Drivers face penality using phones
 

New law starts today, driving using mobiles:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6399407.stm

Ooh even a comment left from an accy man:D

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

I hate seeing people drive and talk on their mobile so I think its a good thing but its going to be hard to police, I also think other crimes should have higher priority too.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

I don't see it as being more dangerous than driving and smoking, eating, drinking etc.

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Yeah, I agree all equally as dangerous, thought you could get done for eating and drinking.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

Yeah, Gillian Taylforth was done for eating...even though the car was stationary at the time.:D

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I think its about holding something to your ear one hand on wheel & the lack of full concentration on driving instead of phone convo:rolleyes:

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

If we are honest most people do (cue all the ones who say oh i dont and never have). But now its a bigger punishemnt i wont be doing it.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

60 Quid And 3 Points For All???

As accymel has pointed out today is the day when the new Road Safety Act 2006 comes into force in the UK.

Read the act details here - http://www.avrmobiles.co.uk/road_safety_law.html

Long overdue if you ask me!

However this beggars the question will local authorities now recruit MP Spies like the Smoking Spies? If not, why not?

Oh! I forgot – smokers are an easy target!

Will this new law also apply to the police? I ask because during last night’s “Car Wars” on BBC1 at 9 o’clock it clearly showed one copper driving an unmarked police car on his own whilst talking onto a device that he held in his right hand. Not only that but there were times when he didn’t have his seat belt on and often took both hands off the wheel whilst belting along the road.

One final question or few! If you saw a copper doing the driving and using a hand held device to talk to control, would you flash him to stop and point out the error of his ways and maybe even perform a citizen’s arrest? What if the cop refused to stop, would you report him? Would you get anywhere with your allegation? Would you then become a target as an act of revenge?

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

He was doing his job and if he thought what he was doing was dangereous he wouldnt do especially on camera.

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True point about cops heeding their own laws Jambutty lol, whats good enough for the goose in good enough for the gander, mind u they usually travel in pairs so the passenger takes the radio control while other drives:rolleyes:

Mind u i thought there was hands free devices that is readily available like bluetooth so drivers can have both hand on the wheel, which surely is easier.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

makes no difference why should he be above the law.

it's like the age old argument:
it is illegal for a police officer to break the speed limit but how many times do you see this and for no reason!
granted we all say nothing when an emergency services vehicle speeds past us in response to an emergency
but it was only the other night a police car came flying past me on the m6 no lights or siren and he was easily topping a ton
5 miles down the road he's parked up on one of those slip roads where they observe traffic.
no emergency then.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

They do travel in pairs most times accymel but I often see a cop on his or her own.

Driving whilst nattering on a mobile isn’t particularly safe but neither is chatting with the passenger. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for drivers concentrating on their driving and that means not using a mobile phone or nattering to the passenger. In fact a bit of nattering can be even more dangerous because for some reason women have to face the person that they are talking to and when listening to the response.

But it could also be argued that fiddling with the radio isn’t exactly safe either. The anti-smoking brigade will no doubt chip in here and argue about smoking whilst driving and they would have a point. I drive an automatic and I could argue that changing gear interferes with driving. But then so does reading road signs.

Just heard on the wireless a guy claimed that he had been stopped 7 times and 6 times he got off when taken to court.

How? As he explained that Radio hams are licensed to use their equipment anywhere and that includes in cars and on the move. He was a radio ham so he got off.

Now don’t all rush to get your ham’s license!

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

Trust you! lol:D

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The law specifically states mobile phones. It does not include radios. Taxi drivers, Police etc can still use their radios as they are not mobile phones. Yes it is silly buts the law states mobile phones.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

Allegedly it is quite distracting for the bloke while he is driving as well ;) :D

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Your not allowed to eat and drink whilst driving in the UK ?
Are there no drive-thrus at McDonalds and other fast food places ?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

There are but they are there to shut the kids up when they are in the back. :p

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

funny but as well as clamping down on mobiles, they are also discussing random breath tests, i,m sure we will get the (freedom brigade) bitching etc, also today i have heard the (well done the government) brigade, well i say to this CRAP. these are 2 things that should have always been in force.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

The 'best' one I saw was driving along the M62 towards Manchester one day on my bike I overtook a police Range Rover (fully marked) only to see the woman driver sending a text!


I reported her to GMP when I got home and was told she woud be suspended from traffic duties for an investigation. I didn't hear any more about it.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

I had a walk into town yesterday down Blackburn rd.
6 drivers using mobile phones and 8 parked half on the pavment 3 on double yellow lines and 1 totaly parked all four wheels on the pavement right infront of a pedestrian crossing near the post office.
i thought they where stopping this:confused:

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

Its easier if they walk the beat to catch them but sadley police walking the beat is rarer the rocking horse dung. Unless they can chase them in squad cars they aint gonna bother.

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Did yuou ring teh police to complain? I know its liek banging your head against a wall. Perhaps take a piccy or two and send them to the observer and get them to do a "Police in can't be arsed shocker!"

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

When you phone make sure you get an incident log number. The next time you see the same phone again quoting the original log number. You can always ask to speak to the geographic Inspector for the area and ask he/she why nothing is being done about it.

Been there, done that, got something done. ;)

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

And the police answer would be that they are trying but aint got the manpower to enforce it.

:rolleyes:

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

which gives us a stick to beat the goverment with

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

[quote=steeljack;
Are there no drive-thrus at McDonalds and other fast food places ?

:confused: :confused: :confused:[/quote]
well charlie wants to ban that too.....:rolleyes:

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

only problem is his duchy pasty has more fat and calories than a big mac :confused:

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

its simple in the end, drivers who are caught using there phones should get whats coming to them, same for drink drivers, and drug users!

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There was an expert on the news saying that tests have been done showing that the reaction times of someone using a mobile are worse than someone who is just over the legal drink drive limit.

I do take the point that someone eating/changing a cd/trying to control naughty kids/ smoking, is probably just as dangerous as using a mobile.

I've never done it, I can't even smoke and drive, but have to stop for a nicotine break.:D

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Taxi drivers & mobiles are my biggest gripe.Okay if they have to pick up the radio handset to answer a call regarding a job,but several times i've just got in the cab & he's answering his mobile to someone who must know his job is behind the wheel of a car.He's putting lives at risk and i'm paying for the privelidge:eek: We can't pick up & answer our phones whenever we please at work so why should they,and i'm on the shop floor not some busy highway.
At the same time,seeing as they're banning everything else,they can ban all this crap boom boom boom so called music that blasts out of car windows as that must be classed as a distraction,and a nuisance.More of an ASBO offence that one.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

Rindy, there was an expert who also said that it depends on the person. Some people are able to prioristise the driving above the phone call and suffer no negative affect on reaction times or quality of driving. However as usual this minority have to be goverened by a law to protect the majority. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, just the way of the world.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

Drivers face penality using phones



.....And so they should be ......

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

I would think this a useless exercise Ian as the Observer would probably not print it, I take it you mean the 'local rag' it is very fussy what it prints in that direction if you get what I mean. I have tried to get it into the letters to the editor pages about the Taxi firm in Edgar St to no avail, about them double parking on both sides side blocking the pavements despite the yellow lines, try pushing a pram down Edgar St you will have walk down the middle of the road. They are very crafty they always leave one car with a bloke in it in the unlikely event of a copper turning up. No the Accrington Observer is very PC.

Re: Drivers face penality using phones
 

:rofl38: even law enforcers can even adhere to the law either!!!!

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/10032007/14...obile-car.html

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If he had been on duty would the result have been different?

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programme on BBC1 at 9.30 tonight re enforced the sense of this. Young woman of 23 killed outright when a 7ton wagon slammed into back of her as she waited in a traffic jam. Car was crushed beyond recognition & was finally found that driver of wagon had been fiddling with his mobile when he hit her at 60mph. He finally admitted use of phone in court & was jailed for 4 years & banned from driving for 7 years. Yet police officer who had to identify her from remains & then go & break news to her family had to stop & tick off a woman driver on same motorway while driving back to scene after delivering news to family. Her ears should stil be ringing now & rightly so. Hands free dont cost the £1 million it costs in the aftermath of a fatal accident!