To think that if it is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving a vehicle, it must be made illegal to push a pram?

[llizzie]

I have just read this on another site which was discussing how the mobile phone is killing conversation.

  ''Saw an incident two days ago: Young mother pushing child in a pushchair was glued to her smart phone, not looking to where she was going. She was heading straight towards a fixed bollard at the side of the footpath. Last few seconds, she saw it, swerved suddenly, child rocked over to the side and hit bollard full face. Stupidity of the highest order. ''

You obviously use your mobile driving a car and see nothing wrong with it.
From your comment, you also think nothing of pushing a pram along the pavement and talking on the phone as you do so.

Quite the imagination you have there.
Not sure how making up complete fiction helps your argument.

You truly cannot compare pushing a pram with driving a car & using a mobile. Ridiculous to try.

Maybe the child should have been strapped in to the pram / buggy. In case of anything happening where they could have fallen out.

Phoen use while pram pushing cant really be compared to the dangers involved in driving while using phone. It’s a completely different level of risk and likelihood of injury. And scale of injury.

A car is a lethal weapon that requires a persons full concentration to operate to prevent multiple loss of life, therefore it is illegal to use a mobile phone whilst driving.
A pram is not a lethal weapon and unlikely to kill or maim multiple people whilst using a mobile phone. No need for overkill on laws re mobile phones.

A pram isn't a motor vehicle.
Someone who's not looking where they're going could bump into you with a shopping trolley, a suitcase, a pram, they could be running past and knock you over while jogging, they could be carrying a huge potted plant on their head...

But they are perambulated by human force only. So statistically much less dangerous.

So it's absolutely ridiculous to compare the two.

What if I don’t have a pram and just want to take a phone call whilst walking down the street? Isn’t that just as much of a distraction as taking a phone call whilst pushing a pram? Should we ban all phones when walking?

Jeez theres been some ridiculous threads on here but this one is a winner

If a distracted mum runs into me with a pram because she was on her phone at worst ill possibly get a bruised leg

If a distracted driver runs into me with a car because they were on their phone, worst case scenario is a damn sight more than a sore leg

The 2 scenarios aren't even remotely comparable and to suggest they are is ridiculous.

And before you jump to stupid conclusions like you have with pp. I NEVER EVER drive and use my phone. My phones always in my bag when im driving

I don’t think we need a new law for this, no 🤣

How many people get killed by drivers using mobile phones while driving? - Lots

How many people get killed by prams bumping into them whilst the pram pusher is distracted on their phone? - Never heard of a single one.

I’m so confused. Have you ever pushed a pram op?

I would have thought more children are killed in cars than in prams

From 2012 Western Australia -

A WEST Australian mother was issued with a $250 fine for talking on her mobile phone while pushing a pram along a footpath.
Police have confirmed the incident occurred in Mandurah on April 21 last year.
Inspector Bill Munnee said in a statement today the infringement was issued by a Senior Constable from the Peel Traffic office to the woman for using her mobile phone while she was in control of a pram as she walked her child on a footpath.

The fine, understood to be $250, was withdrawn within 24 hours when the Senior Constable’s boss realised the massive error.
“It was recognised as incorrect within 24 hours by police,” Insp Munnee said.
“As a result the officer’s OIC (officer in charge) immediately contacted the woman involved, attended her address and apologised (and) cancelled the infringement notice.
“The officer concerned had misinterpreted the law involved regarding the definition of a vehicle.”
Insp Munnee said the officer at the centre of incident “should have known better."
“He was provided guidance and the matter was adversely recorded on his performance file,” he said.
Insp Munnee said the woman concerned accepted the apology from police.

By that argument nobody should walk down the road talking on a phone on their own. They might walk into a post or a tree.

It’s perfectly legal and fine to talk on the phone while driving though - what you can’t do is hold the phone (because driving a car requires 2 hands) or operate the phone in your hand/look at the phone (because you need to look at the road). It’s perfectly possible to push some prams with one hand and perfectly possible to talk on the phone (whether holding the phone or hands free) or talk to someone next to you while pushing the pram. I think what you’re complaining about is distraction… there aren’t laws for ‘dangerous pram pushing’ as there are for dangerous driving, and I think it’s probably obvious why?

Perhaps she was using the phone as a map and was lost. Could we next have a law that you were distracted looking at someone pushing a pram and judging and if you bumped into someone you should be fined?

They need to bring out an electric pram that goes itself so the chavvy mothers can do selfies and post tiktok videos on the go with there weans they had at 13. Makes sense 🤔 😆 🤣 😂

I'd have to be not paying attention myself to not notice a pram coming towards me at walking speed - and in that event, the most damage I'd likely sustain would be possibly a scratched foot, slightly bruised knee or, most likely, absolutely none whatsoever as it would contact me at the most deeply padded area of my leg and the slow speed (literally walking pace) would make it possible for me to move and reduce the impact force even further.

Somebody in a car or van driving at over 10mph with a phone in their hand and not paying attention would probably do considerably more damage, seeing as they're in something weighing around 1.5-2 tonne. Now, I know that some of the more expensive multiseat all terrain buggies are a bit weighty and can be used for jogging, but I'm pretty certain none of them ever approach the weight of the average Ford and the parent isn't likely to be running at 6 minute mile pace, never mind the 2-3 minute pace a car will be doing in town.

Is it just the degree of damage and injury which determines the law? Not everyone is injured in a road accident.

The witness saw a woman absorbed in her mobile phone, saw the bollard, quickly took evasive action which made the pram swerve and the child bang it's head on the bollard.

Only the person pushing the pram knows what happened next, because there is no law to make it illegal, so cannot be reported.

WHAT.....who can't push a pram and speak on the phone at the same time....FFS

So ....

Pre mobile phone days
I had to pull a buggy off the road

Mum and friend were busy chatting at the edge of the pavement waiting for the traffic lights to change and the child in the buggy about to be squashed by a HGV.
The HGV had a green light and even with breaking could have been pushed over the child by the crash momentum of the tankers behind him.

By your logic pushing a buggy with a friend should be reportable

How fast was she walking that she couldn't just stop, rather than swerving? Weird. Reminds me of a story my mum told me, years ago she was pushing my older sister in her pram and stopped to say hello to a friend, a policeman, who was inconvenienced for about 5 seconds while he walked around her on the pavement, told her that as her pram was a wheeled vehicle it should be on the road, not the footpath. 🙄

Yep, when my sister had her first lad, she was chatting to someone in a park and did not have hold of his buggy. It started to roll down the hill towards a lake. It was her friend that noticed and yelled.

No phone involved. Just chatting

OP the woman could of been exhausted, depressed, busy, anxious or just reading an email, looking at a map, we dont know.

Let's not judge, shit happens.

Its hard enough being a mum without others tearing us down.

And no we shouldn't ban mobiles whilst pushing a pram. Sometimes mine has to be in my hand so I don't miss a doctor's phone call, I'd never find it in time in my bag.

I found pushing a pram one handed whilst talking on my mobile phone far easier than pushing a pram one handed whilst also trying to hold onto a toddler who insists they don't need to hold your hand whilst asking inane questions.
Maybe we should ban toddlers. Or maybe the second child should be the one that's banned.

You could stop to take the call. You could also ask anyone who is looking after your child to stop pushing if they get a phone call.