New mobile and car laws

27 Feb 2007

As you probably know, today was introduced increased fines and 3 points on your licence if caught using a hand held mobile whilst driving.
Who's going to be the first SH member to get nicked ? redface

And does it make you more law abiding or rebellious?
Do you think its dangerous to drive without due care and attention? I do, so I switch mine off when driving.

27 Feb 2007

If anyone uses a mobile phone when driving they deserve a fine and points on their licence.
Everyone knows the rules.
It's been proven that you do not concentrate as much when fiddling with a mobile whilst driving.

27 Feb 2007

I get quite cross when I see someone using a mobile whilst driving.... nearly been run over by a few idiots whilst crossing at a proper place/lights/crossing etc. mad

:x
So, yeah I think its about time they got tough on this!!
xanaisx

27 Feb 2007

Quote by Miss_Kiss
...Everyone knows the rules...

Is this just a PR campaign or what?
Why no fines-points increase for eating, shaving, applying lipstick, lighting & smoking a cigarette, changing a radio channel or CD/tape or doing anything that takes the concentration away from the road while driving a vehicle?
*...of course anyone giving & receiving blow jobs whilst driving should be awarded extra parking meter minutes! :giggle:

* please note I'm bored & off work today so anything I write is not a true representation of my common sense bolt

27 Feb 2007

I once saw a driver using his phone whilst driving. He ran into the kerb, coming off the road and the front bumper of the car exploded and flew up in the air. He mangaed to steer the car back onto the road and continued driving, all whilst still using his phone. He carried on driving away from the scene. Completely insane. rolleyes

27 Feb 2007

Quote by redpantherman
Is this just a PR campaign or what?Why no fines-points increase for eating, shaving, applying lipstick, lighting & smoking a cigarette, changing a radio channel or CD/tape or doing anything that takes the concentration away from the road while driving a vehicle?

agreed! as for them truckies, if i see another bloody HGV driver singing "We gotta brand new convoooooyyy, rockin' thru the night . . . " on his CB i'm gonna get all Dennis Weaver on his ass!
it's a pigging no brainer aint it. if you can't bear to ignore a mobile phone call, trawl thru your missed calls, and call 'em back once you've pulled up FFS, Bluetooth headsets cost bugger all money. ((( even if they do make you look like a Star Trek geekazoid! :borg: )))
it's the twats with their heads down and txting on the M62 that really make my blood boil! rolleyes

n x x x ;)

27 Feb 2007

Quote by redpantherman
...Everyone knows the rules...

Is this just a PR campaign or what?
Why no fines-points increase for eating, shaving, applying lipstick, lighting & smoking a cigarette, changing a radio channel or CD/tape or doing anything that takes the concentration away from the road while driving a vehicle?
*...of course anyone giving & receiving blow jobs whilst driving should be awarded extra parking meter minutes! :giggle:

* please note I'm bored & off work today so anything I write is not a true representation of my common sense bolt

I was listening to a report about this on a very good radio station today and they tested this....the system they used worked well....they had someone in an in-car environment do a test to see how much they concentrated whilst talking on the phone, texting, eating and having a baby in the boot.
as far as i remember the concentrating levels were in this order starting with most concentration on the road
1/ on the phone
2/ eating/
3/ dealing with baby/child in the back seat
4/ texting
surely they shouldbe stricter on these things as well.. if your baby/ child wants you to get its dummy because its dropped it dont fumble around trying to find it whilst you drive, pull over! The police will pull someone over for eating or drinking whilst driving but there isnt a punishment

27 Feb 2007

Quote by Drewxcore
...Everyone knows the rules...

Is this just a PR campaign or what?
Why no fines-points increase for eating, shaving, applying lipstick, lighting & smoking a cigarette, changing a radio channel or CD/tape or doing anything that takes the concentration away from the road while driving a vehicle?
*...of course anyone giving & receiving blow jobs whilst driving should be awarded extra parking meter minutes! :giggle:

* please note I'm bored & off work today so anything I write is not a true representation of my common sense bolt

I was listening to a report about this on a very good radio station today and they tested this....the system they used worked well....they had someone in an in-car environment do a test to see how much they concentrated whilst talking on the phone, texting, eating and having a baby in the boot.
as far as i remember the concentrating levels were in this order starting with most concentration on the road
1/ on the phone
2/ eating/
3/ dealing with baby/child in the back seat
4/ texting
surely they shouldbe stricter on these things as well.. if your baby/ child wants you to get its dummy because its dropped it dont fumble around trying to find it whilst you drive, pull over! The police will pull someone over for eating or drinking whilst driving but there isnt a punishment
dunno

Que? :dunno:
Don't know where you saw no punishments for that type of driving. Have a look through the tabloids and you'll find some heavy punishments for dangerous/careless driving.
There was the guy in Scotland who was jailed for shaving, the woman in N Wales who was applying lippy (no idea what she got tho)and plenty more if you trawl through the papers or google I suspect.
Like most laws.......they are self regulating...... i.e. you know the law so accept the punishment if caught. The police can't be everywhere but those that are caught should be dealt with accordingly.
If you start looking for a dummy that your kid dropped then it will be careless driving or summat like that (plod will be along to correct later biggrin

). So there is a punishment for it.......you just have to get caught doing it
Dave_Notts
ps in edit.......what was the criteria for their experiment? Last experiment was classified in relation to drink driving where drink driving limit was classed as 1 and talking on the phone was classed as x2 above drink driving. I really can't see eating an sandwich being higher than drink driving. Would like to see how they done the experiment tho.

27 Feb 2007

Quote by duncanlondon
As you probably know, today was introduced increased fines and 3 points on your licence if caught using a hand held mobile whilst driving.
Who's going to be the first SH member to get nicked ?
And does it make you more law abiding or rebellious?
Do you think its dangerous to drive without due care and attention? I do, so I switch mine off when driving.

Well Duncan, get caught just four times in three years and you'll get an automatic ban (accumulative totting up).. I would imagine, as I quite enjoy driving my car, I would be going along the law abiding route!... :shock:
You are very right to turn the phone off when driving, saves any temptation! lol

27 Feb 2007

We agree totally with the increased penalties regarding mobile phones. The previous £30 fixed penalty was far too lenient.
Let's hope that the police do stop everyone that they see using their phone whilst driving!
Anything that makes the roads safer for the rest of us has got to be a benefit.

27 Feb 2007

Quote by Stuart_Tanina
Anything that makes the roads safer for the rest of us has got to be a benefit.

Anything? OK then........how about stabilizers to stop bikers falling off lol

:lol: :lol: biggrin

:D :D :shock: :shock: :shock: bolt

Dave_Notts

27 Feb 2007

This has been all over the TV and radio all day so there's no excuse for someone not knowing about it, but when I was driving through town this afternoon I saw at least half a dozen people 'trying' to drive while they chatted on the phone. One of them was aiming a three ton truck between a row of parked cars and the oncoming traffic down a narrow side road.
I think the new penalties won't make the slightest difference to some people because they know they'll never get caught. mad

27 Feb 2007

Quote by neilinleeds
Is this just a PR campaign or what?Why no fines-points increase for eating, shaving, applying lipstick, lighting & smoking a cigarette, changing a radio channel or CD/tape or doing anything that takes the concentration away from the road while driving a vehicle?

agreed! as for them truckies, if i see another bloody HGV driver singing "We gotta brand new convoooooyyy, rockin' thru the night . . . " on his CB i'm gonna get all Dennis Weaver on his ass!
it's a pigging no brainer aint it. if you can't bear to ignore a mobile phone call, trawl thru your missed calls, and call 'em back once you've pulled up FFS, Bluetooth headsets cost bugger all money. ((( even if they do make you look like a Star Trek geekazoid! :borg: )))
it's the twats with their heads down and txting on the M62 that really make my blood boil! rolleyes

n x x x ;)
Oh how lovely to see you post Neil kiss

I don't think anything will really change as I phoned a customer today from work and all I got on the other end was " Oh Shit! got to go as I nearly had an accident I'm on the phone, byeee!" confused

People are used to being on call most of the day and if they haven't got their mobile switched on they feel that they might be missing out on a text message or phone call.
But thats my own opinion of course wink

27 Feb 2007

Quote by Dave__Notts

Anything that makes the roads safer for the rest of us has got to be a benefit.

Anything? OK then........how about stabilizers to stop bikers falling off lol

:lol: :lol: biggrin

:D :D :shock: :shock: :shock: bolt

Dave_Notts

:smackbottom: :smackbottom:

27 Feb 2007

Quote by MrsFC
I don't think anything will really change as I phoned a customer today from work and all I got on the other end was " Oh Shit! got to go as I nearly had an accident I'm on the phone, byeee!"

Isn't it the case they if you have a car accident they will check to see if your phone was in use at the time, even if it was hands free dunno

Quote by MrsFC
People are used to being on call most of the day and if they haven't got their mobile switched on they feel that they might be missing out on a text message or phone call.

Thats me I'm afraid. I rarely turn my phone off, if anything it is on vibrate or silent.

27 Feb 2007

Quote by Dave__Notts
There was the guy in Scotland who was jailed for shaving, the woman in N Wales who was applying lippy (no idea what she got tho)and plenty more if you trawl through the papers or google I suspect.

Reminds me of the guy who got stopped on a German autobahn. Not for speeding, but for practising his violin ......... at about 150mph
:shock:

27 Feb 2007

Quote by Dawnie
Thats me I'm afraid. I rarely turn my phone off, if anything it is on vibrate or silent.

Why am I not suprised :giggle:
Why is it OK for the Police to use 2-way radios then dunno

28 Feb 2007

Quote by Mallock2006

Thats me I'm afraid. I rarely turn my phone off, if anything it is on vibrate or silent.

Why am I not suprised :giggle:
Why is it OK for the Police to use 2-way radios then dunno

Apparantly a quirk in the law.. I was listening to a licenced ham radio chap on Radio 2; if you have a radio licence (as Police Officers do in order to use their equipment - given free with their first morning on the job cornflakes) you are specifically allowed to use ANY radio equipment in ANY circumstances... Can't vouch for the accuracy of this, but I wouldn't be surprised.

28 Feb 2007

Quote by GnV

Thats me I'm afraid. I rarely turn my phone off, if anything it is on vibrate or silent.

Why am I not suprised :giggle:
Why is it OK for the Police to use 2-way radios then dunno

Apparantly a quirk in the law.. I was listening to a licenced ham radio chap on Radio 2; if you have a radio licence (as Police Officers do in order to use their equipment - given free with their first morning on the job cornflakes) you are specifically allowed to use ANY radio equipment in ANY circumstances... Can't vouch for the accuracy of this, but I wouldn't be surprised.
I know how come they are allowed to use them (we have 2-way radios in our vans at work) but why should they be allowed to contravene(sp?) every law regarding phones they are trying to enforce.... mad

:x

28 Feb 2007

Also to be in control of a police vehicle you have to be trained in advance driving skills.
Unlike the 17 year old newly qualified driver doing 80 on the motorway and texting their friend.

28 Feb 2007

Toughen up on drivers! You are in control of a potentially lethal weapon so anything that keeps you in check and makes the world a safer place to live in is alright by me.
Yes, I am one of those that think they should take down all the speed camera warnings. If you weren't speeding, you wouldn't need to be warned so let's bloody catch you at it, fine you or give you points, whatever.
The punishment for driving offences are way too lenient anyway. You can do as much damage with a car as you can with a gun or a knife, yet wreckless drivers who risk lives seem to literally get away with murder.

28 Feb 2007

Quote by Miss_Kiss
Also to be in control of a police vehicle you have to be trained in advance driving skills.

Watched a tv programme Monday night of a police driver (part of a special vehicle crimes unit in Manchester and a trained fast response driver driving a Subaru Impreza) chasing a car thief whilst talking on his 2-way radio and trying to fasten his seat belt all at the same time rolleyes

Being trained doesnt automatically make them proficient..

28 Feb 2007

Quote by Mallock2006
Also to be in control of a police vehicle you have to be trained in advance driving skills.

Being trained doesnt automatically make them proficient..
Of course it doesn't - but you must admit it lowers the risk.

28 Feb 2007

I have no problems with the new penalties for this reason....
If you have a accident and you are on a mobile phone at best it is a charge of driving without due care and attention, and depending on how bad the incident is it a charge of wreckless or dangerous driving.....
but before the accident it was a 30 pound fine... and off you go.......
that to me made no sense..............
at least this way it has more teeth, not strong enough for me... but it has teeth
and it is stops people from doing this... and saves only one life... then for me it is worth it...
The interesting thing about the legislation is something i heard on the radio, and one of our trucker friends could probably confirm this...is it true there is a provision in this that also says they report you to the trucker authorities, which also means that you are banned for 10 days......
so they have the loss of livelyhood to think about it as well....
that for me may well have been something to think about for the greater population.....
sean xxxxxxxx

28 Feb 2007

Quote by Dave__Notts

Anything that makes the roads safer for the rest of us has got to be a benefit.

Anything? OK then........how about stabilizers to stop bikers falling off lol

:lol: :lol: biggrin

:D :D :shock: :shock: :shock: bolt

Dave_Notts
You've seen me then? :shock:
I saw white van man on the phone just now whilst he was trying to negotiate a right turn. No prizes for guessing that he couldn't find his indicators either evil

28 Feb 2007

I don't think the user needs to have a licence to use 2 way radio per-se (the firm will need one) but Radio Hams, Police Officers, some offshore sailers, Pilots all have a personal radio licence (granted by the Communications Agency) which, as the ham suggested, gives them special priviledges.
In many cases (such as speed limits and traffic lights) the Police have statutory exemptions anyway.

28 Feb 2007

Quote by GnV
In many cases (such as speed limits and traffic lights) the Police have statutory exemptions anyway.

We are given different information for ambulance driving under blues and twos
You can get done for speeding and dont assume that because you have sirens going and lights flashing you have right of way......Because you dont...
Treat traffic lights as give way signs..... meaning you may proceed through them but with maximum caution....
Have an accident while negotiating a red light and the ambulance driver is to blame..

28 Feb 2007

Quote by Mallock2006

In many cases (such as speed limits and traffic lights) the Police have statutory exemptions anyway.

We are given different information for ambulance driving under blues and twos
You can get done for speeding and dont assume that because you have sirens going and lights flashing you have right of way......Because you dont...
Treat traffic lights as give way signs..... meaning you may proceed through them but with maximum caution....
Have an accident while negotiating a red light and the ambulance driver is to blame..
There was a well reported case recently where an ambulance officer was delivering a human organ for a vital life saving operation and was caught doing 100mph or similar in Cambridge (I think) and was charged with speeding (I think the court gave him an absolute discharge). In another incident, a Police Driver was taking his Superintendant to a non vital meeting in an unmarked Police Car and was caught speeding well in excess of the limit because his boss was late. The CPS decided there was no case to answer. Both drivers were trained to the same Police standard, the Ambulance Officer by the Police to Class 1. Where, oh where is the sense in that?
This country is a joke.

28 Feb 2007

Yes, it's true under mobile ops regulations us ham (nerds lol

) are allowed to use hand held microphones whilst driving.
seems a very strange quirk to me, i would never hold a microphone whilst driving, my mobile rig is fitted with hands free similar to a phone
sparky
qrt bolt