General Chat

A lethal injection would be going a tad too far, I suppose.

unless the user is really clueless everything about their phone will be backed up so that in the even of loss/theft a replacement phone can swiftly be setup. There are in any cas 101 firms offereing deals on data backup.

Arbitrary punishments are in themselves illegal so that a scheme to delete all the data inc backups ( which may well be in another jurisdiction) will fail.

As has been posted this dangerous habit is endemic. It will never be fixed solely by heavier fines and such the problem is cultural. The roots are in the me.me,me cultire that started putting down roots in the 80s. The chances of this govt ( which is again considering repeal of the foxhunting laws) doing anyhting about the culture are nil.

Those who have had experience driving in cities such as Cairo ir anywhere in India or Russia will have been well used to allowing for any crazy thing to happen at any moment and often. Now include the UK.

fwiw the French police do confiscate phones on the slightest pretext inc those of tourists. A favorite target is a mobile used for navigation stuck on the windscreen. ( the excuse given is that reporting speed trap locations is illegal in France ). Does it change the behaviour of French (or Greek or Spanish) drivers? No, they are worse than the English. The problem really is cultural.

fwiw hands free though legal is just as dangerous as a real mobile. Given that lots of cars now have built in Android apps which you can use when driving means that you can yak away on SnapChat or whatever with zero chance of detection until the big bang.
Thanks to mega security holes in Android and car maker software specs the latest cars are also a lot easier to nick. The ultimate way of making them safe for the owner, walk.

How about confiscating their phone and wiping the data, bet they would think twice then! :-P

I wonder how much difference it will make. Every time we got out in the car we see people talking on the phone. It's endemic.

We were waiting at traffic lights behind a police car and the car alongside the police car contained driver talking on his phone. The police can't have missed it but did nothing. A law that isn't enforced is no use at all.

what has fly tiipping and dog fouling to do with using a mobile phone while driving?

A measure which might discourage mobile phone use is to have the ISP disable the phone and put the offender on a black list.

It is not possible to install any kind of mobile phone blocker in the car 'cos (a) a mobile phone can be used by passengers (b) upcoming auto construction and use regulations will require that new cars are able to automatically report accidents and position which uses GPS and GSM technology.

"elbows on the handles of the pushchair staring at the floor? no, she was composing summat........"

... and so very often while crossing the road, too!
Have a look and observe how many pedestrians are 'buried' in their phone when crossing the road, thus potentially endangering not only their life but also causing grief for the motorist who might collide with them!
Wholly irresponsible behaviour!

First off this has naff all to do with Brexit or any political bonus points.

It's long been recognised that 'anti-social' crimes are not dealt with severely enough.

I absolutely agree that using a mobile phone whilst driving should be punished by 6 points but up the fine to £1000.00.

The fines for fly tipping are laughable and they should also be increased to a minimum of £5,000 for up to the first ton and £10,000 per each additional ton or part thereof. A stupid fine of a couple of hundred quid is risible.

Dog fouling - £300 for the first time they are caught, thereafter £500.

Idiots that use their phones whilst driving or fly tip only care about the financial costs not the human/environmental ones.

I could mention drivers abusing disabled bays but I will refrain



:-(

what on earth did young mums do, before mobile phones?they ALL appear to walk head down both thumbs going like billy- o

one this morning appeared to be in a state of collapse, elbows on the handles of the pushchair staring at the floor? no, she was composing summat........

If I see the person behind me is using a phone I slow right down - I damaged the back end of my car slightly and I'd like someone to drive into me so I can make them pay for the repair :-D :-D :-D

£1000 fine and a ten year driving ban ,then a £500 fee re-sit......that would make some think twice,a nice cross to bear.

whats so important that a call/text cant wait.

any drink driving needs a total life ban.

Driving while using mobiles is a real crime, people die, most often at the hands of the person using the phone, and totally innocent.

Precisely Ann, my sentiments exactly. I personally would stop any drinking and driving too.One drink can affect some people, me being one. If I blew below limit I would still consider myself unsafe to drive. I never ever drink at all if I am driving as I would never forgive myself if I caused harm to anyone else in a RTA

The police should set up Cameras to catch them
and real police for other crimes :-( :-(

I can remember how the engine used to interfere with the radio in my vehicles of old until a suppressor had been fitted and wonder if it might be possible to make an engine that is running interfere with mobile phone signals.

I spent many years driving for a living without the need for a mobile so I don't really see why anybody should need to use theirs while they are behind the wheel.

but people driving whilst on the phone don't just hurt people - they very often kill them

I don't agree with people using Mobiles while driving
Its silly dangerous thing to do
But do feel hitting motorists an easy option

What about more Police on the beat
investigating Burglars and muggers
Murders and People who hurt people

yeah , well "these people" are half the population for just talking on the phone and a third apparently manage to text as well. I got an earful the other day when I suggested a lot of people were thoughtless ... using a mobile when driving for instance.

Dangerous, selfish and suicidal though the offence is just making it more severe for totting up will change nothing 'cos it is a cultural problem. It took a very long time to get people to wear seatbelts, wear crash helmets and not to drink and drive. The level of these offences has nosedived not because of fines and bans but because such behavious is not, by ad large, socially acceptable. (source: Transport and Road Research Lab. )

The current announcement is a cheap way for the govt. to show that it is "doing something". Given the low chance of detection and that a fine for using the phone has little social opprobium it will change nothing.

What would work is a propaganda campaign complete with nasty consequences as we once had for drink driving (on the up again) backed up with more police patrols. However the police have been cut back to the point that they can no longer ensure road safety. Such measures would cost money and worse would be nigh on certain to embarass some top politician or high profile figure.

There is a principal in law of egality one tenet of which is that a given offence cannot be single out for especially tough treatment compared to others of the same sort. Thus prison for using a mobile phone while driving is a non starter not to mention the cost.

What is really at the bottom of all this is finding stunts - badger slaughter, grammar schools, mobile phones and so on with which to divert attention from the coming unpleasantness of brexit.

Meanwhile drive with caution especially on familiar roads which is where most accidents happen.

well with the potential revenue they are very likely to reap they could afford to employ officers just to catch mobile phone users!!

Trouble is that there just aren't enough police on the roads to catch all those who use their phones. Same with the ban on smoking in a car if there are people under 18 in the car. How on earth they can implement this law fully I have no idea.

Kath. x

What I have particularly disliked is the blatant disregard for the law these people have shown. Should I choose to disregard any laws regarding theft, would it be alright for me to go into their house and take their television?