Do you ever use your mobile whilst driving?

BionicRasher

Potential-Monke wrote: »

The offence is now for using a mobile phone, so even having it in a cradle and tapping the screen is illegal. Even if it's in airplane mode and being used as a sat-nav.

That's not true
The law is that you cannot type a message (SMS or email) on a mobile whilst in a vehicle. It also says you cannot read a message unless you open the message by voice activation. It is an offence to hold a phone while driving but there is no law against a phone being used in a cradle and via Bluetooth etc. You can happily tap away and make and take calls in a cradle and by the looks of things you can surf the net on the phone once you are not holding it.

€20 or €30 quid will buy you a cradle and Bluetooth headset so I really don't understand why people don't use these especially all the van drivers I see nattering on the phones

_Redzer_

Nope, never do.

Was hitching back to town with the lads a few weeks ago and a lad pulled over to give a lift. He was half watching a video on his phone on the dash the whole way. I thought that was a bit crazy.

Chattastrophe!

I'll admit to texting while stopped at the lights. And if my phone rang while driving, I'd probably have a glance to see who it was (but wouldn't answer.) To me, that's no more distracting than changing the radio station or using sat nav.

I don't see the problem with people chatting on handsfree sets while driving. Not really any different to chatting to passengers in the car.

Reading/sending texts while the car is moving seems like madness to me, though.

No Pants

Chattastrophe! wrote: »

I don't see the problem with people chatting on handsfree sets while driving. Not really any different to chatting to passengers in the car.

It is. Passengers in the car, the more clued-in ones anyway, will observe you and your driving and will adjust according to the driving conditions. Someone on a phone will not.

Chattastrophe!

No Pants wrote: »

It is. Passengers in the car, the more clued-in ones anyway, will observe you and your driving and will adjust according to the driving conditions. Someone on a phone will not.

But isn't it the responsibility of the driver to adjust if necessary?

I don't chat on the phone while driving, but I do sometimes chat to passengers. I've sometimes had to tell them to shut up for a minute because I'm concentrating on something else. It's up to the driver to avoid distractions, it's not the responsibility of the passengers or of whoever is on the other end of the phone.

No Pants

Chattastrophe! wrote: »

But isn't it the responsibility of the driver to adjust if necessary?

I don't chat on the phone while driving, but I do sometimes chat to passengers. I've sometimes had to tell them to shut up for a minute because I'm concentrating on something else. It's up to the driver to avoid distractions, it's not the responsibility of the passengers or of whoever is on the other end of the phone.

I'm not talking about responsibility, I'm talking about perception. Your passengers should be able to tell when things are slightly more tricky than normal. The person at the other end of the phone will have no clue.

Sunnyisland

For the most part I don't , but sometimes I will make or receive a call.

Dravokivich

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller wrote: »

That's no excuse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE3XsZaL-zo

There was a hell of a lot of shít driving in that video. Even the car recording it was doing things wrong.

Arthur Beesley

No.

SaoirseRose

It's not just about it being illegal, it's about it being fcuking stupid. Buy a hands free kit, use it and reduce the risk of actually killing someone because you fancied a chat about what to have for dinner. Logic ensues.

Teyla Emmagan

Would never take a call, but I do check the odd text message.

I am always amazed by people driving with a phone stuck under their ear. It's so 'I don't give a **** about anyone but mself'.

Arthur Beesley

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Would never take a call, but I do check the odd text message.

I am always amazed by people driving with a phone stuck under their ear. It's so 'I don't give a **** about anyone but mself'.

Some people think the same when they see drivers checking their text messages.

foxy farmer

Is it true that 2 way radio systems are exempt?

No Pants

Never do it. The phone stays in my pocket until I reach my destination. Doesn't even get checked. I did once pull over to take a call from work, but that was because I was on-call that week. Hadn't even managed to make it as far as the gate before the phone rang as it happens. :mad:

Question; an increasing number of cars have stop/start technology. This means that when the car is stationary, the engine switches off. Do the mobile phone laws take that into account at all?

BionicRasher

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Would never take a call, but I do check the odd text message.

I am always amazed by people driving with a phone stuck under their ear. It's so 'I don't give a **** about anyone but mself'.

Checking a text requires way more interaction than taking a call hence the new laws banning this exact thing

Talking with the phone stuck to your ear is dangerous and stupid but picking up the phone and opening an reading a text is worse IMO

seamus

It never fails to amaze me the number of professional drivers you see using their mobile held to their ear. Surely every company would have installed handsfree kits into their fleet at this stage?

Vincent Vega

Such a depressing sign of the times that people cannot seem to go any more than a few minutes without whipping out the phone.
I'd imagine the majority are driving for a relatively short distance too, probably no more than an hour.
Are we that well whipped?

Alun

seamus wrote: »

It never fails to amaze me the number of professional drivers you see using their mobile held to their ear. Surely every company would have installed handsfree kits into their fleet at this stage?

Not only that but I regularly see drivers of new(ish) top of the range cars that almost 100% guaranteed have Bluetooth fitted as standard using their phone.

foxy farmer

Vincent Vega wrote: »

Such a depressing sign of the times that people cannot seem to go any more than a few minutes without whipping out the phone.
I'd imagine the majority are driving for a relatively short distance too, probably no more than an hour.
Are we that well whipped?

A lot of the conversations and texts are banal mindnumbing rubbish anyway. I was in a passenger in a car doing 100 kph with the driver sending a text on a iPhone. When the car started hammering the cats eyes in the centre of the road I had to tell her to stop. Said she was saying goodbye to her mother after the nice weekend. She just said the same thing to her face 30 mins earlier. Some people have an incessant need to be in contact with people imo.

No Pants

foxy farmer wrote: »

A lot of the conversations and texts are banal mindnumbing rubbish anyway. I was in a passenger in a car doing 100 kph with the driver sending a text on a iPhone. When the car started hammering the cats eyes in the centre of the road I had to tell her to stop. Said she was saying goodbye to her mother after the nice weekend. She just said the same thing to her face 30 mins earlier. Some people have an incessant need to be in contact with people imo.

I was once a passenger on the M50 with this woman. She called another woman...who was in the lane to her left. At 120km/h+ :rolleyes:

nlgbbbblth

Why didn't you include this option?

Never. I leave my phone switched on but I don't check it until I reach my destination.

Generic Dreadhead

30% of people are a$$hol€$

Peregrine

Turning it off is a bit much, I just don't pick it up. Might have a glance at the name if it's not in my pocket.

Rough Sleeper

seamus wrote: »

It never fails to amaze me the number of professional drivers you see using their mobile held to their ear. Surely every company would have installed handsfree kits into their fleet at this stage?

In my experience a large number of professional drivers seem to think that they've been doing it long enough that they're used to it and it doesn't affect them. Some of them also see hands-free kits as pointless nuisance and wouldn't bother with them even if they were installed.

BionicRasher

Looks like a good idea

https://www.navdy.com

Fighting Irish

Poll should have been multi choice

Shenshen

Never, ever.

If I know I need to make a call, I make it before driving off or after arriving.
I don't switch my phone off, but it'll be in my handbag in the boot.

Teyla Emmagan

BionicRasher wrote: »

Checking a text requires way more interaction than taking a call hence the new laws banning this exact thing

Talking with the phone stuck to your ear is dangerous and stupid but picking up the phone and opening an reading a text is worse IMO

I would only check it at the lights. Anyway, all illegal now!

_Kaiser_

Make and receive calls all the time while driving (over Bluetooth/car kit though). Never any issues... if something catches my attention on the road I just drift off mid sentence while I take whatever actions necessary. People I talk to regularly will know this for what it is and shut up for a minute

Some people are just incapable of driving a car properly anyway though - even if their attention is 100% on it.

miss no stars

I can't believe the perception that texting is less distracting than a phonecall though! WTF? You have to take your eyes off the road AND concentrate on something other than driving to text, even with making a call without a bluetooth or other hands free kit you don't have to take your eyes off the road. Pure bizarre, texting far more dangerous.

I can't stand people using their phone without a hands free kit, and I hate being in a car with someone yakking away with the phone at their ear or texting away while driving. It's almost like they say "I don't care about your life or mine".