Reporting mobile use while driving

[zacklaws]

I followed a car one day whilst the driver had his phone pinned to his left ear. When he slowed down to turn right, I could not work out how he must be changing down through the gears, until I went up his inside and looked and saw that the woman in the passenger seat was doing it.

 

[Tinuts]

The officer also says that they often receive links to youtube footage - perhaps they can now access it?

I reported this incident:

View: http://www.youtube.com/user/TiNuts?feature=mhw4#p/a/u/0/UEmvycwXSEo


and received this in reply:

"Thank you for your email and Youtube link, we are currently looking into
the company"

It would appear that the Youtube links are now acceptable.

 

[Tinuts]

While riding to and from work I've been thinking about whether the police could have cycling officers who are equipped with helmet cameras who are out and about as part of crackdowns on mobile phone use.
I see quite a few drivers on the phone, they might be able to film them in action.

Would it work?

Why wouldn't it work? They should have un-marked Police cyclists with head cams the same way they have un-marked cars. All it takes is the will from the Police Force to actually put this in motion. The only reason these antisocial morons use mobiles whilst driving in the first place is because of the perception that there is little risk of getting caught. I'd love to be there to see the face of the first one who gets shopped.......

 

[longers]

Why wouldn't it work?

It makes sense to me but I might not have thought it through properly.

Some media coverage to say it's going to be done even though that shouldn't be necessary, a couple of hours a day on the bike for a few days in a variety of locations and then a bit of watching the playback leading to a few letters through the post.

If an officer was positioned filming drivers on foot then they'd see them there and drop the phone in time, same for police cars but I doubt they'd notice another person on a bike, especially if in plain clothes, whether that's Hi Viz or not.

 

[BentMikey]

One manoeuvre that really worries me, is doing a turn whilst holding a mobile phone to one's ear. I see it happen, often enough. I know my driving lessons were a long time ago, but I'm pretty sure I had it drummed into me: when turning a corner both hands on the steering wheel no matter what (I think my instructor 'explained' this to me, when I tried to change gear while turning...).

Althought it's not good, I don't think that's the big risk. The problem comes from the mental investment in the phone conversation, and thus not in driving the car or doing the limited planning ahead that most drivers seem to do. This is why handsfree are just about as dangerous as handheld.

 

[Landslide]

...They should have un-marked Police cyclists with head cams...

Depending on your job, it may be worth seeing if you have "power of witness" (IIRC).

A friend of mine worked for his local council's Environmental Health department, and as such was deemed to be trustworthy enough to report drivers for littering etc. Quite useful in what would otherwise be a "one person's word against another's" situations.

 

[hackbike 666]

I wish the cops would take this mobile phone usage serious.Heavy fines...penalty points and bans till these idiots learn that it isn't on to endanger other people.

Companies should also be fined when their employees use a marked van while driving along.Say 5 grand may help them get the message.Clamp down hard to eradicate it.

They are quick to enforce the smoking ban so why can't they do it with mobile phones?

 

[Twenty Inch]

Hurrah! A sticky - thanks Admin.

 

[Pip]

Commercial vehicles have tachos. A signed tacho chart, plus the mobile phone network's records would be solid evidence for a conviction. (Unless the tacho chart was tampered with, but that's a conviction in itself). The anonymous allegation would just tell them where to start looking and which companies' records to examine.

A couple of officers with the will to push some of these things through could make a difference.

I doubt it would be enough for a conviction - 'I was using a hands free guv.'

Until driving with handsfree is made illegal as well (Which I don't see happening anytime soon, for better or worse) all a tacho and phone bill proves is that a phone was in use while the vehicle was in motion, not the manner of it's use.

 

[Amanda P]

Email conversation with the admin officer shows that they pass commercial vehicle details on to the relevant companies, and for private cars they check ownership, insurance, tax, licence, and the "many other databases available to us" and the results of these checks determine their approach.

This suggests that no-one would actually be convicted for using a phone while driving on the testimony of a (possibly anonymous) tip. Just that a tip-off for phone use would attract the attention of the police to other possible violations.

That's good news and bad news, but better than nothing.

I doubt it would be enough for a conviction - 'I was using a hands free guv.'

Good point. But see above...

So, as long as I keep up to date with my tax, insurance etc, and look out for police officers, I can continue using my mobile while driving with little fear of being caught or punished - right?

 

[redjedi]

This is a step in the right direction, and mobile phone use while driving really annoys me.

There is an easy way to catch offenders though. They just need to position a camera by the side of the road and set it to record. They would catch hundreds of offenders every day. Add a fine to the offence and they could really boost their annual budget, and hopefully put people off using their mobiles while driving, all for the cost of a few cameras.
you can stand outside my office on a busy road for 5 minutes and sometimes see more mobile phone users than non-users.

Makes you wonder if it's actually against the law or not.

 

[hackbike 666]

No it's called driving without due care and attention.If it isn't going to stamped on then it isn't going to be stopped.

 

[postman]

Good about time .I could shop loads here in Leeds .King Lane ,Stonegate Road ,ScottHall Road .
All major roads .With Schools on .

 

[vorsprung]

This is a step in the right direction, and mobile phone use while driving really annoys me.

There is an easy way to catch offenders though. They just need to position a camera by the side of the road and set it to record. They would catch hundreds of offenders every day. Add a fine to the offence and they could really boost their annual budget, and hopefully put people off using their mobiles while driving, all for the cost of a few cameras.
you can stand outside my office on a busy road for 5 minutes and sometimes see more mobile phone users than non-users.

Makes you wonder if it's actually against the law or not.

There are thousands of CCTV camera across Britian but there is still antisocial behaviour in town centres.
Spying on people is often not the best solution

 

[BentMikey]

It's not spying, because you're on the public highway.