Given the heated nature of Charlton related debate I thought Id raise a non-controversial subject.
6 points and up to £2k fine if caught using even if the car is stationary in traffic or at lights.
Ban if passed test in last two years.
Good safety move or nanny state
Discuss.
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Comments
They're distracting and drastically effect reaction times.
Of course, and as the law isn't just about mobile phones I fully expect most police officers to be suspended in the coming weeks if they drive with their radios on, sat navs and other electronic screen based equipment working.
And of course the courts need to be able to collect the money/enforce the ban if a driver is caught. I read an article last week saying something along the lines of the number of banned drivers being caught driving whilst serving a current ban has increased by something like 80%?
Read an interview with Noel Gallagher a while ago and he said he was in a car with Paul Weller, who was driving. At one point he said he was driving, smoking, using his phone and calling a cyclist a c**t all at the same time.
Said he was shitting himself but thought afterwards how cool it would be to die in a car crash with Paul Weller.
I rest my case:
Winchester Crown Court September 2016:
A van driver with eight previous convictions for using his phone at the wheel killed a cyclist after reading a text message, just weeks after magistrates let him keep his licence.
Christopher Gard, 30, was jailed for nine years after he ploughed into keen cyclist Lee Martin, 48, who was competing in a ten mile time trial event.
And this, sadly, is not the only example
..... exactly the fking same as if you asked me in person after your 15 minute commute home !
A police officer (No 1153 - if Cambridge Constabulary are interested) lecturing us proles on being distracted.... while driving along with his attention focused on the BBC cameraman and journalist in his passenger seats instead of the road as he waved his hands around and failed to look in his rear view mirror! Classy bit of driving - not.
tractor, tank, cuntmobile,BMW Jeep indicating the wrong way and nearly catching out two people crossing thinking she was turning. no apology just sped off.I've witnessed first hand at least three accidents where I've seen people on the phone in one guise or another and I've seen the consequences of more than I care to think about. I think it's brilliant the police are finally taking this seriously. For years enforcing speed limits has been seen as the way to ensure road safety when it just isn't the case. Unsafe driving is the cause of danger and death be that ignorance of traffic law such as lane hogging/not driving on the left, speeding, driving whilst on the phone (talking on the phone is one thing, scrolling through it is abhorrent and lethal, drink driving, I could go on)
It's accepted now that drink driving is socially and legally unacceptable and the punishments reflect that in the main, using a mobile phone should be equally as socially unacceptable.
The Bluetooth built on my car means I don't have to take my hands off the wheel. Not that I'm so popular I get a raft of calls but it means I'm not losing concentration.
I'm the first one to question the feds when they do daft things or announce new initiatives but this is spot on and hopefully heralds a new era of traffic police and police in general beating sense and awareness into the more ignorant and dangerous drivers we have on these shores
Nothing's that important.
Good move but still mostly unenforceable.
So initially there will be a run of drivers getting caught, but in the next few months it will all get forgotten about, and the only time drivers will get nicked is if they have an accident and their phone history is checked or witnessed, the same as drunk driving, I cant tell you the last time I have been driving home after a Friday/Saturday night out, say between 11.30 pm and 2 am and seen a copper on patrol outside a town centre.
Its a sad indictment that our Parliament make laws that cannot be enforced because they simply dont have enough Police Officers to enforce the law.
Jail is too much and would put unnecessary strain on an already overstretched system
This was a helpful tweet sent from surrey police:
while it is okay to use your phone as a sat nav (as long as it is secured in a holder correctly, and out of the 45-degree angle of the driver’s view) - you can not press buttons on it while you are driving.
You can use your phone as a sat nav, but you can not touch it or reprogramme it while driving.
Using a sat nav while driving can be a factored in a careless or dangerous driving charge if it distracts you.
There is no law barring you from eating while driving, however motorists can be prosecuted for careless driving if they are distracted by their food.
Drinking soft drinks is fine too, as long as it does not take over your attention. And remember to be careful with hot drinks.
You are allowed to change radio stations while at the wheel, but again, if it does distract you and cause you to demonstrate careless driving, then you could be prosecuted.
I use google maps on my android handset and it keeps the screen clear of notifications but I've used my work iPhone before and when you get notifications on it, they don't clear and block your route.