Mobile use while driving

[FarAwayHills]

I am so cross and fed up of seeing people using their phones while driving I counted 5 today on a pretty short journey. Having read the news today regarding the tragic death of a mum and her 3 children due the a lorry driver using his phone, I am insensed that people continue to do this. What the hell can be that important.

I am not a technical person but could there be some way that devices could be automatically disabled while a vehicle is being driven. It seems like the only way because people just can't help themselves and fines and penalties are clearly not working.

AIBU to think more needs to be done about this?

Separate to large lumps of metal in the road...another ocassiion I was following a person who was talking to their passenger..

The only problem was that the driver could not seem to talk without looking at the passenger... instead of the road ahead.... Fortunately I could see through the car could see and the road was reasonably clear ahead... Was very glad when I turned off...

My sympathies as well to the Emergency teams. Some of the injuries they must see.

I think the law does need to be tightened up but I also think it needs to be reworded. For example I have been on a call walking to my car, get in the car and put the keys in the ignition and even though I'm not driving and nor is the engine on I could get done for this.

The other example is stuck in traffic as in literally stuck, not moving and not likely to anytime soon, on this occasion I had to phone the nursery to tell them I'd be late.

A final example s couple of years ago a lot of people got stuck in heavy snow and had to keep engines running to stay warm, again phoning to tell people they were stuck, again illegal.

I suspect that most would agree that in these situations it was not dangerous but all illegal.

I once phoned DH from the fast lane of the M3, at some length.
However I had my engine off and my handbrake on as the traffic was gridlocked.

I don't know why some people think it's ok to use a mobile as a satnav whilst driving. What's the difference between glancing down at that and reading a text? Surely both take your eyes off the road?

Mine either goes in a holder on the windscreen or I just listen to it talking to me. I don't think it's any more dangerous than using an actual sat nav.

The best way to stop it would to make it socially unacceptable. I don't think it is enough at the moment.

Mobile phone as sat nav- I do this and don't need to look at the phone. I have the voice activated so I have someone telling me when to turn.

I use my phone on built in Bluetooth in the car. I don't feel that it's any worse than talking to passengers or using a sat nav, possibly less so as there's no temptation to look at the other person.

To the person who said phones should be kept in the boot, after getting lost in the middle of nowhere at night (pre sat nav), I would never do that. If I was lost or had broken down I want the phone in the car with me, there's no way I'd want to get out in the dark and search for it in the boot!

Because - you don't get it, do you. Don't make the call, it is dangerous to do so.

One of the other cars passing will have a passenger. They can call. You aren't the only option and YOU SHOULDN'T MAKE THE CALL.

I've just read the BBC News account - feel free to scroll past - the partner of Ms Houghton and the brother of Aimee ( her step daughter) were in the car behind them, they were shunted by the Lorry into Ms Houghtons car which was pushed under another Lorry in front of them crushing them. The teenage brother witnessed the deaths and now has PTSD. I'm absolutely horrified and it sickens me to think what they have gone through.
Bastard tried to lie and say he only had the radio on not phone. Hope he gets a hard time in prison.

pink there is mounting evidence that both hands free and "phone to ear" conversations are equally distracting to the driver. In fact, one of DS favourite programmes Mythbusters did an experiment on this - both were as bad and I think, iirc, their driving performance and accuracy was reduced by about 40%? for both. I should check that stat but it really was a BIG difference compared to full attention on road conditions without any phone use.
It is kinda obvious that you won't be fully focused and as quick to react if a large part of your brain is occupied elsewhere.

I see what you're saying. Like I said I find passengers or the sat nav more distracting! Until it's banned I'll carry on using the hands free, but to be fair it's not that often.

Found this which is very informative
www.rospa.com/road-safety/advice/drivers/distraction/mobile-phones/

www.lbc.co.uk/news/uk/tragic-video-trucker-kills-family-phone-a34-crash/

Not quite sure how to do links so this may not show. I don't know if its been posted on thread already, but I saw this today in my newsfeed. I haven't watched as yet, as there's a warning that its deeply distressing footage and I know it will upset me - that fucking bastard on his phone, seconds before the crash

Not sure how much good it will do but I plan to write to my MP, and phone employers with vehicle reg & driver description if I see any of their van or lorry drivers on phone. I wish same could be done for private drivers on their phone - Id like to see an instant ban in place - lose licence, and thats it.

If expecting an urgent phone call its perfectly possible to stop at the next safe place, and check your phone if its rung whilst you're driving. I can''t stand the way so many are welded to technology, as if its the 4th emergency service. Distraction costs lives, and I hope this guy and others like him are jailed for life.

Why should the safety of sensible people be compromised by people who can't miss a call from a mate, or are scrolling through social media reading about other people's lives and deem that more important than paying full attention to the road?

I've been wondering where I stand on using google maps on my phone as a sat nav while driving. I don't play about with it, just use it as you would a sat nav.

Thinking about it, I think my GPS still works in airplane mode. If my phone's in airplane mode, does it still count as a phone? By definition a phone makes & receives calls, but it can't in airplane mode. So what would the difference be between that and an actual sat nav? Although then I suppose it wouldn't update traffic etc.

Jeez thats harrowing BUT every driver should see it

I still wonder if technology could be developed to automatically disable phone use, except for emergency calls, while a car is being driven - especially for HGVs

I have set my phone to divert all calls to voicemail, and autoreply with a text when the bluetooth pairs with the car. I use an app called DriveMode.

I will keep posting this link until the message sinks in: speaking on a mobile - hands free or not - significantly increases the risk of an accident.

www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/hands-free-vs-handheld-minimyth/

or a summary:

www.psblaw.com/2012/08/24/mythbusters-prove-cellphone-driving-is-as-dangerous-as-drunk-driving/

oops - mixed links. Need ... more ... wine

Stopped using phone in the car about 10 years ago - before that I'd been a sporadic user rather than a full time gabbler and texter (and never texted).

My then father-in-law was killed in a crash where he was almost certainly using his phone.

I don't even use hands-free now - and there's no need - nothing that can't wait - even a 999 call I made recently could wait until I was able to stop and pull over.

As others have said - I see so many others using the phone and I think people are in denial - "it's just this one call/text" "I know what I am doing, I am paying attention" etc.

I once had an ipod adpater in one car with a bigish screen to scroll and choose songs - I ditched that too, as it was too distracting.

As for sentencing - it's all a mess. Financial crimes seem to be deemed worse than crimes against the person, and entirely avoidable crimes like this are subject to a maximum - why?

It seems to me that this is of a similar gravity to murder - it's all very well (and lots of excercise for the legal minds and their semantics) to talk about intent, but any reasonable person can see the likely outcome of doing what this man did with 44 tonnes behind him - especially as this part of the A34 is notorious for this kind of stationary traffic.

It's really not in the nature of a random distraction or a tragic unforeseeable outcome - sentencing where death or serious injury has occurred should reflect that, and life, with the chance of parole at an appropriate point under license in the most serious cases like this would surely be more proportionate.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I 100% agree that I would be distracted even on hands free. I remember having it set up on Bluetooth for the first time and my husband called. I had to end the conversation as I realised it was affecting my concentration. Now the only thing I would feel safe using it for is music (set up before I set off) and sat nav (again set up before I drive) the sat nav is purely audio, my phone is charging and face down when I'm driving so I'm not even tempted to look at the route etc.

It's really not in the nature of a random distraction or a tragic unforeseeable outcome - sentencing where death or serious injury has occurred should reflect that, and life, with the chance of parole at an appropriate point under license in the most serious cases like this would surely be more proportionate.

The key distinction for me is intent and the lack of malice of forethought. The truck driver was stupid and selfish and deserved the considerable punishment he received. He did not plan to kill or injure. I realise the victims won't agree but it is fundamentally unjust to punish someone to the same degree set out to commit a murder with malice of forethought.

I would suggest that if life sentences were given out for causing death by dangerous driving juries could well be reluctant to convict. It is an interesting one as causing death by dangerous driving is one of the few offences where jurors who think of themselves as law abiding, upstanding citizens will think 'there for the grace of god'. Even if they don't drive with a phone, every driver will have had a momentary lapse in concentration and would be reluctant to return a guilty verdict if the accused faced a life sentence for something they'd been guilty of in one form or another.

Actually I think there is some sense behind the idea that crimes committed by 'ordinary' people, your non psycho serial killers or axe murderers, should have very harsh punishments attached. Those 'ordinary' people doing things like texting are absolutely capable of not doing those things, of very easily changing their behaviour. If they knew there was a death penalty for the first offence, they would not do it. It would be utterly taboo. On the other hand the death penalty for serial killers probably would not deter such a high percentage of those offenders, because they are so evil/disturbed.

I do think driving sentences could be longer but Dylan makes an interesting point.
What would help overall though is better ie more visible policing for mobile phone use, speeding and general poor or dangerous driving behaviour, coupled with a campaign to make these things socially unacceptable.
The government appears disinterested in the issue of road safety unfortunately.

Purpledasies- you are very mistaken if you think all emergency service personnel are double crewed! Ambulance and Fire yes, sadly Police are very rarely double crewed now, meaning that they are response driving and updating using the radio at the same time. By no means am I saying I agree with it, but it's happening with at least 50% of our Officers daily.

As said above the law is, well..... odd.

I have had ocassion to catch Top Gear whilst bored.. It confuses me that the presenters can use a simplex radio whilst driving.. (on TV) .. yet a duplex radio, (that is a radio that allows you to talk and listen at the same time and is the basic tech component of a monile phone) is illegal. How come?

And wherefore if your music is on an MP3 player? Using that is "legal?", but if your music is on your smRt phone, it becomes illegal. Indeed reports say the driver was looking at his music .... which was on a phone. The accident would have been the same if he had been searching an iPod. But there would be no outcry as it would have been the same as searching through your box of cassettes... does anyone remember cassetts?

Please understand, I am not making excuses for the driver... far from it. But rather to pose questioins that need to be considered.