Roadside mobile phone detectors

[steveindenmark]

I am against using mobile phones in cars. I see it often on my drive home from work. I can never recall seeing someone using a mobile phone with other people in the car, they are always solo drivers. Maybe Boredom causes it.

But I cant see how you can treat them the same way as drunk drivers. Not unless you include the other drivers who are reading delivery notes, drinking coffee, putting on makeup, doing their hair, petting the dog, etc, all of which I have seen.

If they make it that hand held mobiles cannot receive signals in a car. Wouldnt that solve the problem?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I've just found this via twitter:
http://road.cc/content/news/142406-...etectors-could-spot-drivers-talking-wheel-and



Sounds like you just need your phone on your lapto avoid getting caught !

Vehicle occupancy rates are pretty low - I think I saw a figure as low as a 1.15 people per car in rush hour London traffic - so in most cases there will be no other possible phone user in the vehicle. Unless people take to using an inflatable driver's mate....

 

[summerdays]

I am against using mobile phones in cars. I see it often on my drive home from work. I can never recall seeing someone using a mobile phone with other people in the car, they are always solo drivers. Maybe Boredom causes it.

But I cant see how you can treat them the same way as drunk drivers. Not unless you include the other drivers who are reading delivery notes, drinking coffee, putting on makeup, doing their hair, petting the dog, etc, all of which I have seen.

If they make it that hand held mobiles cannot receive signals in a car. Wouldnt that solve the problem?

I've seen a group of men in a pick up truck all talking into their phones than to each other so it does happen. And Mr Summerdays was in a car with a colleague who took a work call whilst driving on Friday and wasn't impressed!

As to the second point, not saying they don't effect driving, but at least most of those things are very short lapses in concentration, driving whilst having a phone conversation chatting away, takes up a significantly longer period of time and uses more of your brain than the other things you listed.

 

[steveindenmark]

I've seen a group of men in a pick up truck all talking into their phones than to each other so it does happen. And Mr Summerdays was in a car with a colleague who took a work call whilst driving on Friday and wasn't impressed!

As to the second point, not saying they don't effect driving, but at least most of those things are very short lapses in concentration, driving whilst having a phone conversation chatting away, takes up a significantly longer period of time and uses more of your brain than the other things you listed.

Have you seen how long it takes a woman to do her hair and put her lipstick on while she is sat in front of the bedroom mirror?

Now reduce the mirror to a fraction of the size and let her drive at 60 mph at the same time.

 

[DRHysted]

Something like this?

Yep absolutely useless for what was needed. You'll notice it says it will detect "active signals", this means that if the mobile is not "handshaking" with a cell tower it will not detect it.

 

[andyfraser]

If they make it that hand held mobiles cannot receive signals in a car. Wouldnt that solve the problem?

That would definitely solve the problem. If I'd just crashed, was trapped in my car and conscious I'd probably want to be able to make a call to 999 though.

 

[steveindenmark]

That would definitely solve the problem. If I'd just crashed, was trapped in my car and conscious I'd probably want to be able to make a call to 999 though.

I get your point but in reality what is the chances, first of all that you get trapped in a car and secondly that if you were in a car so badly damaged that you would be in a condition to use a phone and lastly, that there would be nobody else around to call the emergency services?

There is an arguement for everything and I am sure the scenario you described could occur. But the chances are minimal. I am quite sure many more accidents are caused by mobile phone users on a Daily basis than the scene you are portraying.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

But using twitter or Facebook would also be wrong too!

Oh yes definitely, even more dangerous than speaking on the phone. At least you can speak and have eyes on the road.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Exactly, how does it distinguish between Skype or just listening to streaming audio or any of the automatic update and synchronising processes or sending a tweet, of just Google tracking your whereabouts AND prove that any of those activities were activities that they are trying to prevent?

Exactly, not sure how they can separate email data from voice. I guess they could look at the direction of the data travelling and assess what is happening. For instance, data travelling to a gmail server could indicate and email and data travelling to skype a conversation but sending an email is even more dangerous in my view. Also, how would they know the passagers are in fact using their mobile.
I think it has to be a different approach.

 

[andyfraser]

I get your point but in reality what is the chances, first of all that you get trapped in a car and secondly that if you were in a car so badly damaged that you would be in a condition to use a phone and lastly, that there would be nobody else around to call the emergency services?

You're right, it would be quite rare (although I watch Casualty and it happens every other week on that lol). I'm just thinking of what the press would say for the very few times someone dies because they couldn't use their phone in an emergency.

This has got me thinking. If mobile signals were blocked inside a vehicle then they would be blocked for passengers too. I have called the police twice when I was the passenger in a car to report an incident (one was a lorry on fire on the M4).

There is an arguement for everything and I am sure the scenario you described could occur. But the chances are minimal. I am quite sure many more accidents are caused by mobile phone users on a Daily basis than the scene you are portraying.

Slight tangent, I once asked a cinema manager why they don't just block phones in screens to stop people using them. I was told H&S wouldn't allow it. If someone needs medical help it's better for the first aider to call an ambulance using a mobile next the patient.

 

[Markymark]

It's more than that. I believe its against the law to block signals, that's why theatres don't do it.

It's impracticke to block signals in car as other devices other than phones use it. Cars themselves, satnavs etc. also extremely difficult as to blofk signal it would need to be in solid metal box. Can't see how it can be done.

It will be too difficulty to get a car to block signal. It's also too Difficukt fir signal to be ignored as masts aren't accurate enough to work out where they come from and if the person is in car, train or on bike.

Like it or not, phones in cars saves lives. More are saved by people calling ambulances quicker than are lost due to illegal use.

Anyway, expensive cost of new system would be better used in further managing speeds and ultimately investing in driverless car infrastructure both of which will save far more lives.

Oh and final point is tgat the government love phones as it's an easy way to track people.

 

[albion]

But how long before we get the mobile phone detector ahead sign, like we get the 'speed camera ahead' sign ?

 

[DaveReading]

Exactly, not sure how they can separate email data from voice. I guess they could look at the direction of the data travelling and assess what is happening. For instance, data travelling to a gmail server could indicate and email and data travelling to skype a conversation but sending an email is even more dangerous in my view. Also, how would they know the passagers are in fact using their mobile.
I think it has to be a different approach.

As a first stage in identifying potential mobile use by a driver, I assume it would be backed up by a request for evidence from the network in question to ascertain whether the phone was in use for making a voice call.

 

[jdtate101]

Maybe it's like the avg speed cameras. When they were 1st brought out they didn't work at all, it was all just smoke and mirrors to encourage drivers to slow down, which it in fact did do. Later the tech was available to do it, although I have yet to meet anyone given a fine by an avg camera.

 

[Dan B]

If ANPR can read your numberplate reliably, I'm sure it would be feasible to automatically recognise when the driver has his hand on his ear, and flag those pictures up for manual checking. Not saying you'd get everyone, but you dont have to, you just have to get enough that people stop taking the risk