Mobile Phones and Driving

bbability

It seems that everywhere I look lately I see someone talking or texting on their mobiles whilst driving. I think its getting worse not better since they introduced the penalty points system. And its seems the bigger and more expensive the car the worse the problem is. Do they think because they drive a big fancy car that the rules don't apply?

I hate saying this but that fine should be doubled and the points with it. It might send a message out to gob****es to stop holding the phone to their ears whilst driving.

TwoShedsJackson

The idea that people in bigger fancier cars do it more is crap, you're just noticing the car, and failing to remember the dozens of crappy Fiestas, Corsas etc. that people are doing it in. You do see people on the phone very regularly, yes they should be done for it, but the cops can't be everywhere at once.

Seth Brundle

I don't think the fine needs to be doubled, etc. the offence just needs to be enforced better.
The amount of times I see a large newish car with the driver has one hand glued to their ear is unreal. They can afford this large car but not an earpiece. In fact with some I'd swear they already have in-car bluetooth but are too ignorant to read the owners manual!

Jimbo

Its very difficult not to answer a ringing phone even when driving. I know its dangerous but people are only human. I takes a while to change peoples habits

chris85

Happening everywhere. hav noticed it a lot more lately. As twosheds said the guards cant be everywhere. They wreck my head as they are so unpredictable, you dont know if they are aware of others around them. I basically just go for the cautious approach if i notice people on the phone while driving around me, i will get away from them.

They never check their blind spots so not good

walshy1

Enforcement will only improve when the Gardai start taking it seriously. The Gardai themselves are guilty of it, primarily due to their archaic radio system not doing it's job.

Like drink driving has, it needs to become more socially unacceptable. Social pressure is more effective than any legislative changes.

Seth Brundle

The gardai are allowed to do it!

eamon234

I see an awful lot of truck drivers doing it - saw one guy yesterday in an artic on a roundabout and on the phone at the same time.

TwoShedsJackson

jimbo78 wrote: »

Its very difficult not to answer a ringing phone even when driving. I know its dangerous but people are only human. I takes a while to change peoples habits

It's not difficult at all. 99% of calls are about mundane subjects. You might get about three 'someone's dying/dead' calls a year if you were particularly unlucky. Whatever it is can easily wait until you either pull over to check it, or arrive at your destination.

daedalus2097

jimbo78 wrote: »

Its very difficult not to answer a ringing phone even when driving. I know its dangerous but people are only human. I takes a while to change peoples habits

I got a bluetooth system for my car when I bought it and haven't once answered the phone using the phone itself. Even before when you didn't get points for it I didn't answer it while driving. Before my bluetooth system I used to use the loudspeaker on the phone and leave the phone in the little shelf below the stero - worked fine. And I'll have to back up teh OP here - while you do see idiots in smaller/very average cars using them, most of the people I see with a phone to their ear are the business types who tend not to car about other road users anyway. You know the types, executive-type cars, suits and total lack of indicators :mad:

bbability

daedalus2097 wrote: »

And I'll have to back up teh OP here - while you do see idiots in smaller/very average cars using them, most of the people I see with a phone to their ear are the business types who tend not to car about other road users anyway. You know the types, executive-type cars, suits and total lack of indicators :mad:

And that's another point. For an extra 200 to 300 euro for a hands free kit on ones executive car doesn't break the bank for these people who are probably earning 150k a year and can write it off with the accountant.

I didn't notice in the rule book that guards can answer their phone whilst driving a police vehicle. Surely they are kitted out with Hands-free equipment in police vehicles?? Is it not a Health & Safety thingy?

Alun

jimbo78 wrote: »

Its very difficult not to answer a ringing phone even when driving. I know its dangerous but people are only human. I takes a while to change peoples habits

On the contrary it's very, very easy, and I do it all the time. If it's important they'll leave a message. Heck, I even don't answer the phone at home if I don't feel like it

Tenzor07

Txt'ing and driving, killed a cyclist, now facing Jail:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article754513.ece

DonJose

Driving down a country road at 8am this morning, f@@king idiot on a mobile, one hand on the wheel, doing 80 on an icy, narrow winding country road. I had to pull over to let this idiot pass.

port

I agree that mobile phones are a possible lethal distraction when driving....a possible solution might be that all cars be compulsory fitted with hands free kits,similar to seat belts some years ago.Commercially, I believe the onus should be on the employer to provide hands free kit for employees who use work phone & car/van/lorry/bus etc.

mcguiver

Gardai are exempt from this law, as a lot of their "secure" communications are done by phone, also a lot of them carry Garda mobiles. The cars don't have handsfree kits...... obviously a health and safety issue, but unfortunately they are also exempted from health and safety as their employer cannot gaurantee a safe working environment.

paddydriver

The best (worst) one is when drivers come around the corner slowly and then have to virtually stall the car as they lean across themselves with the right hand to change down having realised they are in too high a gear, all whilst holding the phone to the ear with the left hand!

The truck drivers are the worst to see doing it - I commonly see them coming down through roads with schools etc and are there chatting away on the phone - they would not even feel it if they hit a kid!

NUTLEY BOY

bbability wrote: »

It seems that everywhere I look lately I see someone talking or texting on their mobiles whilst driving. I think its getting worse not better since they introduced the penalty points system. And its seems the bigger and more expensive the car the worse the problem is. Do they think because they drive a big fancy car that the rules don't apply?

I hate saying this but that fine should be doubled and the points with it. It might send a message out to gob****es to stop holding the phone to their ears whilst driving.

AFAIK the full penalty is 4 points but you get away with 2 for the early "guilty" plea.

Around south Dublin mobile phone use while driving has lessened but it is still very common.

Yesterday, I saw drivers using phones whilst ;

• stationary [incorrectly] on box junctions,
  
• driving through pedestrian crossings with pedestrians
  crossing on the green man,
  
• driving through red lights,
  
• driving around bends where they have even less control over the vehicle in an emergency as they have one hand only on the wheel and
  
• overtaking and then cutting in on cyclists.

The size, type and age of car matters nothing as they are all at it. The common factors are aggression, selfishness, arrogance and utter ignorance.

There are times when I wish that it was lawful to throw rocks at cars :mad:.

brayblue24

What I fail to understand is if you go into a mobile phone shop you can get a good ear piece for €50..the fine for being caught (never mind the points) is €80! Really doesn't make sense to me. And, I was talking to an acquaintance this week who was caught and didn't pay the fine and is now being prosecuted for dangerous driving.. Intelligent man

gogs2006

i work as a lorry driver and i'am constantly seeing fellow truckers using phones...
most haulage companies have now fitted hands free kits but are usually only compatible with certain nokia models :(

i just use the headphones that came with my nokia phone:D

i just can't understand why people insist on using the phone especially when children are in the car(sorry 4x4) heading to school:eek: all observations go out the window!!!!!

nobody seems to be questioning the use of dvd players in cars
you'd be amazed what you can see from a truck cab while driving at night..
countless cars have passed me with a dvd playing through a radio head unit or a portable dvd player:eek::eek:

Seth Brundle

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

Yesterday, I saw drivers using phones whilst ;

• stationary [incorrectly] on box junctions,
• driving through pedestrian crossings with pedestrians
  crossing on the green man,
• driving through red lights,
• driving around bends where they have even less control over the vehicle in an emergency as they have one hand only on the wheel and
• overtaking and then cutting in on cyclists.

The size, type and age of car matters nothing as they are all at it. The common factors are aggression, selfishness, arrogance and utter ignorance.

Maybe so but drivers not on the phone do these things also.

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

There are times when I wish that it was lawful to throw rocks at cars :mad:.

Me too!

daedalus2097

gogs2006 wrote: »

nobody seems to be questioning the use of dvd players in cars
you'd be amazed what you can see from a truck cab while driving at night..
countless cars have passed me with a dvd playing through a radio head unit or a portable dvd player:eek::eek:

Yup, I've spotted this too (from my car rather than a truck). Those things are supposed to have a safety system when they're properly installed which cuts out video playback when the car is actually moving, but I've ehard disabling this is as simple as cutting a wire. That kinda thing is just insane!!

WHITE_P

bbability wrote: »

It seems that everywhere I look lately I see someone talking or texting on their mobiles whilst driving. I think its getting worse not better since they introduced the penalty points system. And its seems the bigger and more expensive the car the worse the problem is. Do they think because they drive a big fancy car that the rules don't apply?

I hate saying this but that fine should be doubled and the points with it. It might send a message out to gob****es to stop holding the phone to their ears whilst driving.

Make the fines a percentage of the current market value of the car say about 10%. You would soon see alot more car kits in all those expensive motors that clog up our roads these days.

If you can afford to own a car (any car) you can afford a car kit, simple really.

badlyparkedmerc

People talk about using bluetooth etc. but studies have shown these to be as dangerous as phones, if you're interested in driving safely instead of just avoiding points then these devices don't help. The biggest problem with phones is that unlike a passenger the person at the other end won't shut up when you approach something requiring extra attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone

"Driving while using a hands-free device is not safer than while using a hand held cell phone, as concluded by case-crossover studies.[24][25] epidemiological studies,[26] simulation studies,[27] and meta-analysis[28][29]"

Personally I'd be almost more worried about a handsfree user; these are the guys who'll use the phone non-stop and not realize they're a hazard.

muletide

badlyparkedmerc wrote: »

People talk about using bluetooth etc. but studies have shown these to be as dangerous as phones, if you're interested in driving safely instead of just avoiding points then these devices don't help. The biggest problem with phones is that unlike a passenger the person at the other end won't shut up when you approach something requiring extra attention.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone

"Driving while using a hands-free device is not safer than while using a hand held cell phone, as concluded by case-crossover studies.[24][25] epidemiological studies,[26] simulation studies,[27] and meta-analysis[28][29]"

Personally I'd be almost more worried about a handsfree user; these are the guys who'll use the phone non-stop and not realize they're a hazard.

Dont tell me you are quoting Wikipedia as the source of your information.

pburns

Got stuck behind a horse-box yesterday going moving at snails pace - even by horse-box standards:rolleyes: - and holding up a train of traffic. When I eventually found a place to overtake safely, it's turns out he's yapping into his mobile! This drives me MAD! :mad:
Fair enough if he's trying to be cautious because of the horses, safety etc. but to be so oblivious of and careless towards other road-users really gets my goat...

Alun

muletide wrote: »

Dont tell me you are quoting Wikipedia as the source of your information.

Whatever about the reliability of Wikipedia, I've seen a number of reports on the TV (BBC mostly) citing research done by TRL (www.trl.co.uk) in the UK and various universities that support this hypothesis. Speaking to a disembodied voice on a phone is actually very different, psychologically speaking, to either speaking to a real live person in the car with you or listening to the radio.

They perform tests on driving simulators and measure things like lane drift, speed drift, response to hazards and where your eyes are pointing to measure your observational skills in order to arrive at their conclusions.

badlyparkedmerc

Dont tell me you are quoting Wikipedia as the source of your information.

Go to the website and check out the [24] type links - they're called citations, from such sources as the New England Journal of Medicine.

Random

daedalus2097 wrote: »

I got a bluetooth system for my car when I bought it and haven't once answered the phone using the phone itself. Even before when you didn't get points for it I didn't answer it while driving. Before my bluetooth system I used to use the loudspeaker on the phone and leave the phone in the little shelf below the stero - worked fine. And I'll have to back up teh OP here - while you do see idiots in smaller/very average cars using them, most of the people I see with a phone to their ear are the business types who tend not to car about other road users anyway. You know the types, executive-type cars, suits and total lack of indicators :mad:

Correct me if I'm wrong but answering your phone to put it on loudspeaker is illegal too I believe.