Using mobile phone when driving

This is what I thought. I'm pretty sure you're allowed to touch the phone but not to hold the phone. A strange distinction maybe but I'm pretty sure it does exist in the law.

Amazing how no-one ever admits to holding their mobile phone while driving yet you see it all the time. (Not talking about OP here, just a general observation). I view holding a mobile while driving in the same league as if they were holding a bottle of vodka. Disgusting, dangerous behaviour.

The difference between speaking to a passenger and someone on the phone is that the passenger can sense if the driver is approaching a tricky roundabout or something going on ahead and shuts up for a bit.

Interesting. My work has a policy that nobody may make phone calls when driving even with a bluetooth headset or whatever.

This accords with what DH was told when he did an online speed awareness course recently. There was a discussion part of the course and someone brought it up about phone use. DH said it was a really interesting discussion and if he hadn't been put off using a phone in the car before then he had now.

Agreed

Not illegal to touch the phone provided you're not holding it.

Devon have recently installed overhead cameras to pick up drivers who are on their phones, no seat belts, unsecured children and pets etc. It's possibly something like that you've been caught on.

Someone I know was 'caught' doing this however when they sent her the evidence she was actually holding a croissant

I always worry about the seat belt thing because I wear black all the time, a seat belt isnt visible on me

AI cameras are being deployed on UK roads to automatically detect drivers using handheld mobile phones and failing to wear seatbelts. These systems, often using Acusensus technology, record high-quality footage from vantages like bridges, analyzing for offenses using AI before review by human operators for enforcement.

And that is the scary thing. So many are so used to handling their phone constantly that this driver here could have picked up her phone and not have realised.

Maybe they caught you pressing accept.

Don’t admit something you aren’t sure you did! (And even then, I wouldn’t admit anything without seeing the evidence they claim to have.)

Apparently the police are now accepting random people’s dash-cam footage and sending letters that rely on the recipient “confessing”.

The footage may have been sent about another driver’s behaviour and the police have scanned it for any other things they can try. Such footage isn’t reliable.

The police seem to be using it to issue fines to generate revenue and increase their prosecution stats.

Loads of people I know do long personal calls while driving. One of my friends always phones when driving home from work. I’m like her personal podcast 😂

Yes theres something different about the way your brain works from when you're talking on a device, to when you're talking to a person next to you

Although I thought I also read that kids in the car are a major risk as well.

”Using any phone while driving is dangerous - driving is a highly complex task requiring a person’s full attention, as any error can be catastrophic. Drivers who talk on phones, both hands-free and hand-held, are four times more likely to be in a crash resulting in injuries, and researchers have found a correlation between phone use and culpability in crashes.”

“It has been argued that talking on a phone is no different to talking to a passenger. However, research has found drivers talking to passengers are less at risk than drivers on phones; it is theorised by researchers that conversations with passengers are modulated because both the driver and passengers can see what is happening on the road.”

https://www.brake.org.uk/get-involved/take-action/mybrake/knowledge-centre/mobile-phone-use

You shouldn’t do Teams meetings whilst driving. How can you concentrate on either properly?

So you have an employer that has little regard for family life. And not much for road safety.

I think the difference with talking to a passenger in the car is that you can easily stop the conversation to concentrate on the road - that's not so easy when you're on the phone in a meeting or whatever and are trying to be fully present in two places at once.

I don't either. If its really important I'll answer and ask for a call back another day or time, but if its not important, I won't answer.

Interesting ... if talking hands free is so dangerous, how does talking to a passenger rate I wonder?

This........ I am exactly the same.👍
My phone is in my bag or jacket pocket, it would never be anywhere within easy reach.

It would be almost impossible to remember if you inadvertently touched the phone especially as the PP suggests, it was just a natural, unconscious action.
If they send evidence (which I presume would be in the manner of a photo) then it will show what you did...... whether you were aware of it or not.

I drive, but having started on motorcycles, (where a simple mistake can end badly) I can't imagine why anyone would think it's a good idea to take a phone call while driving,
I see the evidence every day with drivers yapping away oblivious to how distracted they are, it's a whole new level of selfishness.

Owning and driving a vehicle sounds like such a ball ache but financially and emotionally.