We were probably doing less than thirty.

The accident you had whilst changing the CD. How easy it is to do and I think tuning the radio has been mentioned. Normally if you admitted you were tuning your radio or changing a CD and had an accident you could be charged with driving without due care and attention or even dangerous driving!! Like most of the things we do in the car that go unnoticed if we are in an accident then things can change.

Lastly you are going to dislike this but I think that if you were watching the car ahead and driving at a safe distance then you would not of hit the car in front assuming there was not a mech or elec fault on your car

[jccards]

Originally Posted by dassots

Lastrolo69, firstly I am glad that both you and your friend are OK after both your mishaps .
It is unusual that wearing a seat belt causes death, as I am sure you agree in the vast majority of cases it saves lives. I too was involved in a road traffic accident many years ago as a passenger to a learner driver. I should of been paying more attention. We had just done a three point turn and had set off, I was putting my seatbelt on when we hit a wall. Fortunately for me the windscreen aperture distorted enough on impact for the windscreen to land on the bonnet of the car as my head hit it. I was very lucky I did not go through the glass. We were probably doing less than thirty.

The accident you had whilst changing the CD. How easy it is to do and I think tuning the radio has been mentioned. Normally if you admitted you were tuning your radio or changing a CD and had an accident you could be charged with driving without due care and attention or even dangerous driving!! Like most of the things we do in the car that go unnoticed if we are in an accident then things can change.

Lastly you are going to dislike this but I think that if you were watching the car ahead and driving at a safe distance then you would not of hit the car in front assuming there was not a mech or elec fault on your car

I agree !!!!
I dont drive, and im so glad i dont!!!!
Yes im restricted, in where and what i do, but i have no desire to get behind a wheel!!
These days, while im a passenger, i cant believe some of the things i see!!!
The risks people will take with there lives, just to answer a bloody phone!!!
Its madness, even when there just having a conversation with there passenger, they are looking at them for ages!!!
And im behind cringing!! Luckily everyone who drives in my family are thoughtful drivers!!! (I HOPE LOL)

[sjf1970]

I think that it is the rite thing to do to try and stop people using mobiles while driving I wonder tho where will it end is it going to end up that we can't even talk to our passengers because we may lose concentration I have a mobile AND i drive but while i am driving I will never answer the phone. if it is important they will either ring back or wait until i am not driving

[jafarcakes]

It is unnecessary to introduce more and more legislation, ever-more specific offences and more and more fines.
"Driving without due care and attention" covers all these areas whether it is someone shouting at their kids in the back, changing CDs, drinking from a water bottle or flapping a fly away from his face. There is no need to focus on certain areas - such as mobile phones. If we do, then logically it should be a crime to talk to anyone in a car or be subject to any disctractions. In-car communication (and by extension passengers) would be banned, as would any movement of eyes from the road or hands from the wheel. Cameras and microphones could be installed in every vehicle to monitor driver behaviour and enforce the law.