Using mobile phone while driving

Comhrá

What is it about people chatting on their mobile phones while driving? It has to be the single most ignored rule of the road.
Delivery men, bus drivers, even the Gardai are blatant and constant offenders.

In fairness to the taxi-drivers, they seem to be pretty compliant and use hands-free bluetooth almost all the time.

I may be called sexist for this but as far as I can see, women are by far the biggest offenders. I was walking in the suburbs yesterday and the traffic was stopped at the lights. The first car in the line was driven by a young lady, busily texting while waiting for the green light. I would reckon from my own observation that female offenders are in a 2/3 majority here - and I'm not sexist in the least.

Is it how this offence is so visible and immediately noticeable or is it one rule of the road no-one really takes seriously? Is it as widespread in other countries like the UK or the USA?

mikehammer67

ya delivery men and bus drivers

i see the same people everyday on their commute with the phone glued to their ear-wtf!

penalties need to be stepped up
it's more dangerous than no nct and bald tyres and drink hangover

shooter88

Yep women do it more yet are safer drivers

AltAccount

shooter88 wrote: »

Yep women do it more yet are safer drivers

Link?

php-fox

>>penalties need to be stepped up
Yep, we can introduce death penalty for all traffic offenses. But without enforcement they're useless.

mikehammer67

php-fox wrote: »

>>penalties need to be stepped up
Yep, we can introduce death penalty for all traffic offenses. But without enforcement they're useless.

no
enforcement is lacking
but steeper penalties are a deterrent

how many phone drivers are drink drivers? not many

MrTsSnickers

AltAccount wrote: »

Link?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2013/0102/1224328327297.html

Bruthal

tippman1 wrote: »

Delivery men, bus drivers, even the Gardai are blatant and constant offenders.

Gardai are not subject to that particular law.

Lawless2k12

P!sses me off to the max when I see a trucker at it. The damage they could do with all that weight behind them is serious!

I don't think women ARE really worse for it, I'd say they just have much longer conversations. Men will basically be on the phone for 2 to 5 mins. Women, no offence, are on for a good 20 mins.



Quote from the link above by MrTsSnickers:

Some 28 per cent of men said they’d had a near miss/collision as a result of looking at an attractive woman, by far the cause of the highest percentage of distraction leading to a near miss.

So true :')

Del2005

mikehammer67 wrote: »

no
enforcement is lacking
but steeper penalties are a deterrent

how many phone drivers are drink drivers? not many

A deterrent is only affective if it's enforced. Exceeding the posted limit and DUI are actively enforced, nothing else is.

0ph0rce0

Lawless2k12 wrote: »

P!sses me off to the max when I see a trucker at it. The damage they could do with all that weight behind them is serious!

I don't think women ARE really worse for it, I'd say they just have much longer conversations. Men will basically be on the phone for 2 to 5 mins. Women, no offence, are on for a good 20 mins.



Quote from the link above by MrTsSnickers:



So true :')

Honestly cant count the number of times i've **** my pants and nearly crashed, and crashed too or driven off the road because i'd be looking at someones fine hoop.

Lawless2k12

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Honestly cant count the number of times i've **** my pants and nearly crashed, and crashed too or driven off the road because i'd be looking at someones fine hoop.

I try not to look at people when I'm driving now, I only gawk when I'm stopped... Hate when someone's in the car and they shout "LOOK AT THE H0L3 ON THAT WAN". You have to look... to not look is... just... basically...

Mc Love

Weirdest and dangerous think I have seen is a young lady (possible student) studying a book while driving on the M7 :eek: :eek:

The book was open on the steering wheel - maybe should have called Trafficwatch

weisses

€220 fine in the Netherlands when caught using your mobile while driving

Pataman

A friend of mine is a motorbike garda and tells me he catches loads. So there is some enforcement. Its just the old chestneu of nut enough gardai.
TBH the law should be changed to allow a mobile camera to be placed by the side of the road to catch offenders with a civilian processing the evidence back at base.

tippman1

tippman1 wrote: »

I was walking in the suburbs yesterday and the traffic was stopped at the lights. The first car in the line was driven by a young lady, busily texting while waiting for the green light. I would reckon from my own observation that female offenders are in a 2/3 majority here - and I'm not sexist in the least.

I don't see the problem here to be honest, what harm can you do while stopped. Worst case scenario it takes her a second or two longer to spot the lights changing and while annoying its not going to do any harm on anybody. I know she would get done for it but I think its wrong. You should have to be moving to commit an offence imo.

monkeypants

Bruthal wrote: »

Gardai are not subject to that particular law.

Why's that?

BraveDonut

It annoys me when you see people on the phone in a really expensive car - buy a frickin car kit, you can afford it!:mad:

leeroybrown

monkeypants wrote: »

Why's that?

All the emergency services are exempt from the ban while doing their duty. It makes sense for them to be able to use communication devices.

joujoujou

I thought they all have their radios with them.

AltAccount

MrTsSnickers wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2013/0102/1224328327297.html

What's that a link to exactly?

It doesn't say women use phones more than men while driving, in fact it doesn't seem to mention phones at all...

Del2005

BraveDonut wrote: »

It annoys me when you see people on the phone in a really expensive car - buy a frickin car kit, you can afford it!:mad:

The thing is most new cars have Bluetooth.

leeroybrown wrote: »

All the emergency services are exempt from the ban while doing their duty. It makes sense for them to be able to use communication devices.

IIRC it's only the Gardaí who are exempt all the time, other emergency services are only exempt when on blues and twos. Still doesn't make it any safer for a Garda to drive on the phone than an ordinary Joe public and IMO they should be setting a better example by role modelling best driving practice.

Big Nasty

Whatever about people driving whilst using the phone it's the fvckin' numpties that seem to think you're ok if you turn your phone on speaker and hold it 20cm away from your face instead of up to your ear.. Like what difference does that make?

Thick cvnts! :mad:

RandomAccess

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Whatever about people driving whilst using the phone it's the fvckin' numpties that seem to think you're ok if you turn your phone on speaker and hold it 20cm away from your face instead of up to your ear.. Like what difference does that make?

Thick cvnts! :mad:

That way the cops think its a dictaphone ya see.

Supergurrier

Women are by far the worst, always see women where i live on the phone even pulling out of juctions

ProudDUB

joujoujou wrote: »

I thought they all have their radios with them.

Garda radios do not cover the entire country. They have limited ranges. So if a Guard in Dublin has a question about a person in Limerick that he is going down there to arrest/question, he'll have to use a phone to contact the local boys in blue in Limerick. The radio won't work.

leeroybrown

joujoujou wrote: »

I thought they all have their radios with them.

As I understand it the Garda radio system is somewhat improved but it's never exactly been brilliant. At it's worst a few years ago mobile phones were covering for it a lot in some areas.

monkeypants

leeroybrown wrote: »

As I understand it the Garda radio system is somewhat improved but it's never exactly been brilliant. At it's worst a few years ago mobile phones were covering for it a lot in some areas.

Huh? So rather than improving their radio system, they've instead decided to behave in a way that's dangerous enough to require legislation for the rest of us.

leeroybrown

monkeypants wrote: »

Huh? So rather than improving their radio system, they've instead decided to behave in a way that's dangerous enough to require legislation for the rest of us.

No. The government made a practical decision to allow Gardaí (and other emergency services members) to use mobile phones in pursuit of their duties rather than pulling in for calls while they're doing an important job. I for one have no problem with the small number of Gardaí we have on the roads being able to do this. The other 99.9% of the driving population can do the sensible thing and keep both hands free for driving.

ABajaninCork

Supergurrier wrote: »

Women are by far the worst, always see women where i live on the phone even pulling out of juctions

Not this bird!! I don't have Bluetooth and don't answer the phone if driving. Used to drive my boss nuts when I worked as a PA .

Nothing is so important, it cannot wait until I stop.

monkeypants

leeroybrown wrote: »

No. The government made a practical decision to allow Gardaí (and other emergency services members) to use mobile phones in pursuit of their duties rather than pulling in for calls while they're doing an important job. I for one have no problem with the small number of Gardaí we have on the roads being able to do this. The other 99.9% of the driving population can do the sensible thing and keep both hands free for driving.

Why can't they use hands-free like everyone else?

Roger_007

I was driving on the M1 a few days ago and was behind a car with a lady driver who was on her mobile phone. I could also see her turning around every 20 seconds or so to look in the back seat. I decided to overtake her and while I was doing so I noticed that there was a baby seat in the back, (presumably with a baby in it). I'm not sure which is the more dangerous, being on the phone or keeping an eye on the baby.

paddyland

Marina Lazy Rosebush wrote: »

I don't see the problem here to be honest, what harm can you do while stopped. Worst case scenario it takes her a second or two longer to spot the lights changing and while annoying its not going to do any harm on anybody. I know she would get done for it but I think its wrong. You should have to be moving to commit an offence imo.

Absolutely wrong.

I drive hours and hours every day. The congestion in Dublin is bad due to the amount of traffic lights necessary. One of the primary contributers to congestion is people who won't move when they get a green light, and one of the primary contributers to that is drivers concentrating on mobile phones rather than what is going on around them.

Now a car not moving away on a green light might not matter to you when you are pootling down to the shop for your morning newspaper at ten thirty in the morning.

But it bloody sure matters to someone who drives for a living, and spends hours each day stuck in traffic, and wastes time and money for no reason because people can't be bothered to pay attention. The cumulative effect is ENORMOUS, and you need to be out in traffic all day to understand that.

Whether you are driving, or stopped in traffic, you PAY ATTENTION. Lose the phone.