What with the new legislation regarding mobile phones in cars, I reckon it may be prudent to obtain one of these.
(http://www.finnglish.co.uk/Stuff/handsfree.jpg)
Hurry 'cos stocks will not last!
I'd be wary of this offer. It doesn't tell you that training your earlobe to operate the keypad takes months.
CAnt believe this started on the first every were i go i see police pulling people over using mobiles. And fining them 50 quid surely they should be out solving crimes arresting criminals and not earning them selves(commision) more money for the police jeez its all money money money.
The knee jerk reaction aspect of the new rules that annoys me is their patent stupidity and the fact that they ignore other imo more dangerous habits.
Q: Which would you panic more over when driving: (1) Dropping you mobile phone into your lap when on the motorway at 70mph, or (2) Dropping you lit cigarette into your lap at 70mph on the motorway?
A: You can forget about the phone, but you'll damn sure swerve around to get those hot ashes off both your new suit trousers *and* your crown jewels.
So the new rules allow me to selotape my non-bluetooth mobile phone to the top of my steering wheel and then use wires to connect my ear piece and microphone and to use them whilst driving. I can use my left hand to punch the numbers out when driving in a straight line (cos the numbers move when I turn a corner) - I can't use my right hand cos I'm still holding the lit cigarette in that one. :angry:
Why on earth they did not
ban smoking whilst driving I do not know. That has to be at least as dangerous, if not more so. :yell:
So it remains perfectly legal whilst driving to concentrate on dropping your ash out of your window through a 1.0cm gap and not burning the interior trim; it remains legal to close your eyes and squint through the eye-iritating smoke that you exhale; it remains legal to have your fog lights on cos in your car you think it really *is* foggy cos of your own cigarette smoke, and of course, the smoke does not affect your visibility at all, does it?
If they *really* wanted to ban something to save lives then they should have banned smoking in cars:
- It would save tens of thousands of children from getting cancer in later life because their arsehole parents smoke when they are in the car without a thought for their children's health.
- It would save hundreds of thousands of children from developing asthma and other allergy related conditions such as eczma due to the sensitizing nature of the acrid smoke they are forced to breath when in the car.
- It would save hundreds of children from being killed or seriously injured because mummy or daddy weren't paying attention when they were driving, because they were focused on that nicotine fix and couldn't see sh*t through the internal fog and were concentrating on shoving a mini-fire through a 1.0cm gap.
You think I sound angry? I'm not even warmed up yet...... :rant:
TL.
BB offers TL a heater so he can get in the mood :)
QuoteOriginally posted by TeaLeaf@Dec 7 2003, 08:19 AM
So the new rules allow me to selotape my non-bluetooth mobile phone to the top of my steering wheel and then use wires to connect my ear piece and microphone and to use them whilst driving. I can use my left hand to punch the numbers out when driving in a straight line (cos the numbers move when I turn a corner) - I can't use my right hand cos I'm still holding the lit cigarette in that one. :angry:
There already exist laws that cover driving without using care and attention (Regulation 104 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986). So eating a sandwhich, reading a map or rumaging about looking for a CD could all leave a person open to a charge.
The truth is that it's the actual act of driving and talking on the phone that causes the problems as much as having one hand off the wheel for extended periods. The plan was to ban all use of mobile phones, hands free or otherwise. It is only that it's impossible to enforce in law and unlikely to result in convictions that it wasn't banned outright.
The sad truth is that peoples driving ability and concentration fall dramatically when they are having a conversation on the phone (hands free or not). People die as a result. You're 4 times more likely to have an accident if you're on the phone than if you're not, That's comparable with drink driving)
Driving a car while using a mobile will make you more likely to kill someone. At the end of the day the choice is up to the individual. What's more important? The call or the life?
For me it's not an issue. The studies that this new law are based on clearly showed that any use of a mobile phone with or without a handsfree kit increaes the chance of having an accident. My employee has invoked a global ban on using mobile phones while in motion. Every single call made or received must be done while parked or not at all. All existing hands free kits are being pulled out of cars and there is a blanket ban on installing them in any company vehicles. if I got caught using a phone while driving I'd be sacked for gross misconduct (and that rule goes right up to Director level). It's going to cost my firm a lot of money (several million pound world wide) in lost hours but they seem to think it's worth it. SO do I.
As to smoking...I'm with TeaLeaf. Ban it in cars, cause it's an accident waiting to happen. I can't see it being too much longer before there is a ban in all public places...bars, resturants, the street and cars.
....as does talking to the person in the passenger seat. Have they banned that?
I know the rational behind the law, but the knee jerk reaction means that the drafting of the law was done without due consultation, was tacked on to a piece of rarely used law (s104 referred to above) and is therefore technically known as 'a load of bollox' by the legal eagles.
The law is crap.
The politicians who rushed it through Parliament are crap too.
Vote Monster Raving Looney at the next election - at least they will provide us with cheaper beer :(
TL.
Just saw this: From the front page of today's Hexus:
QuoteOriginally posted by Hexus.net
Mobile Phones and Driving
Posted on Sunday, 7 December, 2003 by David
Well, this is something which is interesting. For our US readers who don't know it is now illegal to drive in the UK with a mobile phone in use, or touching you. I recently (Friday) decided to ask people who will be catching you for doing this - the Police. I spoke to 2 policemen and both of them were very unsure about the law, and won't be personally charging people, but more of a polite warning.
They said - you can text, or phone if you don't need to touch the phone... Where have they been living for the past 20 years? Do they know what a mobile phone is? I would hope they do with all of the sordid meetings which happen in Clapham common with other MPs
You can have your phone in a cradle and use it via a mic and speaker setup, but you are not allowed to have a personal hands free kit.
You are not allowed to pull over and sit in your car and use the phone you have to get out of the car. Also very stupid.
Why am I writing about this? Well, why don't the government invent a law which is sensible and people know the boundaries on - one which is also realistic, since at the end of the day even the police admitted no one will know what you can do until you go to court and contest it.
Clearly the author hasn't got a scooby doo what he's talking about.
QuoteOriginally posted by smilodon@Dec 7 2003, 05:21 PM
Clearly the author hasn't got a scooby doo what he's talking about.
90% truth
8% Poetic licence
2% Scooby snack
That's good enough for me. The law is a poorly written excuse for a piece of statute.
TL.
Lets have a pole so how many people have been done by the police?
Sorta related to driving 'n' stuff
http://www.tacticalgamer.com/index.php?nam...er=asc&start=15 (http://www.tacticalgamer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=4230&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15)
enjoy. I've not been stopped once in the last 6 years, I think you have to be fairly unlucky, fairly stupid, or young.
And as for banning phones, ban the radio, talking to passengers and picking your nose. I tink it's a joke. But hey, whadda I know.
On local radio, the police were saying they didn't want the law. As far as they were concerned, if necessary they could charge people under previous legislation (driving without due care and attention) and the new bit of legislation just takes up their time.
Also, whilst it's legal to make a call in the car with the engine off, it's illegal to do so whilst the engine is on. Which means that this winter when a motorway gets a huge jam, somebody'll switch off their engine and phone to say they'll be late home, then find their engine doesn't start.
QuoteOriginally posted by Herodotus@Dec 8 2003, 08:06 PM
Also, whilst it's legal to make a call in the car with the engine off, it's illegal to do so whilst the engine is on.
I've not seen that one but it's known as a 'cover-all'. Which means it's a bit of the law that plugs a loophole. The law makers thought some people might try to argue that they were parked rather than the fact that they saw the police and stopped suddenly or were making a call at traffic lights or in a jam. If you are parked at the side of the road with the hand brake on and the engine running no court in the land is going to convict you. If you're stopped in a queue then you're toast.
Likewise the drink driving laws state that you're guilty if you are in charge of a vehicle while drunk. So going out to your car and sleeping it off in the back seat is technically drink driving, but again no one gets nicked for that. It's designed to catch the driver who has obvioulsy been driving and has stopped before the police spotted him. If he/she is pissed out of there head in on the hard shoulder of the M1 they can still be knicked. If they are asleep in their car which is parked in a pub car park then they won't get done.
The mobile phone law may be dumb but sadly so are many UK drivers. 3500 deaths a year and over half a million injuries shows someone is getting it wrong on a fairly regular basis. So every little helps.
Plus a mate got swiped off his bike by some dozey cow in a Jeep who was yakking on her phone when she should have been paying attention to her driving. He got a steel pin in each leg and she got 18 months.
Its really simple
Go to a supermarket
Somebody pushing a shopping trolley whilst talking to their partner is generally aware of what's going on around them. Now spot someone pushing a trolley while on the phone, they haven't got a TANGOing clue.
QuoteOriginally posted by smilodon@Dec 8 2003, 09:04 PM
.
The mobile phone law may be dumb but sadly so are many UK drivers. 3500 deaths a year and over half a million injuries shows someone is getting it wrong on a fairly regular basis. So every little helps.
Ididn't realise that mobile phone users were the sole reason for the deaths and injuries on our roads. (lowest in Europe incidently) I thought that was down to drunks, or was it speeders? :eyebrow:
no
just motorists
The point still remains a valid fact, it IS unsafe to drive while on the phone and people have been killed, be this law a pain in your backside it may well just save your life one day despite how stupid crappy or insane you think the people who wrote it are.
QuoteOriginally posted by Doorman+Dec 8 2003, 11:14 PM-->
| QUOTE (Doorman @ Dec 8 2003, 11:14 PM) |
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I have moved this topic to the banter section as it has wandered away from the humour and become a debate over the new mobile phone law.
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