Drivers on the phones: its getting scary!!

Arequipa

Hi there!
I commute to work most days through Dublin city and out the south side.
I am just becoming more aware of drivers looking at/ texting/ talking on their phones while driving.
Regularly I see a car veer towards the opposite lane and then correct.. as the driver is on the phone....
it seems on the traffic lined up.on the far side... at least 50% of drivers are glued to their phones while waiting in traffic...

Last weekend, I was cycling on tge bike path to Sutton Cross and traffic was moving very slowly to my right side... one car was moving at about 7-8kmph but gradually cutting across the bike lane and towards the kerb... the lady driving.. had a phone high up on the steering wheel and was fully engaged with it.. i looked in the window and her poodle started barking at me...


any of you experience this?

I am getting nervous commuting as many people seem really distracted...


A

iwillhtfu

Arequipa wrote: »

Hi there!
I commute to work most days through Dublin city and out the south side.
I am just becoming more aware of drivers looking at/ texting/ talking on their phones while driving.
Regularly I see a car veer towards the opposite lane and then correct.. as the driver is on the phone....
it seems on the traffic lined up.on the far side... at least 50% of drivers are glued to their phones while waiting in traffic...

Last weekend, I was cycling on tge bike path to Sutton Cross and traffic was moving very slowly to my right side... one car was moving at about 7-8kmph but gradually cutting across the bike lane and towards the kerb... the lady driving.. had a phone high up on the steering wheel and was fully engaged with it.. i looked in the window and her poodle started barking at me...


any of you experience this?

I am getting nervous commuting as many people seem really distracted...


A

I'm more surprised you're only starting to spot this now. It's an everyday occurrence on every road in Ireland and the Gardai do sweet FA about it. The best one if the artic drivers on the motor way that like to watch movies as they're driving along :eek:

What Username Guidelines

iwillhtfu wrote: »

I'm more surprised you're only starting to spot this now. It's an everyday occurrence on every road in Ireland and the Gardai do sweet FA about it. The best one if the artic drivers on the motor way that like to watch movies as they're driving along :eek:

Yeah, and it's been getting so much worse in the last year. A harsher penalty and some enforcement might make a difference but not holding my breath. Passed a guy writing an email on an iPad a few weeks back as he coasted slowly in traffic. Insanity.

But those bloody cyclists, eh?

I’ve seen two drivers in the last month looking at YouTube videos on their phones which where stuck to their windscreens. I’d love to be a traffic Garda for the day

Tenzor07

Drivers! They should make them pay tax and insurance, make them take lessons and a test... Oh wait..!

vicwatson

It’s as rampant and broken lights and number plates covered in mud that can’t be read.

Needs stamping out for the safety of pedestrians, motorists and cyclists, all road users

iwillhtfu

I was delighted to see this today but it's only a drop in the ocean of idiots

https://twitter.com/GardaTraffic/status/963367055021039616

LollipopJimmy

The amount of people I see watching videos is what I find the scariest.

PowerToWait

It's at least as dangerous as drink / drug driving, possibly more. Though socially it's completely acceptable.

Grab All Association

I challenge you to show at least 5 road fatalities be it driver, cyclist, or pedestrian caused by someone using a mobile phone in Ireland. Not speculation actual prosecution by the courts or determination by the coroners court into the cause of the accident.

Samuel T. Cogley

TBH there are now two things we should be following the UK on. First is stiffer penalties for careless and dangerous driving, second is 6 points and a €250 fine for mobile phone use. There is absolutely no excuse for it with Bluetooth and hands free kits.

Kaisr Sose

vicwatson wrote: »

It’s as rampant and broken lights and number plates covered in mud that can’t be read.

Needs stamping out for the safety of pedestrians, motorists and cyclists, all road users

Agree totally. The number of cars, with obscured reg plates and broken headlamps is unreal ( I see multiple cars every day) .

The enforcement is non-existent. What a joke. It an absolute certainty that if you don’t enforce/police for 10 years you loose control and the Irish chancer/rogue just takes advantage.

The Royal Scam

I put this thread up in the motors forum last month. It is staggering what you can see drivers doing while driving every single day.

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057828926/1/#post105803640

07Lapierre

Grab All Association wrote: »

I challenge you to show at least 5 road fatalities be it driver, cyclist, or pedestrian caused by someone using a mobile phone in Ireland. Not speculation actual prosecution by the courts or determination by the coroners court into the cause of the accident.

I challenge you to show at least 5 road fatalities be it driver, cyclist or pedestrian caused by anything other than a motorised vehicle. Not speculation actual prosecution by the courts or determination by the coroners court into the cause of the accident.

Kaisr Sose

Grab All Association wrote: »

I challenge you to show at least 5 road fatalities be it driver, cyclist, or pedestrian caused by someone using a mobile phone in Ireland. Not speculation actual prosecution by the courts or determination by the coroners court into the cause of the accident.

What sort of question is that? Its illegal to do it because it’s dangerous. Nobody should be holding a phone, or texting, or on social media or playing games or watching movies while driving.

Arequipa

Yea ... I agree we need more enforcement... it is difficult as Garda resources are limited,..

Also, it is an issue for us all that these devices are addictive...
Pedestrians too walk along like zombies glued to their phones..


But with a 2 tonne vehicle there should be zero tolerance...

kooreczka

I do realise beeing on the phone is dangerous while driving and people should't do it under any circumstances but pedestrians ans cyclists with earphones listening to the music on crossing roads or cycling on the roads are even worse!!!! They are like cows in India!

Tenzor07

Prime Time on RTE1 now, drivers and cyclists...

jjpep

kooreczka wrote: »

I do realise beeing on the phone is dangerous while driving and people should't do it under any circumstances but pedestrians ans cyclists with earphones listening to the music on crossing roads or cycling on the roads are even worse!!!! They are like cows in India!

The nearly two tonnes in difference would suggest otherwise.

Grab All Association

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

What sort of question is that? Its illegal to do it because it’s dangerous. Nobody should be holding a phone, or texting, or on social media or playing games or watching movies while driving.

E-cigarettes are banned on trains yet there’s no single case of anyone dying due to second hand exposure to vapour.

I want to see a linked prosecution of someone who caused a fatality between 1996 and 2018 whilst using a mobile phone in this country who was convicted and sentenced for it.

07Lapierre

kooreczka wrote: »

I do realise beeing on the phone is dangerous while driving and people should't do it under any circumstances but pedestrians ans cyclists with earphones listening to the music on crossing roads or cycling on the roads are even worse!!!! They are like cows in India!

Cows in India are worshipped!

07Lapierre

Grab All Association wrote: »

I want to see a linked prosecution of someone who caused a fatality between 1996 and 2018 whilst using a mobile phone in this country who was convicted and sentenced for it.

Me too! ....we really need better enforcement of all ROTR for ALL road users.

kooreczka

07Lapierre wrote: »

Cows in India are worshipped!

Yep. Just beeing sarcastic...

Grab All Association

Btw I’m a cyclist myself and I find the biggest danger to us on the roads is the assholes who swerve at you or throw stuff out the window at you. My dad is in his 70s and was hit in the head with a can of cider. We got the reg and the Gardai done deck all about it.

LollipopJimmy

Grab All Association wrote: »

E-cigarettes are banned on trains yet there’s no single case of anyone dying due to second hand exposure to vapour.

I want to see a linked prosecution of someone who caused a fatality between 1996 and 2018 whilst using a mobile phone in this country who was convicted and sentenced for it.

E-cigarettes smell poxy to those of us that don't smoke or use them so sitting on a train while some lad puffs out some funky fake blackcurrant smell is a pain. It doesn't have to cause death for it not to be allowed

Grab All Association

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

E-cigarettes smell poxy to those of us that don't smoke or use them so sitting on a train while some lad puffs out some funky fake blackcurrant smell is a pain. It doesn't have to cause death for it not to be allowed

Nothing compared to nail polishes/removers yet women are allowed to use that. I once seen someone having an asthma attack on the train because of it.

Samuel T. Cogley

Grab All Association wrote: »

I want to see a linked prosecution of someone who caused a fatality between 1996 and 2018 whilst using a mobile phone in this country who was convicted and sentenced for it.

Why do you want that?

Do you not believe there is a causal link? The studies done would indicate otherwise.

Grab All Association

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Why do you want that?

Do you not believe there is a causal link? The studies done would indicate otherwise.

Truth is they don’t have the proof and this is another stealth tax on people. I’d say woman putting on makeup is far more dangerous than using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

Samuel T. Cogley

Grab All Association wrote: »

Truth is they don’t have the proof and this is another stealth tax on people. I’d say woman putting on makeup is far more dangerous than using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

Good one. Gave me a chuckle.

Kaisr Sose

Grab All Association wrote: »

E-cigarettes are banned on trains yet there’s no single case of anyone dying due to second hand exposure to vapour.

I want to see a linked prosecution of someone who caused a fatality between 1996 and 2018 whilst using a mobile phone in this country who was convicted and sentenced for it.

Do your own research so. It’s a stupid question. The research is there that proves they are a distraction. Distracted drivers are dangerous drivers. Dangerous drivers kill people. Whether there is a prosecution or not is irrelevant, the victim is dead and a lot of lives are affected.

No idea where you are going on e-cigs. They are banned. People should not have to breathe in vapors with dubious content while on public transport or wherever. Big tobacco is just trying to muscle back in on the public at large.

robyntmorton

There is a series airing on RTE1 on Mondays at the moment - How’s Your Driving. It will be looking at things like drink/drugs, speeding, and mobile phones, using a cross section of drivers on a closed test track.

It will show all the cause and effect you want.