Reporting drivers on their phones

[Snitchyorwitchy]

Simple as this - we cycle to school. We live in an area with lots of cyclists, including children under 10 cycling with parents.

I have a helmet camera.

The local police have an online submission tool.

Everyday I'd say about 10% of drivers are on their phones in moving but slow traffic. There have been numerous near misses as a result of "distracted" driving.

I don't need to go into the details of how dangerous this is (if you don't believe me, just Google), even if in standstill traffic the distraction continues.

You are not being unreasonable = submit it to police - it's law, it is safety of you and your and other children.

You are being unreasonable = leave it to the police to catch people themselves.

You don’t need to imagine, it’s happening. There’s individuals on Twitter uploading videos they’ve sent to the police every single day. The people who have the biggest issue with it are
black cab drivers who lose their taxi licence after points, they’re livid but apparently won’t stop doing it either

The rules are here

www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law

It's fairly straightforward.

You can get 6 penalty points and a £200 fine if you hold and use a phone, sat nav, tablet, or any device that can send and receive data while driving or riding a motorcycle.

I wouldn't hesitate.
It's so incredibly stupid, selfish and reckless, and these idiots on the phone who wipe out families in their stupidity always walk away unharmed.
There needs to be a much stronger sentence as in if you are caught on phone whilst driving it results in an instant ban and prison sentence.

I’m aware people are reporting, I was being facetious.

A PRISON sentence?!? You people really are crazy lol. Think of the knock on effect a prison sentence could have on a member of society for touching their phone? Maybe you should move to North Korea.

Happens often, someone crossing just before lights changed not across yet. People rushing across to beat the lights. Bikes that have filtered that you haven’t seen because you aren’t looking.

But I’m sure those who have had love ones killed in this way are only being dramatic.

This guy is prolific in recording and then reporting drivers using their mobile phones illegally - and also close passes etc.

twitter.com/mikeycycling?s=21&t=OS99LA9uWobKOQdx1feAMg

Also has posted quite a lot of data and information about why using your phone, even while stationary, is not a good idea, and why, even though of course there are cyclists who break the rules, you are much less likely to be hurt or killed by a cyclist than someone distracted by their phone.

I am not a cyclist but watching his videos has made me feel really sorry for them particularly in London, much less sympathetic to bad drivers, and I now stick my phone in the glove compartment or boot. Anyone who loses their livelihood because they chose to use their mobile phone knowing the change of law and the consequences is just a muppet. Professional drivers in particular have absolutely no excuse.

@Chocolateeggs you’ve seriously NEVER seen a pedestrian chance a crossing when the lights have changed?? I’m beginning to think you don’t actually drive as this is a regular occurrence.

Now you’re just scraping the barrel of excuses and we could go on all day about ‘what if this’ ‘what if that’. I have pressed a button while stationary at a light many of times and my attention is still always on the road. You barely need to look away from the road to do this, I’m sure you’ve put the air con/heating on while driving, or do you pull over to do that?

Lol of course I don’t drive 🙄. Well whose fault would it be if a pedestrian WALKED out in front of traffic?

Let’s just clear this up. I’m not talking about having a phone in hand and texting/scrolling while driving. I’m talking about pressing a button on a mounted device - which we do everyday to open/close windows or change the temp of the car.

When they made using phones illegal when you were driving most decent people inferred that using a phone to do anything was dangerous and best avoided. Then muppets started defending their phone use but but but I want making a phone call I was deep in a game of Kandy Krush and technically that's legal do they had to update it.

Now people are still looking for ways round using their phone whilst driving. You don't need to scroll playlists or podcasts, you don't need to scroll for family members and call them. You're not that important that you need to contact anyone right now. No one really cares where you are or what you're doing. You're driving, please pay full attention you absolute menaces

*Then muppets started defending their phone use but but but I wasnt making a phone call I was deep in a game of Kandy Krush and technically that's legal so they had to update it.

I agree, no one needs to change a playlist. Pull over if you don't like it or put the radio on.
I'm welded to my phone most of the time but I have never touched it when driving. Not even when I was expecting a call when my dad was dying. I pulled over at a safe place to check instead.

Have a look on youtube at CyclingMikey but he does get a lot of abuse. Note that if the driver challenges the case in court you might be required to appear if they use your footage.

All of those things are illegal. You can’t touch your sat Nav, scroll through contacts or find podcasts without pulling over to a safe place and turning your engine off.

I recently took my theory test so I know that’s the law.

a Bluetooth headset
voice command
a dashboard holder or mat
a windscreen mount
a built-in sat nav
The device must not block your view of the road and traffic ahead.

Scrolling through Spotify doesn't fall into any of those categories does it? Or looking through your contacts list. The built in sat-nav must be engaged, actively describing the route. Not you tapping at it to find out where you are.

Put very simply you should not be taking your eyes off the road or touching your phone unless you are safely parked. That doesn't mean stationary or in slow moving traffic.

A million times this. You can kill someone scrolling through Spotify and let me tell you it happens. If you lost a friend like this you would have your phone in the glove compartment or in a handbag every time you left your front drive forever more.

You can use Google assistant or Siri to do pretty much anything on your phone - start/stop/change navigation, play music, read and send texts/WhatsApp/emails. No real need to touch your phone while driving.

I have mine mounted but it's full voice control for satnav and music, and I have calls and messages set to divert and messages run only in the background so they don't show on the screen

I'd report you- sorry dear.

Hopefully

@Chocolateeggs ah so that’s ok! If a pedestrian stupidly walks out in front of your car then fuck ‘em! As long as you’re allowed to use your phone with impunity, who gives a fuck? 🤬🙄

LOL is misconstruing people’s words a pastime of yours? Dramatic cow

Slight digression, but do any cars still have tangible buttons and twiddly knobs on the dashboard? It used to be possible to get a lot of driving functions done by feel, without taking your eyes off the road. I’m not a driver (live in a city where driving is unnecessary and impractical), so I don’t really know.