I'm sure this is a no-brainer but here goes, can anyone justify taking one hand off the wheel to use a mobile while driving? I live opposite a mini-roundabout and see a minimum of four drivers a day turning right while operating a mobile in their right hand!!
Never mind this is illegal - how on earth can you claim to be in even partial control of a vehicle with one hand off the wheel, turning and probably about to change gear?
Obviously driving lessons must have improved since my day because I know I certainly couldn't master it.
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You think the phone is bad? I have seen 1 guy going round a big righthander eating out of a bowl! Bowl in left hand, spoon in right.
Another, multi-point turn, phone in 1 hand, sarnie in other.
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I see a high ranking Police officer was reprimanded for just such an offence in one the UK papers ,
he admited as much to his superiors but because a member of the public reported him he could not be prosequeted a nice lame excuse.It must be terrible for the rank and file good copper knowing he has such self centred dangerous idiots in control.
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What I find particularly exasperating is, if you meet the driver's eye, he stares brazenly back at you as if to say "Do you mind? Can't you see I'm on the telephone?"
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I never use my mobile while I'm driving because nobody ever calls me but I'm pretty sure I can make a right turn with my left hand. Is it really any more difficult than turning left? I don't know how long (or why) you spend watching traffic on the roundabout during the course of a day but 4 drivers sounds a pretty low average to me.
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Saw a guy on a scooter the other day sending a TEXT!!
Mad...
--
Dr Alex Mears
MG BGT 1971
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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There is no legal requirement to have two arms in order to drive a car. My wife's great aunt drove all her life having lost her right arm when young by dangling it out of the window.
So I can't really see that using a mobile phone ranks as particularly dangerous, compared with all the other things one is legally allowed to do - tuning the radio, rummaging for tapes, lighting a cigarette, winding the window, and of course using hand signals in the old-fashioned way.
And of course the old Highway Code had signals for telling a policeman on point duty which way one wanted to go. About as dangerous as eating a Yorkie while waiting for the lights?
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Its not driving one handed that's the problem. It's the doing something else at the same time that means that full attention is not being paid to the road.
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I drive a slushbox and answer my mobile phone without a second thought. I am fully in control of the vehicle and its no different hand wise than smoking a cigarette or swigging from a water bottle which everyone under 30 seems to do all the time anywhere. Concentration wise its no different from talking to a passenger.
Ridiculous rule brought in by the nanny state and not enforced like so many others.
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"Concentration wise its no different from talking to a passenger"
No it isn't. Most "live" passengers will instinctively shut up when you approach a hazard such as a complex roundabout or a motorways sliproad.
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"Concentration wise its no different from talking to a passenger" No it isn't. Most "live" passengers will instinctively shut up when you approach a hazard such as a complex roundabout or a motorways sliproad.
I know several, mostly relations, who start giving advice at exactly those situations!
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drive a slushbox and answer my mobile phone without a second thought. I am fully in control of the vehicle and its no different hand wise than smoking a cigarette or swigging from a water bottle which everyone under 30 seems to do all the time anywhere. Concentration wise its no different from talking to a passenger.
Ridiculous rule brought in by the nanny state and not enforced like so many others
According to the German police 15% of all accidents causing injury the offending vehicle had the driver on the phone at the time of impact.If you think what you have just said is correct then you are very immature and a danger on the road.
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Couldn't agree more Andy. I got close to breaking up with my current girlfriend when I insisted I had to get off the phone (on hands free kit) as was negotiating Hyde Park Corner. She refused and 'hates being hung up on'. I was spitting tacks! Def takes more concentration to talk on phone - fine on a free running motorway, bad in heavy traffic that's moving.
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I don't think Thommo implied that he gave his full attention to his mobile and forgot about driving, just that he could answer his phone while driving. I'm with him on this one.
Problem seems to be with people who either haven't got the skill to do two things at once or don't know how to apportion their attention properly.
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What if I am disabled and only have one arm? I am legaly allowed to drive.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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But with one arm TVM you are not a danger to other road users by having your attention diverted from the road while talking on the phone . You are 'armless' .......
OK - I'll just get me coat.
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What if I am disabled and only have one arm? I am legaly allowed to drive.
I knew, not very well, a one-armed racing driver at university, a club racer of course and never saw him race but I was lost in admiration...
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According to the German police 15% of all accidents causing injury the offending vehicle had the driver on the phone at the time of impact.
Could you give me the link to where you got this statistic, I'd be interested to see how it was measured.
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According to the Bureau of Statistics 34.25% of all statistics are made up.
According to the UK police 115% of all accidents are directly caused by things we can fine you for as we fancy a new helicopter. We have now been told to skew our accident reports to 'prove' this.
Seriously two points:
1. The fact that the driver was on the phone is not necessarily the cause of the accident. What if the driver is on the phone and someone drives in to the side of the vehicle. Is the driver on the phone to blame? Correlation does not denote causality as my old maths teacher used to say.
2. If you can not drive and talk at the same time I would suggest that you are a danger on the road.
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Statistics are meaningless Thommo. 87.32% of people know that.
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Statistics are meaningless Thommo. 87.32% of people know that.
87.31% Adam........i've become a little unsure
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I'll confess to leaving the phone on when I'm driving.
On the rare occassions it rings I'll answer and talk breifly, but I spend most of my time on dual carriageways so not really been an issue so far.
If I get to a roundabout or any other bit that needs my attention I just drop the phone on the passenger seat.
If the person on the other end (usally SWMBO or the kids) doesn't like it then hard cheese - better I'm in the dog house than in the morgue.
Yes I know I should use the cable earpiece (though I don't think that's legal either - not sure why) but it happens so rarely I just forget.
Dan
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Ho ho ho
I did say this was a 'no-brainer' and the rattley canisters lacking in brains just couldn't see it and had to jump in there feet first.
I drive around this roundabout twice a day so seeing a minimum of four phone users is quite high for two trips.
To Big Bad Dave - Yes, it is more difficult to position a car correctly on the road steering right with your left hand than it is steering left with your left hand - I would suggest try it and you're probably daft enough to - just think about it.
Dear old Cliff, As you sayyou are legally allowed to do all those things in a car but would you sensibly choose to do them on a roundabout? Perhaps you would....do you hang your arm out the window still too?....
Thommo, you can smoke a cigarette and hold the wheel at the same time, you can drop a bottle of water in an emergency, you cannot maintain a phone at your ear and continue a conversation and steer effectively -
perhaps your driving instrutor taught you differently
Nobody is suggesting the disabled are to be discriminated against - steering wheels are usually adapted for one-armed drivers - a protruding lever
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Well I'll have you know mini 30 owner that I can steer perfectly well with either hand without the need for special "adaptations" as you call them. Just the other day I palmed the wheel to force the car into a 180 spin when I left my phone (which I needed to make a call on when driving) at home. I had a few problems with the handbrake as on that day I was pretending that I was missing an arm so couldn't use it problem. I was dreading using the toilet.
>>Thommo, you can smoke a cigarette and hold the wheel at the same time, you can drop a bottle of water in an emergency, you cannot maintain a phone at your ear and continue a conversation and steer effectively -<<
Well - you might not be able to perhaps. But lets roll back a little. If I drop my mobile phone, what happens. Does it explode? I only ask because you never said. What makes the physical properties of a phone dofferent to a bottle of water?
And if you think my post is stupid, good. Because so was yours.
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Well - you might not be able to perhaps. But lets roll back a little. If I drop my mobile phone, what happens. Does it explode? I only ask because you never said. What makes the physical properties of a phone dofferent to a bottle of water?
And if you think my post is stupid, good. Because so was yours.
I guess you have conversations with your fags and bottles - no surprises there
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I do actually. You have no idea how many meaningful conversations I've had with my bottle of Volvic.
And my packet of Silk Cut taught me how to program my radio properly. To say I was surprised was an understatement.
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I don't dispute that there are things which people can safely do when driving but there are also activities which cannot be done safely and if only everyone had the sense to know the difference then there would be no need for legislation at all.
Unfortunately, because there are so many dork weeds who are unable to tell the difference there now is legislation -
Of course - you may well be the best wheel man since Stirling Moss - good luck to you - I hope your abilities serve you well - keep dialling and sod the rest of the world
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There you go again - assuming and getting angry for no reason whatsoever.
For what it's worth, my sat nav has a handy handsfree feature which I go to great lengths to use so I can justify it's cost. If i'm being honest, worrying about other people using their mobiles ranks pretty low on my list of priorities.
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try driving a tractor where all the controls apart from the steering wheel and f/r shuttle control
are on the right.. o.k. so being in a field makes it safer for the general public but every few hundred yards a manouver is made involving up to a dozen or so different hand movements . waiting for the flak. jag.
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"I did say this was a 'no-brainer' and the rattley canisters lacking in brains just couldn't see it and had to jump in there feet first.
To Big Bad Dave - Yes, it is more difficult to position a car correctly on the road steering right with your left hand than it is steering left with your left hand - I would suggest try it and you're probably daft enough to - just think about it."
Why do short people have to have such a bad attitude?
I'm driving a LHD Citroen Jumper this week, and like a large proportion of the population of the planet I have no problem positioning it correctly on the road, steering with my left hand, changing gear with my right.
Seems to be only you with the problem them, perhaps you need a few more lessons or maybe it's that stick up your backside that's putting you off.
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>>Why do short people have to have such a bad attitude?<<
What makes you think he's short?
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"What makes you think he's short?"
"Mini" owner Adam.
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"2. If you can not drive and talk at the same time I would suggest that you are a danger on the road."
The problem is not knowing when to drive and talk and when to just drive. - You might need to think about that.
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The problem is not knowing when to drive and talk and when to just drive. - You might need to think about that.
I certainly do need to think about that as your grammar is as appalling as your manners.
Did you mean 'the problem is knowing when to drive and talk and when to just drive' perchance?
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Should that not read:
'the problem is knowing when to drive and talk and when just to drive' ?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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>>Did you mean 'the problem is knowing when to drive and talk and when to just drive' perchance?
Clearly he did not. He meant "The problem is not knowing when to drive and talk and when to just drive".
Whether or not it was gramatically appropriate, it was still what he meant.
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It might not have been what he meant, but its certainly wot e wrote.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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>> its no different hand wise than smoking a cigarette or swigging from a water bottle which everyone under 30 seems to do
Yes, just why do people find it necessary to continually have access to water during the day? I know that we are continually being exhorted to drink more fluids nowadays and especially so during very hot weather but walking up and down the high street and drinking bottled water, surely not.
I think that car manufacturers also should be castigated for providing holders for such nonsense such as bottled water etc. I wouldn't dream of cluttering up my car with such items.
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Yes, just why do people find it necessary to continually have access to water during the day? I know that we are continually being exhorted to drink more fluids nowadays and especially so during very hot weather but walking up and down the high street and drinking bottled water, surely not. I think that car manufacturers also should be castigated for providing holders for such nonsense such as bottled water etc. I wouldn't dream of cluttering up my car with such items.
Surely it is all the fault of global warming ? ;-)
Seriously ,with increasing summer temperatures, and ever more frequent holdups on motorways, there is a need to carry some water on board on longer journeys. This summer vehicles stranded on the A14 near Cambridge for several hours in extreme heat were supplied with water via Quad bike across the fields.
Aircon may keep you cool, but it tends to increase dehydration.
Many cars still do not have aircon anyway.
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Did you see page 29 of todays Dailymail.Chief Superintendent of Surrey police followed to his station by a member of the public who was cut up by him on a roundabout,he realised driver was on the phone so followed and confronted him Chief Super Guy Darby admitted the offence and shopped himself ,he was given a written warning which will remain on his record for one year,and donated £30 to charity,the force was unable to issue the normal fine because the offence must be observed by a police officer.
ndbw
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Just read this online, dunno whether its lazy reporting* (the bit about it being a Police Officer bookable offence) The guy's evidence in a statement should have been enough followed by a Police investigation. Whatever the Cop was "fined" internally, justice was done I suppose and cheaper. I'd like to know the truth.
*Not referring to the Mail report which I haven;t read...
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Driving along the Barton Road in Bury St Edmunds last week, I noticed one of the local bus drivers using his mobile. He didn't have it in his hand, though, he was driving with it balanced on his scrunched-up shoulder as he manoeuvred round a parked vehicle. Great skill!
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back when phones were bigger, everyone used to hold them in place with their shoulder. Mobile use was jsut as common but with far fewer drivign issues caused by it.
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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Those who use mobile phones whilst driving are my ultimate hate - every one of them should be banned from the road for at least a month for the first (illegal) offence and the penalty doubled up each time on subsequent transgressions.
That would soon put a stop to it.
Even more scary is that the majority of those who use mobile phones (at least in my area) are driving big wagons or are skip collectors (not to mention 4x4 women drivers taking/collecting the kids to/from school) and any accident in which they are likely to be involved is potentially a very serious one.
Also, as I mentioned in another thread, a white van driver parked opposite my property the other day drove off not only chattering away on a mobile phone, but also thumbing through several sheets of A4 paper spread across the steering wheel.
Word fail me.
As for those who condone the practice I trust they are never involved in an accident with someone having a mobile phone conversation, yet the chances of doing so increase on a daily basis.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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re my earlier post, i use a handsfree kit on my tractor as pushing phone buttons is too big a distraction. jag.
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Owning and using a little grey Fergie (now and again) - its the last place I'd want to use a mobile for a number of practical reasons including peace of mind !
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If the supposed danger is from one's concentration being diverted, rather than having only one arm free for driving, then why are hands-free phones not banned too?
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Little grey Fergie ( with Perkins Diesel ??) - Happy Memories PU.
Isn't that the one where you have adjust the hand throttle under the wheel , press in a button with your right ankle whilst pushing gear lever forward just to start it up.....
To use the mobile at the same time you'd have to be some sort of contortionist......
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are skip collectors
Yes it seems to be a requirement when driving skip lorries to have a mobile phone in your mitt.
Are skip lorry drivers the very very worst drivers on the road? Worse than Royal Mail, London Evening Standard,
biffa waste, worse than anything. Every skip lorry driver is to be avoided.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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It is not just the physical aspect of using the 'phone that is dangerous but the mental one of being distracted by the ongoing conversation.
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So Barney following your logic. Hands free units should be banned. Passengers should be banned or gagged or sign a legal agreement that they will not talk when in the car. Radios/CD's etc should be banned. Etc etc etc?
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The technology has yet to be perfected, but for true safety drivers should be wired up to a brain scanner of some sort that will detect any thoughts not connected with the practical business of driving, and deliver a sharp electric shock.
That ought to make the irresponsible so-and-sos concentrate, eh?
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Many, many times I come up behind someone on the M40 and they're driving a little erratically, or their speed is up and down, or they're in the wrong lane etc. etc. etc. And when I pass I look to see them leaning on their hand chatting away.
Happens a lot. Sometimes I see people dirving like idiots and they're not on the phone. I don't know how often I pass people talking on the phone and driving sensibly because I don't notice them.
However, I would suggest that despite the fact that so many of you here are superb drivers when on the phone, pretty much as you are when speeding, there are a great deal of people out there who are not. Also I do not believe that someone on the phone would react as quickly as someone not on the phone.
I think hands-free [which I use] also has a level of danger, but its not so high.
I was talking on the phone, hands-free on Friday night as I drove down the M40. Just past J10 a Czech lorry pulled out of Lane 1, swiped a white peugeot in lane 2, turned it around sideways, its tail just missing me, and then shoved it down the road sideways until we all came to a halt in an untidy mess. I fortunately had no phone to drop, nmy hands were already on the wheel, but truth to say I was alittle zoned out form reality since I was chatting on the phone. The truck driver was on the hand-held phone. The BMW which soooo nearly nailed me was also on the hand-held. If you were on the M40 on Friday evening then sorry, but it wasn't my fault. BTW, the truck did have the additional mirrors fitted to solve its blind-spot issue.
As an aisde, I was the first to the Peugeot and I have never seen anybody look that scared in my whole life. The literal definition of patrified was appropriate.
By the way, whilst I'm being unpopular, the police turned up, were polite, impressively efficient and had all three lanes rolling again within 15 minutes - having only taken about 10 minutes to arrive in the first place. They didn't abuse anyone, they didn't invent any phantom crimes, they didn't ask any pointless, officious or troublemaking questions, they didn't follow any pointless bureaucratic red tape, they didn't stop the traffic for no reason and they did care for [mostly unhurt] driver. Sorrry to report that, I know it will disappoint many of you.
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Not at all FMR, heartwarming. Very glad you were all right and that the Peugeot person almost was.
I think we are in danger of going round in circles here. No one sensible would claim that a telephone is not a distraction. It's just that, except in fairly extreme circumstances of which any driver would be aware, it is usually a distraction that a competent person can cope with.
I don't use my mobile much, but it I did - like my middle daughter for example who is never off the thing - I would like her have a hands-free arrangement. I sometimes answer the thing on the move but only ever make calls when stationary in traffic jams. If there's any complexity in the traffic situation I don't even answer it until I can stop.
I'm sure most others in this forum have similar attitudes, except those who are super-strict and those with four hands like a Hindu deity.
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Cliff Pope's question ( "If the supposed danger is from one's concentration being diverted, rather than having only one arm free for driving, then why are hands-free phones not banned too?") is a good one. I'd like to know the answer to it.
For evidence that the danger is from having one's concentration diverted, see
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=45...8
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Wll I find the whole debate amusing.
Many of those in favour of using phones claim they can do more than just driving a vehicle and can multi task...
IF this was a speed camera /speeding thread I would no doubt find many motorists (no I'm Not saying the same ones) claiming they can't keep looking at the speedo when driving as it distracts them .. so they speed.
So on the basis of the arguments on this thread - from many - there is no argument not to keep to speed limits:-)
(unless you can't watch your speed when talking on a mobile:-))))
madf
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Cliff Pope's question ( "If the supposed danger is from one's concentration being diverted, rather than having only one arm free for driving, then why are hands-free phones not banned too?") is a good one. I'd like to know the answer to it.
Could it be that it is the combination of loss of concentration and reduced ability to respond quickly due to having one hand occupied that is the problem?
A previous poster queried why using phone was worse than tuning radio etc, but I find it only takes a few secs to change volume or press channel button. Even less if controls are close to steering wheel. Telephone calls generally last a bit longer.
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The human brain has an inability to consentrate on two things at once hence the number of accidental children.
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It's a bit like boxing
You may be able to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee
And sometimes you can take in what your trainer is shouting at you
But having a 'conversation' with him!
Makes getting punched a bit more likely
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