Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
Phones and driving
- Thread starter Tashyboy
- Start date
Old Skier
Tour Winner
About time but not sure how it's going to be policed. It is strange though that the same doesn't apply to the police while using their radios. Why didn't they design them hands free.
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
A sensible decision. However will the limited traffic police resources look for easy tickets and not focus on other driving crimes. It needs to be unacceptable in the same way as drink driving. Sadly you'll always get those doing one or the other or indeed both
Does texting count as an offence or is it just calls?
If your touching your phone it's an offence. Texting is a shocker as you are looking at the screen instead of driving. I'm worried that you would ask the question to be honest.
ColchesterFC
Journeyman Pro
My understanding is that the offence is "using a mobile phone while driving" so that includes calls and texts. It also includes using it to change music in your car and also as a sat nav if you have to touch the phone for that purpose.
D
Deleted Member 1156
Guest
2 weeks ago I was driving through town in the evening and the car in front of me had a mobile mounted in the windscreen. A couple of times I stopped behind him at lights and I could clearly see the phone. He was watching a porn video 
Blue in Munich
Crocked Professional Yeti Impersonator
No.
And no.
The offence is using a hand held mobile phone whilst driving. So you can touch the phone and you can use it if it is not hand held but in a cradle. Whether that is sufficient is another matter.
https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
Bunkermagnet
Journeyman Pro
But if you read the article from your link they use the term "distracted", so I suspect you could and would be done for any interaction with a mobile,phone whilst driving. Surely the whole argue end of not allowing people to use them whilst driving is because they are "distracted"......
Doh
Journeyman Pro
At the moment hands free is legal to use, however if you are involved in a RTA they may use the evidence that you were using a hands free phone if they feel it was a contributing factor.
Blue in Munich
Crocked Professional Yeti Impersonator
And the same "distracted" argument could equally be applied to SatNavs & ICE systems. And if it can be proved that a SatNav, an ICE system or a non hand held phone caused a distraction then the correct charge could be either not being in a position to have proper control of the vehicle or driving without due care & attention (or potentially words in the event of an RTA), depending on the exact circumstances. But you cannot be successfully prosecuted under the offence being discussed for touching or using a mobile phone if it is mounted in a cradle or otherwise out of your reach & bluetooth activated; you have to be holding it in your hand to commit that offence.
Norrin Radd
Tour Winner
does the distraction cover what i saw this morning ,a woman was driving with a cat on her shoulders unreal what people get up to when they are in a car.
Was the cat brushing her hair and applying her make up?
Smiffy
Grand Slam Winner
Ah the poor old smoker coming in for it again.
How about a wasp coming into the car, or a spider crawling out of the dashboard if you have a phobia????
Lots of things more distracting than having a puff on a fag.
CheltenhamHacker
Journeyman Pro
A wasp or a spider is quite obviously an accident. Lighting a fag, and the associated risks, is obviously a deliberate act.
hovis
Tour Winner
I'm glad you wrote this. because it was a clear response.
Blue in Munich
Crocked Professional Yeti Impersonator
Khamelion
Tour Winner
Some may argue that smoking is an automatic action, in that you know where you mouth is and where the cigerette is, so lighting it shouldn't be an issue, bring hand to face with lit or burning ignition device, suck and voila.
Same argument for eating.
Not so much for drinking as you may have to tip your head back to drink, thus removing or limiting you view of the road.
But whether smoking is classed as automatic or not, you are still quite literally playing with fire, drop the car lighter, a bic or zippo, the cigarette or cigar, and no matter what you will look for it, you're not going to want to get burned, or your car damaged and that will most certainly be you distracted.
Same argument for eating.
Not so much for drinking as you may have to tip your head back to drink, thus removing or limiting you view of the road.
But whether smoking is classed as automatic or not, you are still quite literally playing with fire, drop the car lighter, a bic or zippo, the cigarette or cigar, and no matter what you will look for it, you're not going to want to get burned, or your car damaged and that will most certainly be you distracted.
BubbaP
Occasional Player of Golf
Bin lorry today, driver with phone on ear nearly took the front wing off ��
