Drivers on the phones: its getting scary!!

RobertFoster

Rave.ef wrote: »

I didn't say it didn't happen but people always generalise truck drivers just because one dips**t dose something doesn't mean "the best part is artic drivers watching movies on the motorway" is all of us. Same said for the lad changing music on his phone. It just really annoys me because for some reason we're public enemy no1... cycles being no2:P

Don't be silly, there's no way taxi drivers are #3.

optogirl

I'm a driver as opposed to a cyclist and this absolutely enrages me - the audacity & ignorance of these people, putting everyone's lives in danger so they can catch up on their TV/text their friend etc - it's disgusting.

lawred2

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

Agree totally. The number of cars, with obscured reg plates and broken headlamps is unreal ( I see multiple cars every day) .

The enforcement is non-existent. What a joke. It an absolute certainty that if you don’t enforce/police for 10 years you loose control and the Irish chancer/rogue just takes advantage.

who cares about obscured number plates?

how is that a safety issue?

broken lights are a different story but mud on a car? Seriously that's a non issue.

Weepsie

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'm not going to bother trying to dig it out, but i read an article years ago about some policeman or sherriff in the states who wanted more research into the role of bees or wasps caught in the car, in fatal accidents. there doesn't even need to be a sting for a coroner to find, and the wasp is likely to fly away or be overlooked when the authorities arrive. it's certainly an 'interesting' theory...

Similarly in Australia, havn't car crashes been linked to people panicking when a spider appears in the car, often from behind the sun visor.*

*Personally I'd completely lose it.

Weepsie

lawred2 wrote: »

broken lights is a different story but mud on a car? Seriously that's a non issue.

It's not a non issue. It's becoming increasingly apparent that people are doing it on purpose to avoid being pinged, identified etc.

I'm not talking about dirty plates. That's impossible to avoid, particularly this time of year, but there are cars going around with what are essentially blacked out number plates now.

Fann Linn

RobertFoster wrote: »

Don't be silly, there's no way taxi drivers are #3.

The Gardai are probably number 1. Driving whilst on a phone is either a safety matter or it isn't. If it is then outlaw it for all, or else do what they do in my branch of the PS and fit handsfree kits.

lawred2

Weepsie wrote: »

It's not a non issue. It's becoming increasingly apparent that people are doing it on purpose to avoid being pinged, identified etc.

I'm not talking about dirty plates. That's impossible to avoid, particularly this time of year, but there are cars going around with what are essentially blacked out number plates now.

that's conjecture really

amcalester

Weepsie wrote: »

It's not a non issue. It's becoming increasingly apparent that people are doing it on purpose to avoid being pinged, identified etc.

I'm not talking about dirty plates. That's impossible to avoid, particularly this time of year, but there are cars going around with what are essentially blacked out number plates now.

Or with strategically placed black bolts/screws, a 0, 6 or 9 is easily changed to an 8 for example.

Weepsie

lawred2 wrote: »

that's conjecture really

I guess it is. But there's no excuse for fairly new cars that primarily only use urban and suburban routes to have completely obscured plates.

I regularly see farm or building vehicles when I'm out with clearer plates.

lawred2

Weepsie wrote: »

I guess it is. But there's no excuse for fairly new cars that primarily only use urban and suburban routes to have completely obscured plates.

I regularly see farm or building vehicles when I'm out with clearer plates.

Except for abject laziness and or carelessness which is not in short supply.

Ireland is not like the UK for car maintenance

DavyD_83

I was knocked off my bike by a left turning driver, at a no left turn junction. He did not indicate, just as we took of from lights turned across me.
His excuse was: I turn down this way every day, I was just on the phone and didn't see you. Which he thought was completely reasonable.

ED E

DavyD_83 wrote: »

I was knocked off my bike by a left turning driver, at a no left turn junction. He did not indicate, just as we took of from lights turned across me.
His excuse was: I turn down this way every day, I was just on the phone and didn't see you. Which he thought was completely reasonable.

I hope you had him prosecuted!

Macy0161

lawred2 wrote: »

who cares about obscured number plates?

How can they be caught by cameras (speed/ dash/ bike) or even a manual report of dangerous driving?

I often see otherwise clean cars with dirty number plates - rear lights obviously cleaned, but number plate presumably "accidentally" left without seeing a sponge.

iguana

Grab All Association wrote: »

I challenge you to show at least 5 road fatalities be it driver, cyclist, or pedestrian caused by someone using a mobile phone in Ireland. Not speculation actual prosecution by the courts or determination by the coroners court into the cause of the accident.

I'm a new driver and I can't count the amount of accidents that I have headed-off because I've had to correct for a driver on a phone. So many times I've seen drivers drive straight out on to a roundabout full of moving traffic, through red lights, pull out from parking when I'm in their blindspot because they were chatting on the phone and not paying attention traffic conditions. As a pedestrian I've seen plenty of cars just zoom through zebra/pedestrian crossings because the driver is on the phone. I live on a busy pavement mounted cycle path and it's normal to see drivers crossing it carelessly while on the phone. They might not result in accidents but only because other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are picking up their slack.

lawred2

Macy0161 wrote: »

How can they be caught by cameras (speed/ dash/ bike) or even a manual report of dangerous driving?

I often see otherwise clean cars with dirty number plates - rear lights obviously cleaned, but number plate presumably "accidentally" left without seeing a sponge.

Fair enough - I can only take you at your word.

I've never seen that though personally.

Kaisr Sose

lawred2 wrote: »

who cares about obscured number plates?

how is that a safety issue?

broken lights are a different story but mud on a car? Seriously that's a non issue.

It’s no small matter. The law states your reg plate must be visible and legible on the public highway. In some cases, motorists are obscuring the reg plate deliberately.(clean car and filthy reg plate). That is done to avoid tolls, and make identification of their car (eg speeding) more difficult. That is perverting the course of justice and drivers can be prosecuted for it (Moreso in the UK, but that’s no surprise)

Posted before reading other posts later in the thread

Kaisr Sose

lawred2 wrote: »

Except for abject laziness and or carelessness which is not in short supply.

Ireland is not like the UK for car maintenance

That’s conjecture really

Effects

lawred2 wrote: »

who cares about obscured number plates?

how is that a safety issue?

broken lights are a different story but mud on a car? Seriously that's a non issue.

By that same logic you're grand if someone just takes their rear plate off and chucks it in the garage for a couple of months?

youtheman

I believe the significant increase is down to 2 major factors:
1. the 'modern generation' who have to have access to their social media all the time (including when driving).
2. the amount of social platforms available (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc).
In the recent past we associated 'being on the phone' as conducting a conversation.  As dangerous as this is, at least you can keep your eyes on the road.  Now if you see a person 'on the phone' their head is down and one hand is being used on the phone keypad.
My car has Bluetooth.  It will even read out texts and e-mail I receive when I'm on the move.  So I have absolutely no need to be on the phone while driving.
I think the Gardaí should just install temporary CCTV at traffic lights and just lamp everyone on the phone.  A few thousand letters in the post with a nice 3 point on your licence might get them to think twice (but then again!)..

Macy0161

youtheman wrote: »

I think the Gardaí should just install temporary CCTV at traffic lights and just lamp everyone on the phone.

The use of camera's/ ANPR doesn't seem to be on the road safety agenda at all, unfortunately. It's all about more Gardai, which just increases the chances of randomly getting caught or stopped. Not enough gardai, according to themselves, the RSA etc, but still putting two or more at random tax and insurance checkpoints which could be done by ANPR...

lawred2

Effects wrote: »

By that same logic you're grand if someone just takes their rear plate off and chucks it in the garage for a couple of months?

Nice leap there.

Did I say it was right?

I argued that a dirty numberplate is not necessarily a safety issue.

LeChienMefiant

Gardai need to lead by example. I saw a Garda driving on Saturday with phone up to his ear. They seem to have copped on a bit with regard to their park anywhere policy at least.

Grab All Association wrote: »

I challenge you to show at least 5 road fatalities be it driver, cyclist, or pedestrian caused by someone using a mobile phone in Ireland. Not speculation actual prosecution by the courts or determination by the coroners court into the cause of the accident.

Are fatalities the yardstick by which we measure safety now? 5 people have to die before this is an issue? :rolleyes:

ED E

LeChienMefiant wrote: »

Gardai need to lead by example.

Ha! Hahahahaa. Ha..... Good one!

Effects

lawred2 wrote: »

Nice leap there.

Did I say it was right?

I argued that a dirty numberplate is not necessarily a safety issue.

It's not much of a leap to be honest. Deliberately leaving your plate obscured or not having a plate equates to the same thing. You didn't say it was right, you said who cares.
It might not be a safety issue but it can trace a driver after they have knocked down a cyclist and driven away.

Hurrache

LeChienMefiant wrote: »

Gardai need to lead by example. I saw a Garda driving on Saturday with phone up to his ear.

They're exempt in the course of their business.

magicbastarder

how much do the gardai need to use phones in the conduct of their business? i guess they could be ringing witnesses, etc., but how much garda to garda comms is done via phone, and how much done via dedicated radio?

LeChienMefiant

Hurrache wrote: »

They're exempt in the course of their business.

Regardless of legalities, or doesn't look good when they're on coffee run. Same for phone use, have they no hands free.

Hurrache

magicbastarder wrote: »

how much do the gardai need to use phones in the conduct of their business? i guess they could be ringing witnesses, etc., but how much garda to garda comms is done via phone, and how much done via dedicated radio?

Fairly often, they'd often communicate with each other via phone, sharing photos of security footage, cars they think are dodgy etc asking colleagues if they know them or the occupants etc. They can communicate directly with each other using mobiles.

LeChienMefiant wrote: »

Regardless of legalities, or doesn't look good when they're on coffee run. Same for phone use, have they no hands free.

And you know they're on a coffee run how?

lawred2

Effects wrote: »

It's not much of a leap to be honest. Deliberately leaving your plate obscured or not having a plate equates to the same thing. You didn't say it was right, you said who cares.
It might not be a safety issue but it can trace a driver after they have knocked down a cyclist and driven away.

the cyclist would still be knocked down and that driver would still drive away regardless of the state of the number plate..

my point remains that a dirty number plate is not necessarily a safety issue in the same sense that using a mobile phone is, or doing makeup is or driving with defective lights is..

jeez - I don't even care.. this place is great for dragging you into debates that you never thought you held an opinion on either way..

Our number plates are never obscured for the record

Tilikum17

I’ll tell you what’s also scary. Driving to work in the dark with gob****e cyclists with no lights whatsoever. Some lad this morning - no lights & earphones on.

I’m also a cyclist.