Mobile Phones In Cars (oh And Aspirins Too)

[nipper]

Obviously bored with attending to matters such as the £multi IRIS system and all its faults and cock-ups, our man at the top in the Department of Transport now gives us his opinion on driving with mobile phones.

 

From Manx Radio News

 

There's a law already in place, if he is so concerned the chap should really be speaking to the Department of Home Affairs and the Police and telling them to enforce it, not speaking to radio hacks.

 

Manx Radio just love to get together with some Government Official to educate us thickos on the latest 'in' subject. Personally I find it patronising in the extreme to hear this sort of spouting.

 

Yesterday we had the Director of Public Health on Mandate telling us to prepare for Christmas with aspirins, for the headache caused by obvious reasons. Oh and over indulging is bad for you and did you know that at Christmas you might find it hard to find a Chemist open? There's quite some flu about too just now. Crash diets isn't that good for you either, we was told.

 

The guy is an artist in telling us the bleeding ' obvious. Stu Peters, with possibly a slight hint of knowing irony described the gentleman thus:20071219_The_Kish3.mp3

 

These highly paid but doubtless well meaning Civil Servants were spouting hot air, like the man down the pub. I think if they swapped jobs for a few years no one would really notice.

[oogie boogie]

highly paid you say? i'll have a go at that for a while.

[nipper]

Manx Radio have just told me that some other doctor has said to avoid family conflict over the Christmas period. Something about alcohol doesn't help.

 

Fuck me. Fuck me rigidly. Where do they get these people from and who pays their wages?

[BigDave]

It comes as a new report reveals using mobile phone 'hands-free' kits can be just as lethal as being drunk behind the wheel. .

Oh for fucks sake, who compiles these "reports"?

 

Operating a hands free kit is no more dangerous than turning down the volume on the radio to talk to a passenger - yet suddenly we're all as bad as the pissheads driving home wankered after an afternoon on the Special Brew?

 

I've got a hands free kit installed in my car. All I need to do to answer a call is push one button and that's it - so it's no more dangerous than adjusting the volume on the radio, or changing radio station. I don't even have to take my eyes off the road. Or is it the talking that's distracting perhaps? Should I gag my passengers as they get in to prevent me from ploughing into a crowd of schoolchildren, just incase I feel the need to ask them what they're doing for Christmas? Will my car veer into oncoming traffic if I discuss what's for dinner with the missus? If I won't crash the while I'm taking to a passenger, why am I more likely if I'm speaking to the disembodied voice coming from the speakers?

[Frances]

there have been several studies that indicate that use of mobile phones distracts the driver even if using a 'hands-free' kit - it is the attention distraction that is equated to drink-driving (the studies generally used young males) - other studies have also indicated that listening to in-car radio also distracts a driver - the test is obviously based on simulated driving and measures speed of reaction to unexpected events.

[mojomonkey]

Obviously bored with attending to matters such as the £multi IRIS system and all its faults and cock-ups, our man at the top in the Department of Transport now gives us his opinion on driving with mobile phones.

From Manx Radio News

 

Whatever your opinion of him is I think you'll find that Bruce Hannay is the Director of Highways so has very little to do with IRIS, which is a DoT Drainage Division thing.

[pongo]

there have been several studies that indicate that use of mobile phones distracts the driver even if using a 'hands-free' kit - it is the attention distraction that is equated to drink-driving (the studies generally used young males) - other studies have also indicated that listening to in-car radio also distracts a driver - the test is obviously based on simulated driving and measures speed of reaction to unexpected events.

 

Everything is distracting and therefore potentially dangerous. Even just thinking.

 

Sneezing is very dangerous when driving.

[Stu Peters]

Nipper, I take your point about sometimes stating the obvious. But you'd be amazed at the number of people who STILL don't get the message, and later claim that 'nobody told me' etc. I did an interview with the fire boys early in November and one of them pointed out how dangerous sparklers are - yet we freely hand them to toddlers. I'd never thought of it like that - giving a sprog a red hot piece of metal to wave around...so I'm not ashamed to admit that even an apparently 'patronising' story can make me see things in a different light at times.

 

The mobile phone story is about us getting a local opinion on proposed UK changes - many of which arrive here in due course.

 

And as an example, I don't think even Big Dave 'got' the core message. The new regs in the UK will mean that doing ANYTHING in your car (including twiddling with your radio, winding a window, fiddling with your Bluetooth headset or amazingly, using the in-car satnav you just bought) can have you in jail for 2 years IF the prosecution can make a case that you were distracted from driving and thereby posed a RISK to other road users. You don't even have to cause an accident - just the possibility of one.

 

Don't know about you, but I'm INCENSED by this sort of nonsense. Millions of cars are being driven on UK roads untaxed an uninsured, tens of thousands of illegal immigrants are running the security industry, every town centre becomes the wild west once the pubs and clubs chuck out - yet the government there is STILL hell-bent on criminalising decent and sensible motorists. They say the jails are full, and that it's pointless giving sentences to ASBO louts and TWOC monsters...but they want to bang people up and destroy families for taking a phone call in the car?

 

It's all a conspiracy I tell you (and I LOVE a good conspiracy theory). Their transport 'policy' is in tatters, the roads and towns are gridlocked, oil is running out - so the response is to get people off the roads any way they can. Trouble is, they're getting the WRONG people off the roads!

 

I don't condone premeditated drink-driving or speeding in built-up zones, but I don't think being a few clicks over either limit is half the threat to life and limb it's made out to be. And how many FEWER crashes have we recorded since we banned mobile phones from cars here? Come on folks, let's get our bobbies concentrating on the REAL threats to sensible road users and to society in general.

[Saltire]

And as an example, I don't think even Big Dave 'got' the core message. The new regs in the UK will mean that doing ANYTHING in your car (including twiddling with your radio, winding a window, fiddling with your Bluetooth headset or amazingly, using the in-car satnav you just bought) can have you in jail for 2 years IF the prosecution can make a case that you were distracted from driving and thereby posed a RISK to other road users. You don't even have to cause an accident - just the possibility of one.

 

Don't know about you, but I'm INCENSED by this sort of nonsense.

 

I agree the above is draconian, especially these days when modern cars have all sorts of gadgets and gizmos. Maybe they will force us all back to basic cars that had only 4 seats and a steering wheel! With the current congestion and green issues, I sometimes wonder if the government is wanting to use any excuse to make the roads quieter...by banning people for all sorts of nonsense.

 

However I don't understand why people still use hand held mobiles while driving. For a tenner I got an earpiece that connects to the phone. When the phone rings it answers automatically within 5 rings, so you don't even have to touch your phone. However I still don't know whether this is 100% legal or classed as a "hands free kit". I never make outgoing calls when driving, and use this only for incoming calls, which to be honest aren't that frequent when I am travelling.

 

It seems these days that when the minority of people are at fault (those who do drive carelessly, use handheld phones etc), the authorities want to punish the majority of people by stupid blanket one fits all rules.

 

However in the UK, half the time you would be hard pressed to find police doing traffic work, except hiding in vans with cameras on bridges that are over straight bits of motorway....

[BigDave]

I didn't listen to the clip to be honest, just commenting on the MR page. It's the single paragraph designed to grab the attention and stick in the mind of the reader that pisses me off. To me it reads as: people who try their best to obey the law by using hands free equipment in the car are still criminals.

[Gladys]

Well, in my world, it is all to do with the removal of responsibility from the individual and pushing it on to 'them'. 'Them' have now got to respond in some way by pushing meaningless regulations on 'us' to show that 'them' is doing something about 'us', because 'us' cannot be expected to accept responsibility for us-selves.

 

In any unfortunate situation now, the immediate reaction is 'somebody is responsible for this'. Well, perhaps there isn't someone responsible for this, other than the person involved, perhaps the reality is that life is uncertain, can be fraught with danger, can end suddenly and unpleasantly, but that is life surely? Everyone should be given the obligation to accept resonsibility for their own actions; when the state takes that away, it denies individuals the right to be mature, responsible and secure in their own 'rightness'.

 

In another life, dealing with UK Govt, there were a few occasions when they were trying to second guess a decision, we said, yes, you can have this or that, but when you have that you are making the decision, not us and the back pedalling was awesome.

[Lost Login]

And as an example, I don't think even Big Dave 'got' the core message. The new regs in the UK will mean that doing ANYTHING in your car (including twiddling with your radio, winding a window, fiddling with your Bluetooth headset or amazingly, using the in-car satnav you just bought) can have you in jail for 2 years IF the prosecution can make a case that you were distracted from driving and thereby posed a RISK to other road users. You don't even have to cause an accident - just the possibility of one.

 

Don't know about you, but I'm INCENSED by this sort of nonsense.

 

I am only incensed by the Tabloid, headline grabbing style of the above which gives the impresion that if you are caught "twiddling with your radio, winding a window, fiddling with your Bluetooth headset or amazingly, using the in-car satnav you just bought" you will go to Jail for 2 years.

 

Err hold on there is a very important word in the paragrapgh, It is CAN not WILL go to jail for 2 years. That is the maximun sentence which in all likely hood is only likely to be given to the most serious of offenders, say habitual repeat offenders or in the worst cases, you are fiddling with your Sat Nat for a while and are all over the road and either only avoid hitting other cars or pedestrians by extreme good fortune. etc.

 

I for one am pleased that there will be stiffer sentences avaialable for where it is deemed appropriate, as I appreciate that just as in many motoring offences there are a range of penalties depending on how serious the offence. As a first time offender speeding narrowly over the limit you do not generally get banned if caught and imprisoned although I believe that level of sentence is available. I therefore do not believe we are all going to get 2 years in Jail the first time we get caught using a mobile telephone whilst driving in the UK.

 

Any chance we get start reengaging our brains on this one and being less melodramatic

[WTF]

as already stated, hands free is no worse than using a radio or inbuilt sat nav or air con. and talking on a phone can ba no more distracting than talking to a passenger. some hands free sets can be set to answer the phone automatically for you so it would be the same as talking to a passenger??

 

so if touching one or two buttons is distracting, why are car manufacturers allowed to fit radios ( if listening to someone talk is a problem, perhaps only single seat cars should be allowed so you can't have passengers)and heaters and aircon and sat navs. and even indicators as you have to switch them on regularly too. lights should be on all the time like sweden but who dips them for you??

 

if you're an emergency service vehicle or a taxi, you ARE allowed to use a two way radio while driving, whats the big difference in operation of a two way radio and a phone? not a lot me thinks. perhaps we should all get CB's again as non GSM use seems to be ok?? i have come across many people dodgelly parked so they can talk on a mobile without driving which is just as bad perhaps but legal??

[The Voice of Reason]

Any chance we get start reengaging our brains on this one and being less melodramatic

 

Well said

[Frances]

All studies indicate that using a mobile phone (& presumeably sat nav) serves as a major distraction and the driver's reaction to simulated events is comparable to drivers who would be well over the drink-drive limit. Talking to passengers would appear to pose a lesser risk as most passengers are aware of the road conditions and avoid distracting the driver - young children and animals next to the driver are also a cause of significant distraction.

 

Whether you believe that your driving skills outweigh these impairments is your judgement - the drink-driving leglislation was introduced to provide an objective measure of impairment rather than having to argue each case individually - same argument re hands free which at least reduces somewhat the risk - emergency services presumeably are willing to take the additional possible risk as it is outweighed by better communication.