Mobile phones while driving

[CrosswordAddict]

I'd like to do something to stop people using phones while driving!
Yesterday one driver was gabbing away and waiting to pull out into the path of my car.My passenger (aged 13) would have been injured probably because the driver was driving a large vehicle.
OK, I know nothing happened this time but that could have led to a trip to hospital.
I wish we could take the number of people using phones at the wheel and report them to a central phone number somewhere. Maybe they need a warning or something to bring them to their senses.Yes, I realise this is open to all sorts of petty malicious calls but couldn't that be sorted?
I know it sounds petty but these idiots are risking other people's safety.
Maybe MN could start a campaign or something. Sorry if there is one already btw.

Driving and holding a mobile is one of my pet hates. Here we are very rural, so few police, and countryfolk seem to do it all the bloody time!!

How would you take down the offenders number when you are driving? Wouldn't that distract your concentration too? You would need photograhic evidence otherwise the accusation would just be denied. What about malicious accusations? I totally agree with you about how dangerous it is though.

It's annoying isn't it, it feels like the law is completely unenforcable. I've seen drivers doing this in front of police and PCSO's and still nothing happens.

the only way is invent a device that will not allow phone signals in a car

its infuriating. i'm never surprised to find that the person driving as if they're drunk is in fact on their phone. sadly, a hotline would never work. it would be plagued with nuisance calls and no proof for genuine calls. waste of time and money. what would be a start would be if police took it seriously all the time. i was waiting at a t junction at traffic lights recently, a car drove through a red light whilst on his phone cutting up me and the police car coming towards me and the police car just turned off the other way and ignored it. ok there's a chance they turned round and pulled him or were on their way somewhere urgent, but tbh they looked like they just weren't arsed.

What also gets me is the number of people I see driving a car, talking into a mobile phone, and with a passenger in the car. Surely the passenger could do the talking!

Here in London it's not uncommon to see people driving with one hand and drinking coffee with the other

Completely agree with you OP about the dangers, but as others have said it could be hard to provide concrete evidence unlike drink driving.
It infuriates me the number of people I see doing this - I suspect it would almost be a full-time job for designated traffic police units. Maybe that's what they should do - have a special unit (unmarked cars) set up for 1-2 weeks just dedicated to this.
But considering the cuts to manpower I doubt it will happen.

In the county I live in we have 'operation crackdown' - where you can report online on the police website or by phone any dangerous or antisocial driving.

I think how it works is that if a numberplate gets enough 'hits' the police will 'ave a word with the driver.

Have a look on your local county police's website - they may have a similar campaign.

OP - YANBU to be annoyed but reporting to police via hot line would be expensive and time consuming and difficult to prove - unfortunately police do not have resources and even less with public sector cuts .

Whilst I can understand the sentiment, we live (thankfully) in a nation where we need evidence.

How do you get that evidence whilst you are driving yourself? Take a photo? Surely fiddling with your phone camera is just as bad as someone on the phone, if not worse?

And sorry, the police have better things to do with their time than run around phoning people up and accusing them of driving whilst on the phone with no evidence other than the say so of some anonymous person.

Stupid idea

saw a articulated lorry driver gabbing on phone while trying to negotiate lorry around a small roundabout one handed

i wrote to company and complained but they shrugged and said meh!

This goes out to the driver of the drain rodding company van who followed me all the way from Swaffham to the M11 yesterday at about 5.30 - 6.30 pm, all the while talking into a mobile phone and driving so close as to be practically in my boot:

You are tosser, and I asked my passenger, DS, to write down your company's phone number and I will be calling them shortly to tell them.

When someone is driving too close to me (during day) I just flick on & off my lights so it looks like I'm braking - they soon back off .

I agree that i hate people talking on their mobile phones whilst driving, there is no need for it with the handsfree kits that are around nowadays.

But the thing that has always confused me is are police exempt from the rule as you see plenty of them driving around using there walkie-talkies. SO one of there hands is holding down the talk button and only one hand on the wheel surely this is the same as using a mobile phone. Just my feelings on the subject.

CalmaLlamaDown - you could take a picture on your camera phone ... oh, wait a minute ...

YABU because you have not asked an "Am I Being Unreasonable?" question.

HTH

Agree. There's only so much that can be done though unless the person is caught in the act.

I wish more was done to discourage TEXTING while driving.

This vid is very to the point (well once you get past the first few min of nonsense!)

TrillianAstra I agree I should have done it better, sorry about this. It was done in a rush tbh.
Anyway, I can see now that a hotline wouldn't work, not practical at all really.

I wonder if the Government could maybe run an advertising campaign on tv or something. I know it would cost but that's true about all their advertising isn't it?

Seems tht it 'socially acceptable' to use the 'phone - more fines and publicise who got fined may help. A hotline wouldn't work.

One car has full hands free and voice call system but even that I try not to use.

I just switch my phone off when driving so I can't even be distracted by the phone ringing. Why can't more people do the same?

I don't use my phone in the car; it's usually a work call and I can't write anything down so I just let it all go to the answerphone.

I do drink water whilst driving thoough, also tea.

there are lots of tv adverts about phone use while driving already. idiots are idiots sadly, you have to hope that passengers nag them to get off the phone and the person on the other end refuses to talk to them while they're driving. until everyone starts doing that then the imbeciles with the ever so urgent calls wont stop.

My friend and I were texting each other yesterday. After a few texts backwards and forwards I decided it would be easier to just call her, so I did.
There was no answer. 1 minute later I received another text saying "Can't answer phone, I'm driving"

Surely if you're going to use your phone while driving texting is actually harder than talking?

I don't do either btw.

Agree that people need to understand that it is dangerous.

Especially people who do this on the motorway. That really is frightening. Saw a woman texting while cruising in the middle lane at around 80mph. Nuts.