New mobile phone laws - your views
 

Well at the end of Feb the penalty for driving using your mobile phone (without hands free) changes from a £30 fine to what will now be a £60 and 3 points on your license.

If you decide to go to court instead of taking the ticket, the fines for car drivers go up to £1000 and £2500 for vans, truck and bus drivers.

Personally i think this has long been overdue and i think it will force people to re-consider using their phones or spend some money o hands free.

So open for discussion, whats your views?

Fraser

Hang the *******s.

Seriously, I don't get it. It's like, what, a tenner for a headset?

Even my fancy Parrot bluetooth kit in my car was only about 90 quid. It irritates me beyond belief that so many drivers can afford a car worth more than I even earn a year (and it's often a Cayenne, Touareg, X5, etc etc) but are too tight-arsed to spend a little more on safety.

They deserve whatever they get.

Good, but to be honest, the original law hasnt made an impact because the over stretched force, just cant police it. I see a fair few on my way to work on the phone. I even saw a woman this morning in her beemer, on the phone, whilst trying to pull out of a side road in the snow. She went sideways, up the kerb etc...and she didnt move the phone once!!

911 Carrera Cabrio here yesterday... the tw@ was veering right and left in a two lane road, middle of the city, didn't even look in the mirrors for my flashing lights... :roll:

If i see someone on the mobile, i will pull them over and issue a ticket, the problem in my mind has been that people think that its only 30 quid.. and are quite happy to take the risk. I pull people over in their posh cars and they are like "come on hurry and give me a ticket so i can be on my way.."

Now with the threat of points... surely that will make people think twice??

I doubt it. People speed, they drink and drive, some even have a small number plate and a dark visor, and god forbid one of those loud exhausts, people break the road law generaly. its just another law that will be hard to police. You are just one in a force of many. Not everyone has your attitude.

I still think its a good idea though

i think its a very good idea. the addition of the points has given the offence more gravity, and i'm sure it'll work.

there will be serial offenders who not be able to stop then they'll carry on driving whilst banned therefore no insurance and around and around it goes

Good idea methinks...will certainly make me think twice about lifting me lid while riding my illegaly unrestricted 50cc piaggio down orpington high street :wink:

Great news!

...cos the current law has done SFA about it. Might make THEM think about the consequences of their actions (getting caught and the three points that is, not hitting some other road user or ped) :roll:

:)

Sorry guys but I'm not totally convinced it'll change anything. Currently I've been in cars with people on the phone and as it is they'll spot a cop and say 'hang on mate, cop coming up' and either just put the phone down while the cop's in view or call them back when the cop's out of sight.

The threat of points/fine doesn't stop people speeding, I'll be surprised if it changes people's phone habits.

I think I'm in the same boat as Ping and others, great idea in principle but as has been said, won't necessarily result in less people using mobile phones becuase there aren't enough police officers on the road to catch people.

Now, if someone can develop a safety camera that can catch mobile phone users as well... :lol:

Options as far as I see it:
1) Ban ALL use of mobile telecommunications in cars. This would be difficult to police, but offenders should be castrated, literally :)
2) Ban all cars & vans. More space for my bike on the roads.

Option 2 gets my vote, anyone else? :lol:

Had a chav in his Sh!troen pull out of a side street and nearly write of the Merc the other day cus he was on the phone.

Good idea, in favor of it not sure how well enforced it will be. Have they stepped up the penalty if you involved in a accident and found to be on the phone?

My brother has been fined 3 times for using his phone. so some police officers obviously do enforce the rules. I was with him when he answered a call last week. I had to tell him to pull over. so yes increased fine and points are well overdue.

Telford lorry driver jailed for 4 years yesterday for killing two girls in a smash - his truck rear ended the car in which they were passengers, moments after he had ended a call from his mobile.

I have seen some reasonably solid looking studies that suggested that using a hands free compared to using a normal mobile phone does not make you that much safer.

The issue seems to be in having the phone conversation, rather than the method you speak. The same study (I think) also rated people who work long shifts (ie docs) to be as poor at driving on the way home than a person driving over the legal alc limit.

I know in Ireland that there is a massive problem with people driving very tired.
I am not saying that the hands free law is a waste of time. Its a good thing. But, I think that a public awareness thing on driving tired would be no harm at all. I know that I have had heavy eyes on the bike on the way home through the Holland tunnel on a Friday night on the Bike. :shock: I had to severely slap myself about on that on for a minute. (This is a U rated site though so, the less said the better.)

Has to be a good thing, long overdue. Yes people will still get away with it, just like most of us still get away with going over 70mph, but the worst offenders will get points and someone on their phone but keeping an eye out for the police is a bit safer than someone on their phone not looking.

I don't understand how the new law defines "hands-free". If I have a handsfree yoke I still have to look at the phone to dial the number (because voice dialling is rubbish and rarely used), which is still time I should be watching the road. Is dialling a number while driving permitted or not?

Personally, I think it should be an even higher penalty.

3 points and £60 is what you get for going 10% + 2mph over the limit. Which is more dangerous, doing 35mph or doing 30mph with a phone in your hand?

It will be hard to police. Realistically, only traffic officers are going to want to pull people for it and they're getting fewer and further between.

Yes on balance it's a good thing. Whether effective or not, who knows.

It would be better if there could be a presumption that driving whilst on the phone is driving without due care and attention, cos there are higher penalties for that, and then the court could decide an appropriate penalty to reflect the actual circumstances. All very well being able to gibe a ticket for using a phone but the fine and the points are too inflexible.

I totally back it, and wish it was tougher. Saying it won't make a difference is not quite accurate, e.g. if you argue to the extreme, capitol punishment for the offence would certainly bring down the numbers, so a higher fine and points will make a difference.

I think it will help for sure by making people think twice before then taking the risk. Also to take the next step and buy a bl**dy handsfree kit.

When I am driving I am usually thinking of all those things that need to be done so it seems pretty natural to want to make a phone call to get things happening. No time like the present etc... Often if I am racing about at home or work and trying to be on time. Jump in the car and its like ok underway - now what have I forgotten or whats next.... ah need to call such and such. Such is life these days.

think bikers should be allowed to police it!

while on the move...when we see a driver on a phone....we should get ours out and take a picture to prove it in court!























yeah yeah i know!

lol

No problem with this as such ... except that I tend to use the 'headphones' type hands free ... which I believe are now not considered hands free?? I really don't see there is much difference (safety wise) between this and a blue-tooth hands free ... my headphones even have a little button near the mic to allow me to answer/hang up ...

I'd hate to be taken to the full extent as a headphone hands-free user ... :cry: Hopefully very few cops would do you for it as you are at least being responsible about it!?!? :?

We have been sent all the enforcement blurb about this today, including a report in which it is shown that a driver on a mobile has slower reaction times that one who is at the drink drive limit. Worse still, even when using a hands free kit, the tested sample still had slower reactions than the driver with booze in the system.
I think it is all about education. The drink drive laws have been in for yonks, but mobiles are still a relatively new phenomenon, more so the specific offense of using one whilst driving. Most people see drink drive as wrong "because it kills people" and is now socially unacceptable (in most areas of society). There needs to be a concerted effort by the Govt. to make the perception of mobile phone use just as wrong. After all, if the tests and reports are to be believed, why not have a similar penalty to drink driving on conviction, ie, minimum 12 months ban? Drink drivers get this even if they don't crash or are just "unlucky" enough to get stopped for whatever reason.
I am a traffic cop in Manchester, specifically, Salford and Trafford and I go out of my way to enforce mobile phone tickets, eleven people dosed today, just for this offense. But I can see the courts being overwhelmed when next months changes come into play. Even now, nearly everyone either denies it (so we check the call log) or demands to see the "video evidence" One bloke in a 5 series BMW even claimed not to own a mobile phone......then went bright red when his anus started ringing! :oops:

Ho hum, life as a gov't revenue collector!

You all mention about it being hard to police and also that people see police coming along and put their phones down, you also liken it to speeding and such like...

The thing is, an officer seeing someone on the phone is easy to prove than someone speeding, for a start they dont need special equipment..

You would be amazed at how people drive past police without even seeing them, so they may get away with it sometimes, its like most traffic offences...if you get away with it, well done...

but if you get caught.. Don't complain

and

"i was just turning it off"

"i was telling the person i would call them back"

"i was just seeing what time it was"

"i do have have hands free"

"this is the first time i have ever done it"

to mention a few...

Have heard them all, on more than one occasion.

Must feel like that sometimes I'm sure, but enforcing the mobile phone rules and general road laws makes it a safer place IMHO. Good on yer (just don't speed without your blues on :wink: :lol: )

Saw a super thing on one of your forces Range Rovers a few years ago. I was stuck behind a middle lane hog, when the Rangey passed in stream of traffic in outside lane, pulled in and lit up the matrix in the back window "Use Correct Lane Discipline <------------" Middle lane hog moved over and traffic could flow. Excellent. :D

As has been mentioned already, a hands free bluetooth kit, wired into the car properly is about £120, not much on the price of the average car. I receive calls when driving, but generally pull up to make them. If I'm on the phone while in the car (usually it's a customer) I deal with it quickly if possible, or arrange to call back when I'm not driving.

I can't see how talking on a hands free phone can be any more dangerous than having a conversation with somebody in the car - in fact, many people turn to look at the passenger while talking !!

But I still think the problem is enforcing it, we all know that many traffic cops have been replaced by cameras (they have a better RoI, apparently :roll: ) There just isn't enough traffic police to do it justice.

.

http://www.psychologymatters.org/driverdistract.html

Shrug.

From the same article:
So its not actually the phone but the act of having a conversation. This is true for me - I always switch off conversation mentally when coming into a busy intersection/reverse parking for example. Usually yell/ask nicely kids/wife to pipe down at this point - trying to concentrate etc. But where do we draw the line and can we be trusted to do the same thing if on hands free?

ill be honest im in two minds...

Holding the headset to ur face engaged in conversation... YES £60 and 3 points is fair

If your pushing a button whilst its in a cradle to use ur hands free im not so sure, after all i pres buttons on my stereo? Other program sat navs, whilst of course that can come under driving without due care and attention i dont see that the same fine is justified just for pressing buttons?

As for the engagement in conversation, personally i am aware it detracts from my concentration, but so does singing a good tune, chatting with a passenger and riding in the freezing cold.

Any way, iv got a cradle and a hands free kit and only take the call if i really need to!

From dft.gov.uk:
So a handsfree wire from phone to ear is not enough, you have to have the wee cradle thing or fix it to the steering wheel. Makes sense I suppose.

i believe the law states that it must be ina fixed cradle.. happy to stand corrected :)

I said at the outset it wouldnt work just fer £30 ..

brilliant.. no one wants 3 points.. ... and how many folk do u see on their phones- .. looooooaddss..

and lots of them are textin- which is worse imo

These I love....

lol.

£60 and 3 points good start, but it would probably hurt them more to confiscate the phone and then inform the mobile company thats it's not been stolen but confiscated, For most of them it'd be like loosing an arm :D

seizing the phone... police can actually seize it, if it is evidence relating to an offence and esp if the driver denies using it lol... but its not something we normally do ha ha

:D

Your the rozz right??? ... What would be your call (pun intended :D) on people using the headphone type hands free kits? Not even bother to stop, slapped wrist at worst, or the full letter?

Done this loads of times. Especially prior to the offence becoming a statute when I used to charge drivers with 'Careless driving' & seize the phone as a "production" (evidence). Led to a few complaints but at the end of the day they were still liable for paying the line rental. Extra monetry penalty in my book.

Bring on the 3pts & £60.

I'll be dishing them out more than I do already.

:plod: :rant:

Everyone who drives whilst using a phone should have it shoved there!

Amen to that!

So there are some good officers out on the road! :P