To ask if you, or anyone you know in UK, has been caught using a phone while driving

[GingerBeverage]

…in the last couple of years.

Because I hear about speeding fines/points all the time, and yellow box fines, and LTN fines - but never phone fines.

Have they given it up?

My friends sister got a knock on her window when using phone at red lights and was threatened by police with a fine but didn’t follow through

I commute on a bike, from my vantage point i can clearly see all the people who have their phones on their laps or holding the phone just below the dash so it can't be seen, texting away. Many have kids in their car, driving past schools and cycling kids. I'd say 10% of rush hour traffic are on their phones.

10% sounds right, although it’s higher on the 20mph roads from what I can see. In a row of 10 cars I now expect to see 2 on phones.

I’ve been thinking about this change and I can only conclude it’s related to 20mph limit becoming the norm, newer cars being automatic, and better car safety systems.

As cars require less function from humans there’s this feeling of being able to relax.

I see people on their phones driving in traffic every day.

Scary isn't it? The 20mph limits are usually where there's a school or shops/residential - the chances of encountering a pedestrian or cyclist is so much higher than a faster road. And electric vehicles are usually twice the size and weight of a petrol car.. they'll go straight over a kid on a bike like they're not even there. It's a dangerous combination.

The expensive electric cars may have all the automatic stopping tech, but as more electric cars are being mass-produced, cheaper & cheaper, not all are as advanced, or produced to a high standard; the tech may not be as reliable as we think.