Campaign to Stop Driver Phone Use?

[Jezston]

Following on from a thread in commuting, I wonder what things we could do and encourage others to do to get the government to take mobile phone use when driving seriously, having it more heavily enforced, and having belt up / anti drink-driving style public information broadcasts and whatever to shift public opinion from the current 'its' fine' to 'it's bad'?

When drivers get pulled over after incidents by default the police breathalise them. How about by default their phone records are checked also to see if they were on the phone at the time of the accident?

Anyone know where I can get some statistical facts on the effects of mobile phone handset use in cars?

My thoughts for this campaign would be to target HANDSET use first - there is evidence to suggest hands-free use is bad also, but I think it would be a more achievable initial target to go after handset users.

A site I've found very useful for campaigning before is http://www.theyworkforyou.com/ which makes it very easy to contact MPs. Perhaps get enough people to write a template letter to their MPs would help? Perhaps an online petition? Even more?

 

[Origamist]

Jez, have you seen this vid:


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iqCcMDByLA

 

[Aperitif]

Yes - nice exposition of instant crisis there Matt. My thoughts are, as an external 'thing to be hit' that this should go further and show a pedestrian all over the road, a cyclist mangled up. Let's involve the other 'fragile' participants in such a scenario and broaden the implication. OK - other drivers affected too - and make the thing really hit home.
Last week, we talked about the radio ad campaign for motorbikes, you may remember. ...watch out for them turning left / very important / sound effects of motor morphing into siren into ECG machine etc...it would have been the easiest thing to include cyclists in the narrative. Easy.
Or am I being too simplistic?

 

[Davidc]

Sorry Jezston, but with a government that's encouraging removal of speed cameras and generally relaxing all measures designed to improve road safety there isn't a snowball in hell's chance of getting any new safety initiatives started!

 

[sheddy]

Gwent Police Texting video (sorry if you've seen it)
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0LCmStIw9E&feature=related

 

[upsidedown]

Ive often thought about buying some fifteen foot wide by four foot high nylon banners with the words "Put the phone down stupid !!!" in big red capital letters printed in them. These would be cable tied to bridge railings across major roads in the very early morning They don't cost as much as you'd think.
Pointless ? Probably, but who knows. Somehow they've got to be made to feel stupid for doing it. Only yesterday in Earlswood I saw a community speed camera group in operation. It was working and has probably planted the seed of doubt in drivers who go through there regularly. A good case of taking the initiative in the face of official apathy.

Paul

 

[sheddy]

There is the parliamentary Early Day Motion process, but I don't think it achieves anything http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/Default.aspx
I've asked my MP to sign various road safety topics but he just fobs me off as he doesn't consider it to be useful.

 

[As Easy As Riding A Bike]

The fact that you can be caught using a handheld mobile phone by the police THREE TIMES and still not receive a ban needs to change, for a start.


That in itself sends out a message that mobile phone use is acceptable.

 

[courtenay]

Im not sure about the rest of the country, but up until about 6mnths ago i had always lived in london and know that it is something the MET are quite hot on, as for the area of south wales i have now moved to this seems to be a larger problem here, however i do feel that this is largely down to the big difference in the number of patrol vehicles in comparison to london, i can do a 6 mile joirney to work in the morning and not see one, whereas in london i would see at least 3 or 4 within a mile of a journey. So i think it is largely down to manpower as opposed to an unwillingness, i do believe however that there should be more done to raise public awareness.

 

[downfader]

The fact that you can be caught using a handheld mobile phone by the police THREE TIMES and still not receive a ban needs to change, for a start.


That in itself sends out a message that mobile phone use is acceptable.

Two local footballers have more than 12 points in relation to speeding and mobile use and have not recieved a ban yet. Apparently they need their car for their job.

 

[TheCyclingRooster]

Hi to you all out there. A campaign to stop mobile phone usage whilst driving.Yes,but it will not go down very well. What we need is an individual of High Profile or the son/daughter of one that is using a bike to commute to Uni that rides a bike in the Jungle of London to be involved in an RTA and limp on for a protracted length of time in an HDU or IC unit and then Croak. That would soon get something happening,wouldn't it just?.
With the numbers of stolen cars that scream about the streets in the Balmy Period of End of British Summertime,through the Winter and into early Spring;it is only a matter of time. Lets not loose sight of the fact, that with the Big Push to get People on their Bikes;there are a lot more targets on the move anyway.

 

[clarion]

...it is something the MET are quite hot on,

I'm afraid I have to disagree with you there. I've pointed out such behaviour to otherwise unoccupied Officers, who couldn't have cared less. One was lying in wait to catch cyclists RLJing.