glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
Stopping drivers using phones.
- Thread starter Brandane
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Yes, I heard it a few months ago - I subscribe to the podcast as its usually pretty good. The link to the podcast also has a link here for the actual research @User was after.
To be 100% clear I hate mobile phone use in cars. I would love to see 9 points and £1,000 with blanket camera coverage to catch it. I worry about disabling phones in cars though as it may have adverse effects and needs to be properly thought through.
Ah, ok. It might be just on the podcast then. I think it was that one.
annedonnelly
Girl from the North Country
- Location
- Canonbie
I'm sure that it must be possible to develop in-car technology to detect drivers breaking the law - using a mobile, not indicating, jumping red lights, speeding, etc. I would make the technology mandatory in new cars - it would soon hit the second-hand market. I would also encourage it to be fitted to existing cars through a discount on insurance - in the same way that young drivers have tracker things fitted.
The technology would work as follows:
During a journey it would count the number of infringements and remember it.
The next time anyone went to use the car it would be disabled for 15 minutes for each infringement.
I reckon if a driver went out, jumped in the car and found it wouldn't start for 15 minutes, he/she would think twice the next time he was going to break the law.
Points & fines don't act as a deterrent. Hit people where it hurts - the convenience of using their car. Since many journeys are less than 15 minutes anyway it would be a real pain to have to wait just to nip to the shops or pick the kids up from school.
The technology would work as follows:
During a journey it would count the number of infringements and remember it.
The next time anyone went to use the car it would be disabled for 15 minutes for each infringement.
I reckon if a driver went out, jumped in the car and found it wouldn't start for 15 minutes, he/she would think twice the next time he was going to break the law.
Points & fines don't act as a deterrent. Hit people where it hurts - the convenience of using their car. Since many journeys are less than 15 minutes anyway it would be a real pain to have to wait just to nip to the shops or pick the kids up from school.
NorthernDave
Never used Über Member
- Location
- The real Northern Powerhouse
Totally agree that action needs to be taken to enforce the existing laws about using mobiles in cars.
In response to a point made earlier, please consider this first hand experience of how the emergency response times are massively improved now:
In around 1997 I was driving up the M1 somewhere between Derby and Sheffield. Suddenly there was a crash in front of me, a driver had hit the central barrier, spun several times and stopped blocking lanes 2 and 3. Other people were out of their cars offering assistance, so I drove on to find a roadside emergency phone (every mile on the motorway) and get help.
I pulled up alongside the phone, got out of my car on the hard shoulder (incredibly dangerous in itself) and made the call.
I could barely hear / be heard with the noise of the other traffic passing within feet of me, and the operator took a couple of minutes to establish exactly where I was before they could get a response rolling despite me quoting the details on the emergency phone
All the while lanes 2 and 3 were still blocked, with potentially people still in the carriageway.
Now it's a call via Bluetooth from the much safer interior of your car immediately and the emergency services know where you are to within a few yards.
I know which scenario I prefer.
In response to a point made earlier, please consider this first hand experience of how the emergency response times are massively improved now:
In around 1997 I was driving up the M1 somewhere between Derby and Sheffield. Suddenly there was a crash in front of me, a driver had hit the central barrier, spun several times and stopped blocking lanes 2 and 3. Other people were out of their cars offering assistance, so I drove on to find a roadside emergency phone (every mile on the motorway) and get help.
I pulled up alongside the phone, got out of my car on the hard shoulder (incredibly dangerous in itself) and made the call.
I could barely hear / be heard with the noise of the other traffic passing within feet of me, and the operator took a couple of minutes to establish exactly where I was before they could get a response rolling despite me quoting the details on the emergency phone
All the while lanes 2 and 3 were still blocked, with potentially people still in the carriageway.
Now it's a call via Bluetooth from the much safer interior of your car immediately and the emergency services know where you are to within a few yards.
I know which scenario I prefer.
pawl
Legendary Member
- Location
- Desford Leicestershire
Totally agree.Unfortunatly it will never happen.Just look at the number of drivers who have a stack of points and are still driving Appears they only have to plead it would cause hardship to them and family
Found guilty of drink driving.Using a phone while driving,these people believe they have a right to be on the road and do as they please.
The response of the public, and their ability to contact the emergency services quickly, has undoubtedly improved dramatically with the widespread use of mobile phones (and of course it is not against the law to use a phone while driving if you are reporting an emergency).
Unfortunately that doesn't always translate into a fast response from the emergency services. Often they quite simply don't have resources instantly available to respond, or they have to travel longer distances to attend. Sometimes they just screw up.
Tin Pot
Guru
As someone who implements controls for a living, I'd suggest finding ways to make it easier for drivers to not use phones while driving.
I suppose this would take the form of cars that provide the capability of phones so that it is easier to talk/text without endangering driving.
Perhaps a phone receptacle that alerts the driver when they haven't deposited their phone before driving. Like a seat belt notification.
It's rare for technology to completely solve culture problems, but it can help.
I suppose this would take the form of cars that provide the capability of phones so that it is easier to talk/text without endangering driving.
Perhaps a phone receptacle that alerts the driver when they haven't deposited their phone before driving. Like a seat belt notification.
It's rare for technology to completely solve culture problems, but it can help.
summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
But they aren't just trying to text/phone, rather keeping up with their social media. Whatever they are trying to do, they are not focusing on driving.
Tin Pot
Guru
Well, maybe, but I still think positive solutions will help alongside enforcement.
swansonj
Guru
But it is precisely the text/talking that endangers the driving, more so than the physical handling of the phone.
Tin Pot
Guru
Then you're shoot out of luck
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
On the subject of nasty people using mobile phones while driving, i saw a well known thug on his phone while driving this evening. I was on my bike,he pulled out twice in front of me,the second time was after he'd overtaken me then did a three point turn in the road. All this happened while he was laughing away on his phone the farking horrible git! Mind you he's been in prison three times once for breaking his mum's jaw so there'd be no point trying to reason with this cretin, let's hope he wraps himself around a lamp post or similar!
Last edited:
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
I absolutely agree that there's a huge difference in the potential consequences, but the common feature is that, by and large, the population doesn't really see any of them as a particularly big deal.Errm, there's a huge difference between the consequences of cyclists jumping red lights and drivers using phones.
Here is an example of the results of a driver on the phone. And here is a typical example of the consequences of a cyclist jumping a red light:
classic33
Leg End Member
"1. Keep you phone turned on.
This might not be as obvious as one would think. Very often people who call the Emergency Services will turn their phone off to save battery power. This is possibly the worst thing you can do; even with a low battery you may still have several hours on standby.
Turning off your phone not only prevents the Emergency Services from contacting you, should they need to, but it also means your phone cannot be 'found' if you need to be located. And while we are talking about locating someone via their mobile phone...
Contrary to what Hollywood would have you believe, tracing and locating a Mobile Phone which has called the Emergency Services is not done routinely and nor is it instantaneous; just because you have called the Emergency Services does not mean they have your exact location. Most Emergency Service telephone exchanges have upgraded to a system known as EISEC - Enhanced Information Service for Emergency Calls which means all calls made on a Mobile Phone automatically provide the ES operator with your telephone number and your service provider. With this information, the phone can be triangulated between its nearest Masts and the 'cell' from which you are calling can be identified. However, there are less Masts in rural and remote areas meaning your location may be with a margin of several hundred meters accuracy. This process of locating a caller can only be requested by the Police where there is sufficient need such as a Missing Person."
http://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/mobile-phone/
Piece in bold can actually be turned off, on every handset.
It adds to the problem of a response time when the service insists that paper maps no longer be carried and crews rely on SatNav systems, often phone based, which doesn't send them by the shortest/most direct route. Ambulances are only one of the Emergency services to rely on the above. And it doesn't make much difference when the call is from a landline either these days.
I have two major SatNav rat runs near me. One adds an extra two miles, the other up to five miles(Nearly three times the distance to be travelled). To get from the same point, to the same point, shortest direct route is 3 miles for two of the three Emergency Services. And if the response crews are not local, well you trust in the SatNav.
I know where the mast, that I'm connected to at present is. Some 21/2 miles, in a straight line, away. I used to work just down the road from it. I also know that the longer route taken is due to two masts being closer, and a phone based GPS system in use. The irony is one of them is located on a fire station, 3/8 mile in a straight line. The other is 700 yards away, again in a straight line. And in line of sight.
This might not be as obvious as one would think. Very often people who call the Emergency Services will turn their phone off to save battery power. This is possibly the worst thing you can do; even with a low battery you may still have several hours on standby.
Turning off your phone not only prevents the Emergency Services from contacting you, should they need to, but it also means your phone cannot be 'found' if you need to be located. And while we are talking about locating someone via their mobile phone...
Contrary to what Hollywood would have you believe, tracing and locating a Mobile Phone which has called the Emergency Services is not done routinely and nor is it instantaneous; just because you have called the Emergency Services does not mean they have your exact location. Most Emergency Service telephone exchanges have upgraded to a system known as EISEC - Enhanced Information Service for Emergency Calls which means all calls made on a Mobile Phone automatically provide the ES operator with your telephone number and your service provider. With this information, the phone can be triangulated between its nearest Masts and the 'cell' from which you are calling can be identified. However, there are less Masts in rural and remote areas meaning your location may be with a margin of several hundred meters accuracy. This process of locating a caller can only be requested by the Police where there is sufficient need such as a Missing Person."
http://www.realfirstaid.co.uk/mobile-phone/
Piece in bold can actually be turned off, on every handset.
It adds to the problem of a response time when the service insists that paper maps no longer be carried and crews rely on SatNav systems, often phone based, which doesn't send them by the shortest/most direct route. Ambulances are only one of the Emergency services to rely on the above. And it doesn't make much difference when the call is from a landline either these days.
I have two major SatNav rat runs near me. One adds an extra two miles, the other up to five miles(Nearly three times the distance to be travelled). To get from the same point, to the same point, shortest direct route is 3 miles for two of the three Emergency Services. And if the response crews are not local, well you trust in the SatNav.
I know where the mast, that I'm connected to at present is. Some 21/2 miles, in a straight line, away. I used to work just down the road from it. I also know that the longer route taken is due to two masts being closer, and a phone based GPS system in use. The irony is one of them is located on a fire station, 3/8 mile in a straight line. The other is 700 yards away, again in a straight line. And in line of sight.
