Driving with Mobiles...The Yanks may get it right before us!

[BSRU]

erm, its not actually that easy. Non sim calls are still reliant upon sufficient signal to work. With a jammed signal, nothing can get out. Creating a farady cadgem limits signal, not network.

No jamming involved, it would use the similar equipment to Sure Signal sold by Vodafone. The box would detect the phone and tell it what numbers it could dial, emergency only, and tell it not to look for other cells in the network.

 

[slowmotion]

A faraday cage would be the most expensive route for this, you would need microfilaments in the glass amongst other things, electronic signal jammers on major routes would make more sense. They could be directional so they only cover the road space.

The microfilaments are already there if you have a heated windscreen and rear window. If the jammer could be made sufficiently directional, it could just jam the driver's space. I don't think it's possible, BTW.

 

[Dan B]

They could be directional so they only cover the road space.

The suggestion was made that emergency calls should be allowed and that calls from a stopped vehicle should be allowed. I see no way of achieving this with a jammer

 

[Dan B]

No jamming involved, it would use the similar equipment to Sure Signal sold by Vodafone. The box would detect the phone and tell it what numbers it could dial, emergency only, and tell it not to look for other cells in the network.

Sure Signal (a picocell) uses your ADSL connection to relay the calls that you make. In the absence of some very long ethernet cables or wifi APs every 100m down the road, how does "the box" relay the emergency call from the phone to the real cellular network? Because if the answer is "using a cellular connection", you'd have to build in some kind of authentication to prevent other mobiles held by drivers from shortcutting their "boxes" and piggybacking onto the real cell network in the same way. Hence the suggestion of combining one of these boxes with a faraday cage to stop people inside vehicles from routing around the box.

I honestly can't see it flying, because the cost of retrotfitting every car in the country with a roll of chicken mesh is going to be ludicrous. Maybe it could be imposed for new vehicles, but I can't exactly see it being popular even there.

 

[BSRU]

Sure Signal (a picocell) uses your ADSL connection to relay the calls that you make. In the absence of some very long ethernet cables or wifi APs every 100m down the road, how does "the box" relay the emergency call from the phone to the real cellular network? Because if the answer is "using a cellular connection", you'd have to build in some kind of authentication to prevent other mobiles held by drivers from shortcutting their "boxes" and piggybacking onto the real cell network in the same way. Hence the suggestion of combining one of these boxes with a faraday cage to stop people inside vehicles from routing around the box.

I honestly can't see it flying, because the cost of retrotfitting every car in the country with a roll of chicken mesh is going to be ludicrous. Maybe it could be imposed for new vehicles, but I can't exactly see it being popular even there.

You do not need an adsl, the box will not attempt to handle the emergency calls, it will simply tell the phone to redirect to the macro network, very simple procedure. You do not need a Faraday cage as you want the macro network to be available for emergency calls. The box is very capable of preventing people trying to circumventing it.

Sure Signal is a femto cell, as someone who worked on it's development I know something about it. A stripped down femto cell could be manufactured for less than 10 quid.

 

[Dan B]

You do not need an adsl, the box will not attempt to handle the emergency calls, it will simply tell the phone to redirect to the macro network, very simple procedure. You do not need a Faraday cage as you want the macro network to be available for emergency calls. The box is very capable of preventing people trying to circumventing it.

Sure Signal is a femto cell, as someone who worked on it's development I know something about it. A stripped down femto cell could be manufactured for less than 10 quid.

So how does the box ensure that the phone registers with it and not with the macro network directly? What if it's wrapped in tinfoil?

 

[BSRU]

So how does the box ensure that the phone registers with it and not with the macro network directly? What if it's wrapped in tinfoil?

The same way it does now when you have one in your house, network operators want it to use the femto instead of any available macro network as it moves traffic onto the internet.

 

[2Loose]

Hmmm, good points raised.

Perhaps it would be easier to use existing roadside cameras to 'spot' phone use by drivers, possibly cross referencing registration plates with registered drivers address and telephone numbers...an automated check could then verify if the phone was in use, from a particular cell in the vicinity of the camera. If they all match, send out fine and points.

Certainly the technology is possible, especially with the phone companies cooperation to enable the cross checks.
It won't stop unregistered phone use, but would hammer the message home pretty quickly.

<sigh> I am dreaming aren't I. Another war on the motorist, the poor dears.

EDIT: Looks like he thinks realistically after all

 

[Ste T.]

First offence heavy fine and/or short spell with Her Maj, loss of licence , car crushed , job done.

Oh wait....big cut in police numbers on the way.... oh bugger !

I know. As part of Dave's big society we could ask for volunteer vigilante cyclists mitt der cameras to gather evidence to present to the CPS.

Job done!

 

[BentMikey]

I can picture it now. Convertables actually being driven with the tops down. Queues of traffic with the drivers head sticking out of the window. Actually that may be ok - slap on the back of the head or grab the phone and drop it on the bonnet as you're cycling past.....

LMAO!!! Excellent post.

 

[Rustyspoke]

http://www.cellular-news.com/car_bans/


Banning passengers using cellphones will go against the first ammendment?

 

[jay clock]

laughable approach. From a country where not all states require seatbelts to be worn http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_legislation_in_the_United_States#The_laws_by_state

Also, so car pulls up at lights and pedestrians waiting to cross all get their calls cut off.....

 

[BentMikey]

Also, so car pulls up at lights and pedestrians waiting to cross all get their calls cut off.....

That actually makes sense from a safety POV.

 

[Firestorm]

A lot of new mobile phones have sat nav technology, so link the phone to the sat nav so that the phone cannot be used at speeds above 6 mph.

That would sort out the twunts on the train as well

 

[mark barker]

Shut down the mobile networks, the world was much nicer place without the mobile phone.