EU safety drive

[mybike]

The comment about playing i-spy and having a discussion within the cabin is ludicrous, people talking to you in a car are aware of your dirivng situation and you can stop participation in any discussion in order to safely pass a cyclist in the road. Taking your eyes of the road, however, to look at your radio or changing the route on your sat nav while moving at speed is reckless and places others in danger, pure and simple.

Taking your eyes off the road to look in the mirror likewise can be hazardous. If you are in a situation where glancing at your satnav is actually dangerous you are already doing something wrong.

Removing daytime running lights & turning off headlights in well lit towns would be a good move that the EU are unlikely to make.

 

[oldroadman]

Yowzer! So if 1 in 7 people admit that their driving is impaired by sat nav and 1 in 50 reported accidents are directly attributed to sat nav and the assumption is then made that maybe that actual impairment is higher and the actual figure for the cause of the accident being at least partly down to sat nav is also higher...could it not be argued that the roads would be safer without them?

Is closing your eyes for a second or two while you drive not comparable to changing your focus from the outside world while you drive?

Is getting to where you're going without getting lost a better option than risking an accident for the sake of it?

I'd ban them.

How about bike computers? Should they be banned too? Much easier to enforce, of course. Maybe.

 

[the_mikey]

I suppose road signs are a distraction with all that information, as well as kerbs and corners and buildings, better get those cyclists off the road too...

It gives British Gas another excuse for failing to turn up to fix the boiler though..

 

[Turbo Rider]

How about bike computers? Should they be banned too? Much easier to enforce, of course. Maybe.

Depends whether they cause accidents which put peoples lives at risk really.

 

[machew]

Have a safety drive is all well and good, but what about the safety dance

 

[glenn forger]

Or as they're known now, Men Without Careers.

 

[confusedcyclist]

@mybike You know full well that we are talking about adjusting a satellite navigation or entertainment system here which takes more than a quick glance.

 

[mybike]

@mybike You know full well that we are talking about adjusting a satellite navigation or entertainment system here which takes more than a quick glance.

The term was 'using' which for most of the time just requires a glance.

 

[classic33]

I suppose road signs are a distraction with all that information, as well as kerbs and corners and buildings, better get those cyclists off the road too...

It gives British Gas another excuse for failing to turn up to fix the boiler though..

It shouldn't give them any excuse for not turning up.
Get your claim in for a no-show.

 

[marknotgeorge]

The comment about playing i-spy and having a discussion within the cabin is ludicrous, people talking to you in a car are aware of your dirivng situation and you can stop participation in any discussion in order to safely pass a cyclist in the road. Taking your eyes of the road, however, to look at your radio or changing the route on your sat nav while moving at speed is reckless and places others in danger, pure and simple.

By allowing the use of these devices while moving at speed, you inadvertently invite these morons to behave in these ways, if it can happen, it will. Tell me, do those driving whilst texting display such restraint and utilise this "common" sense you mention? News flash, the majority of the human race are too busy rushing about their daily lives to think about the consequences of their actions, particularly trivial actions such as glancing away from the road for a few seconds, or worse, longer. The common sense approach is to save lives, not endanger them with gadgetry.

When talking about saving lives, the inconvenience of limiting the changing of radio station or using your sat nav while moving pales in comparison.

Oh and don't get me started on entertaining children with iPads... for the love of god.

Many people, especially if they're not drivers, can't appreciate the concentration needed when driving. We already have laws that cover all of these things. It's illegal to drive without due care and attention, and to fit devices within the sweep of the wipers. What's needed is education and enforcement, not just more new laws.

 

[NorthernDave]

All the laws in the world are irrelevant if they're not enforced. Round here you've more chance of seeing Lord Lucan riding Shergar than seeing a traffic cop on patrol - so with little or no chance of getting caught, people wont worry about the possible consequences.

 

[classic33]

Not mentioned yet. But if its European wide, the claim they didn't know it was illegal here(whichever country is "here") is going to be a little harder believe, or use.