to wish a fiery and agonising death upon people who use mobile phones...

[Scarydragontalk]

...while driving. I don't mean hands-free sets, I mean holding their phones normally, chatting away or godforfuckingbid texting at 70+mph on the motorway. I just don't think they should be allowed to live. AIBU?

YABU because that kind of death isn't something I'd wish on anyone but I do agree with the sentiment.

If somebody yelled abuse at me for using my mobile in a queue of stationary traffic, I'd be pretty pissed off too. Sanctimonious, much?

LeBOF
Why would you be annoyed?
You are breaking the law.
Do you take your seatbelt off just because you are in a traffic queue?

To be fair, there are times when I've been stuck in stationary traffic and needed to call after-school care or whatnot.

If there's no prospect of moving in the next five minutes and you've got the handbrake on, I don't see the issue.

People using their phone in stationary traffic don't tend to hang up when the traffic starts moving again, I've found.

Some idiot crashed into the back of our bright, blue bus one morning as we were crawling along in heavy traffic. He was on his phone, of course. I laughed a lot.

There is no excuse. If you can afford a car and a mobile phone you can afford hands free kit. That said, I have these and I hate using them when I am driving so do so as little as possible. As other posters have said, you really aren't there - very different to chatting to a passenger or shouting at the kids.

Talking while driving - stupid and VU. Talking in stationary traffic - reasonable.

There. Sorted.

but still illegal

do you take your seatbelt off?

if you keep your seatbelt on you should keep your phone off

even simpler

I see this almost every day and I hate it. Usually I see it when trying to cross a road (including at a zebra crossing which I use every day) and realising that the driver is completely oblivious to my presence.

It's not at all the same as chatting to a passenger in the car, it's psychologically quite different, not to mention that you don't have both hands free.

I'd like to think it'll eventually become socially unacceptable the way drink-driving (mostly) has. Just so dangerous and stupid.

I was in a taxi yesterday with my 2 month old baby the driver thought it was a good idea to not only not wear a seatbelt but to chat on his mobile phone the whole journey.

Coward that i am i didn't dare say anything to him at the time but i did report him to his company. I just hope to god he never causes an accident

But Talkin if it's evident that the jam I'm in isn't going to start moving, I have my handbrake on and I'm going to be late for pick-up surely it's OK for me to either call ahead to alert afterschool club, or DP to ask him to collect?

I have done this - iirc I called dp to get him to sort it out (I mean arrange ds's collection - not the traffic jam!).

I could take my seatbelt off I suppose

Honestly though, other than in completely stationary circs it most certainly isn't OK to use a phone and drive. I don't want a handsfree because the situation arises so infrequently, and because I don't want to start using it when I don't really need to iykwim.

I hate all bad driving behaviour, including drivers whizzing over zebra crossings when there are obviously pedestrians there, drivers stopping in the box at traffic lights etc. I always shout and gesticulate at people doing these fuckwitted things and at drivers on their phone. Yes, I'd like a fiery death for them.

Whatmeworry, Quiet Coaches are my pet hate too! EVERY fucking time some eejit gets out their mobile, usually just as the train is pulling out of the first station, and begins a loud and witless conversation on it. I'm always the one to tell them to shut the fuck up. I'm not a foreigner, it just makes me so angry I can overcome my natural Britishness.

On a recent journey though I told two eejits to get off their phones, then when a third started up I was sick of being the only one saying anything and appealed to the carriage at large for someone to take their turn. Someone did. Power in numbers.

Do you take your seatbelt off? if you keep your seatbelt on you should keep your phone off

I dont wear a seatbelt in town driving, its uncomfortable and at 30mph (if I'm lucky in our traffic) risk is negligible. Shall I keep my phone on all the time? :o

Good for you LadyClarice, I hate the quiet coach thing too but am usually too shy to say anything. I do give them a look sometimes, but the kind of person who behaves like that is usually too thick-skinned/oblivious to notice...

Yes, you're absolutely right Whatmeworry. Hitting the steering wheel with a force of between 30 and 60 times your own body weight* is a pretty neglible risk.

*What would happen in a head-on crash at 30mph.

Whatmeworry, I hope you would not expect the NHS to foot the bill for the injuries you sustained if you did have an accident while not wearing your seat belt.

Mum stitched the faces of 2 people who were not wearing their seat belts and crashed, her story has stuck in my mind

Ephiny, if it helps, I usually feel the silent support of the rest of the carriage, which helps me to get over my British reserve.
Go for it next time ? you might surprise yourself!

Hitting the steering wheel with a force of between 30 and 60 times your own body weight* is a pretty neglible risk

If only we could have a 30mph speed difference! I'd be ecstatic!

Bumper to bumper stop 'n go is what we have in rush hour. Most accidents are shunts from the rear when someone pops the clutch by mistake.

LadyClarice I shall Have Words the very next time. I am resolved :)

(Actually I did once, the prat was spouting company confidential stuff and I said that wasn't very clever in a quiet carriage)

Well as whatmeworry is therefore driving uninsured (not wearing a seatbelt invalidates insurance) I go back to my point that the police SHOULD clamp down on this as drivers talking on their phones are usually breaking other parts of traffic law

Go forth and tell people off, everyone!

the police SHOULD clamp down on this as drivers talking on their phones are usually breaking other parts of traffic law

You don't drive anywhere where there is a lot of traffic, do you Talking?

M27 : M3 : M25 : A36 : A3M : M26 : M20 : A31
no, you are right I'm a total bumpkin who has no idea how hard it is to delay a conversation till I reach my destination.

if you fall off the roof of your house, you will be travelling about 30mph when you hit the ground.

Pretty negigible, eh?

"Well as whatmeworry is therefore driving uninsured (not wearing a seatbelt invalidates insurance)"

I like how whatmeworry is focusing more on how fast traffic is going than this rather important fact.