Video calls while driving

twin_beacon

I have seen this 3 times since Christmas on my daily commute on the M4 and M50. Drivers with their phone attached to the window, having a facetime or video call. One of the guys had his phone is just below the mirror on the front wind screen, so everyone driving behind could see the woman he was talking to. Has anyone else noticed an increase in this, or is it just me.

Salary Negotiator

I see people on video calls or watching Netflix/YouTube daily on my commute.

I actually emailed a company yesterday to let them know that their driver was watching a video while driving (badly) on the M50.

Dravokivich

I find it wierd sometimes where people place'em, before even thinking about what they are doing with them.

I prefer to keep my phone placed where it doesn't obstruct my view and where it won't distract me. I even keep GPS apps in Night Time mode, so it doesn't stand out to me.

punisher5112

What amateurs, you need to keep it low down like most I see so they won't get caught....

As I'm in the bus I'm up high so see some amount of absolute fools.

Thargor

But the cyclists...

punisher5112

Thargor wrote: »

But the cyclists...

Dang it..,. Totally forgot about them.....

See them on their phones all the time, have seen a few watching videos too.

jimmycrackcorm

Is be curious about the difference between video calling Vs talking to the person in the patent seat Vs looking at your instrument panel whilst driving.

Or. Then implication is that if you are in a video call while driving that you are staying at the phone continuously.

Yet if you are taking to a passenger then you are unlikely to have them very often and of you need to watch your speed limit then you will continuously have to distract your road view by looking at the speedometer.

frillyleaf

Salary Negotiator wrote: »

I see people on video calls or watching Netflix/YouTube daily on my commute.

I actually emailed a company yesterday to let them know that their driver was watching a video while driving (badly) on the M50.

Oh my god. This is disgraceful. People should face an automatic 6 month ban for this. It’s even more dangerous than drink driving imo

punisher5112

Another spanner in the mix is those that talk into go pros or TV cameras etc while driving whether for interview or doing a test on the car itself.

These people spend a lot of time looking into the lense.

rizzodun

Salary Negotiator wrote: »

I see people on video calls or watching Netflix/YouTube daily on my commute.

I actually emailed a company yesterday to let them know that their driver was watching a video while driving (badly) on the M50.

Hopefully not while driving.

frillyleaf

I saw a lady watching a chat show on the N4 during rush hour traffic - phone was fixed to her steering wheel. I called gaurds and reported her and hoping she is caught before she seriously injures or kills someone’s family or family member. Disgraceful behaviour. Companies that have drivers doing this should be publicly named and shamed. I don’t agree with this in general but there is no excuse for company drivers behaving so recklessly. I’ve seen cement trucks texting while pulling out of sites during rush hour traffic , there’s not a hope they’d see a child crossing in front or the truck.

frillyleaf

punisher5112 wrote: »

Another spanner in the mix is those that talk into go pros or TV cameras etc while driving whether for interview or doing a test on the car itself.

These people spend a lot of time looking into the lense.

Yes ridiculous staring into a lens while driving!! It actually scares me as I’ve young kids. The amount of people that fly through traffic lights and pedestrian crossings due to their phones is crazy.

Think it’s important that kids learn to not cross at the green man, that they also need to check that cars have actually stopped. So many people are so distracted when driving.

punisher5112

frillyleaf wrote: »

Yes ridiculous staring into a lens while driving!! It actually scares me as I’ve young kids. The amount of people that fly through traffic lights and pedestrian crossings due to their phones is crazy.

Think it’s important that kids learn to not cross at the green man, that they also need to check that cars have actually stopped. So many people are so distracted when driving.

Always teach them to look at the drivers eyes....

Best bit of advice I can tell.

If they see you then you know.

frillyleaf

punisher5112 wrote: »

Always teach them to look at the drivers eyes....

Best bit of advice I can tell.

If they see you then you know.[/]

Yes I do that but very good advice. I teach them to look at the drivers and to make sure cars / trucks are stopped and can see them before crossing.
I think some people think I’m a bit crazy but I see them flying through the crossings or lights so often. I often see pedestrians stepping out assuming cars will stop. I know they have the right of way but some people don’t even see them!

punisher5112

punisher5112 wrote: »

Another spanner in the mix is those that talk into go pros or TV cameras etc while driving whether for interview or doing a test on the car itself.

These people spend a lot of time looking into the lense.

The madness of life

twin_beacon

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Is be curious about the difference between video calling Vs talking to the person in the patent seat Vs looking at your instrument panel whilst driving.

I suppose out of sight out of mind may be an appropriate thing to say! Talking to someone in the passenger seat or via bluetooth on a non video call would probably require a similar amount of thinking as listening to something you are really interested in on the radio. The major distraction with a video call, even if you are not looking at the phone screen its the brightness of the screen at night time. Car GPS systems (even google maps) have a dark mode at night time so they wont distract the driver.

frillyleaf wrote: »

I saw a lady watching a chat show on the N4 during rush hour traffic - phone was fixed to her steering wheel. I called gaurds and reported her and hoping she is caught before she seriously injures or kills someone’s family or family member. Disgraceful behaviour. Companies that have drivers doing this should be publicly named and shamed. I don’t agree with this in general but there is no excuse for company drivers behaving so recklessly. I’ve seen cement trucks texting while pulling out of sites during rush hour traffic , there’s not a hope they’d see a child crossing in front or the truck.

I've seen that before too. If the traffic core had an actual presence during rush hours, you wouldn't see this (or people using the hard shoulder as a lane :rolleyes:). When the risk of getting caught is minimal, people will take the chance.

frillyleaf wrote: »

Think it’s important that kids learn to not cross at the green man, that they also need to check that cars have actually stopped. So many people are so distracted when driving.

absolutely.Tthe pedestrian crossing beside the Beacon Hotel, you usually have to wait for at least one car to pass by once the green man appears. I feel for the visually impaired people that have to use the sounds on the crossings, they would be walking into oncoming traffic.

Kramer

Would this count?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7lJuej_fpM

Dravokivich

Looks like they are interacting with it, over the steering wheel. That's blocking the view of their instruments. They also won't see too far ahead of them if their eyes are primarily set downwards.

whiskeyman

punisher5112 wrote: »

Another spanner in the mix is those that talk into go pros or TV cameras etc while driving whether for interview or doing a test on the car itself.

These people spend a lot of time looking into the lense.

This annoys the hell out of me.
Pretty much every RTE program does this.
Dermot Bannon etc.. all driving talking into the camera on the way somewhere. Could it not wait or do it in a coffee shop???

It's clearly distracted driving... And then there's usually an RSA as during the break warning us we are all terrible distracted drivers!!

Dravokivich

whiskeyman wrote: »

This annoys the hell out of me.
Pretty much every RTE program does this.
Dermot Bannon etc.. all driving talking into the camera on the way somewhere. Could it not wait or do it in a coffee shop???

It's clearly distracted driving... And then there's usually an RSA as during the break warning us we are all terrible distracted drivers!!

The dramatic phone calls, that just happen in the car. Never when mid-swig on a gin or when he's rushing off to take a piss.

Tchaikovsky

punisher5112 wrote: »

These people spend a lot of time looking into the lense.

and sticking forks into sockets.

Kramer

Dravokivich wrote: »

Looks like they are interacting with it, over the steering wheel. That's blocking the view of their instruments.

You may see how he was drifting into the hard shoulder as I approached him & if you watch his dipped beam lights on the road as I went by, they show he was over half way into the hard shoulder again.
I continued at the speed limit & he sailed past me about 8kms later so he was hopefully finished his internet surfing by then.

I see this every day, but not usually with laptops/tablets on the steering wheel, just phones.
I have though seen a taxi driver with a video playing on a 10"+ screen, high on his windscreen, in the dark. Probably have that saved somewhere actually.......should I dig it up....?

Driving standards are worsening every day.