I thought it was illegal to use a mobile phone whilst driving.
I know it is illegal but throughout this summer I have been amazed at the number of times I have seen drivers blatantly doing so without any attempt to do it discreetly. Car drivers, Van drivers(the worst),truck drivers -- and quite often coach drivers with a full load of passengers on board! I'll admit I,ve done it myself a few times but at least I,ve tried to do so discreetly (got hands free now though)
However, I have just seen the best! Nipped out lunch time and has to wait at junction with high street. Waiting to pull out was our friend in the white van (except it was black) window open and talking away on his mobile - I could easily hear his side of the conversation. Also stood on the same corner as me was a police officer in uniform who, unless deaf would also have been able to hear. Vanman made no attempt to stop and in fact after a few minutes of continued talking, contolled & steered away one handed. The police officer totally ignored him! I was going to say to the officer that I thought it was illegal to use a mobile whilst driving but I thought I might arrested for being cheeky.
After the law was changed there seemed to be a dramatic reduction in this practice but it now seems to back to 'normal'
Any views and does anyone know anyone, themselves perhaps who have actually been prosecuted under this law - I don't.
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Apart from your case islandman, it's because there aren't any cops.
Exluding Merseyside who are pretty high vis when it comes to policing, in Greater Manchester, I haven't seen a single police vehicle in the last 4 months. Not one.
I tell a lie, there's one with "POLICE" written on it when you head into Wigan but that has windows on the back and it's a civillian inside.
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Adam
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The police won't be too bothered - too much paperwork. Until a camera is invented which detects it use will not decrease. Last week I saw a police car reversing down a one way street to make way for a vehicle coming down it the wrong way!
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The police won't be too bothered - too much paperwork.
I agree but I thought the officer could easily have 'just had a word with driver'
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At the weekend, in Calver, noted a Disco driver leaving a garage forecourt with a mobile firmly clamped to ear.
If he'd driven off without paying would have been a triple whammy!
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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I think a lot of this is to do with people's attitude to the law. I notice that many people who are on their mobile (not hands free) while driving also aren't wearing a seat belt either.
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Only time I've clamped a phone to my ear while driving in the last few months was to tell someone I was late because I was stuck in a traffic jam? I know it's illegal, but is it acceptable to use one when you're moving at an average M6 speed of 0.00001 mph?
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It will not be a targeted crime ,a traffic super in my area told us they only target what the Chief of police deems important other crimes just get ignored even if they are leaning against the the car that is committing a crime.
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At the weekend, in Calver, noted a Disco driver leaving a garage forecourt with a mobile firmly clamped to ear. If he'd driven off without paying would have been a triple whammy!
Triple? No law against using a mobile phone inside the vehicle whilst on a garage forecourt.
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At the weekend, in Calver, noted a Disco driver leaving a garage forecourt with a mobile firmly clamped to ear. If he'd driven off without paying would have been a triple whammy! -- I wasna fu but just had plenty.
I've filled up whilst on the phone a few times and haven't blown up yet, I often wondered whether there was any truth to the urban legend about exploding petrol stations... :-)
Blue
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I've filled up whilst on the phone a few times and haven't blown up yet, I often wondered whether there was any truth to the urban legend about exploding petrol stations... :-)
The risk isn't so much in using it, but if you were to drop it and the spark from the battery contacts ignited the fumes.
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Exluding Merseyside who are pretty high vis when it comes to policing, in Greater Manchester, I haven't seen a single police vehicle in the last 4 months. Not one.
Don't know which bit of Manchester you live in Adam, but I see many Police vehicles each day in Whalley Range. I also see cops on push bikes, on foot patrol, and on horse back. Mind you, my ATC sqn backs on to the horse stables and police dog kennels.
The police are often sitting at the end of the lane that leads to my sqn, pulling people for not wearing seatbelts, and for mobile phone use. I know this because I've stopped and spoken with them, to arrange talks to my cadets on road safety, etc
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None in the Wigan area although I was a little misleading - I saw a Merc ML class at the Trafford Centre the other day.
I see cops everyday in Merseyside.
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Adam
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I see cops everyday in Merseyside.
Lucky you, I live in Merseyside and not seen a cop in months. Shame there wasnt one around yesterday when the driver of a single decker bus decided to drive down the road with his hazard lights flashing, bus all over the show, no one having a clue where he was going. Turned out he was driving with his elbows - both of his hands were otherwise engaged by his mobile telephone.
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If you don't mind me asking, whereabouts was that?
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Adam
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I had just left the Lever Bros site in Port Sunlight Village where we had been doing some deliveries.
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That explains it then - never been to PSV.
Move to Knowsley, Prescot or St Helens and you'll see loads of cops ;-)
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Adam
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I thought I might arrested for being cheeky.
Unless some legal guru knows otherwise, I don't think being cheeky is an arrestable offence. I do sympathise though.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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There's a bunch of people who think it's OK not to wear seat belts, it's OK to use a mobile phone and it's OK to exceed the posted speed limit.
He amongst you who is without sin is welcome to cast the first stone.
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will be interesting to see what happens when (as mentioned in the news yesterday) you will be able to watch TV soaps on your mobile fone. Imagine Chardonnay driving her Range Rover Vogue whilst watching East Endaaaaaaasssss on a tiny screen.
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Policing is driven by the current regime's obsession for targets, mobile phone drivers have no quotas or targets, but maybe they will be the pet cause for a week of high publicity 'crackdown'.
I imagine local papers will say
"COPS TO CRUSH PHONES"
"Police say they are to crack down hard on those who flout the law and will crush....blah blah" usual rubbish!
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Sorry for any typos Im very long sited
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The law may have changed - unfortunately those of drivers haven't.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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will be interesting to see what happens when (as mentioned in the news yesterday) you will be able to watch TV soaps on your mobile fone. Imagine Chardonnay driving her Range Rover Vogue whilst watching East Endaaaaaaasssss on a tiny screen.
Most of the 'top end' cars can have TV built into their navigation systems already so Chardonnay could probably do this now if she knew a man who could enable it for her.
There's always a row on the Merc forums when somebody asks how to enable TV/DVD on the move on their COMAND system. But I bet a fair number of people do it.
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On that topic, I mate's had this Alpine sat nav, DVD thing fitted to his car. He had it done professionally.
Anyway, DVD playback is automatically turned off when the handbrake is on! Easy to circumvent I suspect but a good intention all the same.
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Adam
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On that topic, I mate's had this Alpine sat nav, DVD thing fitted to his car. He had it done professionally. Anyway, DVD playback is automatically turned off when the handbrake is on! Easy to circumvent I suspect but a good intention all the same. -- Adam
It is easy. My Kenwood system works in the same way. To disable simply ground out the black wire that goes to the handbrake. I haven't done this by the way!
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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Anyway, DVD playback is automatically turned off when the handbrake is on!
A typo? Shirley you mean automatically turned on, otherwise you'd be able to watch the DVD when the handbrake is off?
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Not a typo so much as sheer incompetence.
Amend please good Sir.
(I love bossing mods around ;p)
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Adam
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Not a typo so much as sheer incompetence. Amend please good Sir. (I love bossing mods around ;p)
No! I'm leaving your incompetence for all to see bossy boots.
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Well thanks.
Pal!
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Adam
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"I thought I might be arrested for being cheeky"
I once got a stern telling-off from plod for being cheeky. I was working for a publishing house that did Dolly Parton?s biography and I happened to be in the print office when 20 or so life-sized cardboard cut-outs of Dolly were delivered. Naturally I nicked one and hid her on the back seat of the car. That evening, Hammersmith roundabout was jammed solid, nothing moving at all and I was stuck in the middle of it all with a police car on my left. I really did try to resist the urge, but sillyness got the better of me and I rolled down the rear window and waved this life-sized Dolly thing at the blokes in the car along with a few "hello officer"s in a high pitched voice. I thought they?d laugh but one copper got out and told me to concentrate on my driving or act my age or something.
I had Dolly in my bedroom for many years, also got a Tom Baker one somwhere.
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Can't be too careful with coppers.
Somebody recently got at least a few hours in the cells if not an appearance before the beak for asking a mounted copper if his (generously endowed) horse was gay!!
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What happened to zero tolerance policing and Respect? Gone the way of the mobile phone laws? Lots of spin and no action.."Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime".
Oh yeah?
Personally I think using a miobile phone whilst driving is dangerous. But I could not see how the law would be enforced. Judging by the whitevandrivers I see, it's not/never is/will not be.
How to bring the law into disrepute . Pass laws and not enforce them..
madf
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What happened to zero tolerance policing and Respect? Gone the way of the mobile phone laws? Lots of spin and no action.."Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime". Oh yeah? How to bring the law into disrepute . Pass laws and not enforce them..
Fully agree. What is the point in incurring all the expense in bringing in a law that is not going to be enforced. Funny though how the speeding laws are now being enforced more effectively than ever. Could this be because in the main it is an automatic process i.e. Fixed camera catches speeding car, downloads details to computer which issued fixed penalty, driver pays up using credit card, computer debits credit card - nice and easy no form filling no fuss!
Don't get me wrong, I fully endorse speeding being curtailed where appropriate but what is more dangerous - fully in contol of well maintained car at 36 MPH in 30 MPH limit or 30MPH driving one handed and having a conversation into a mobile.
Not saying either is OK but on balance I think I know which one I'd rather rely on to avoid an accident.
Thanks for all the debate on this one.
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Guy in Calver drove out of forecourt and along the road still chatting. It is indeed illegal to use a mobile on a forecourt.
A short circuit test on a small lithium battery yesterday resulted in an explosion and fire in our lab.So a real risk.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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