Drivers using mobile phones

Emp_Fab

I've noticed a definite increase in the number of people using phones whilst driving - not to talk on, but to text / browse / whatever - which is far worse.  This week whilst walking Pugsley, two delivery lorries drove past me from different companies and both drivers were looking down at their phones whilst 'in control' of 7.5 tonnes of truck through a residential area.  I see it all the time on the motorway too...  I've seen coach drivers, HGV drivers, even a petrol tanker driver, (not to mention the countless car drivers) either talking with the phone to their ear, or looking down and jabbing at the screen.  It's become an epidemic and it scares the shit out of me to think that I'm sharing roads with a growing number of vehicles that have, to all intents and purposes, blindfolded drivers in them.

I already video all my journeys with my windscreen-mounted phone, but I'm going to start doing the same from the passenger window with my old phone and mount, to make a video to show just how many people are doing this.

People just don't think of the consequences.  One second you're sending a quick text, you look down at the phone, you look back up every few seconds and you think that's ok.  Then one day, you look down and suddenly...BANG, you have no idea what's just happened but there's glass everywhere and the airbag's gone off.  Then it turns out that the old guy in the car that's embedded in your radiator is dead.  The police find that whilst he was driving like a twat, you were the one playing with your phone.  That's it - game over - in the blink of an eye your life as you know it has gone.  You're going to prison for several YEARS.  You will lose your job, probably your house, maybe even your wife.  Everything gone in the time it took you type 'LOL !' on your phone.

Yet, more and more drivers are taking that gamble.  There really needs to be a public service TV ad campaign to highlight the very real potential consequences of the seemingly trivial act of texting whilst driving.

This week's community service rant was brought to you by the words 'oh' and 'shit' and the number 9.

not_the_dj

Good rant...it is fricking scary out there sometimes. I drive about 40 miles each day on the motorway so I see this a lot.

boogieman

Lorry drivers are probably using theirs as satnavs tbh. But yeah, there are a lot of nob ends calling non-handsfree or texting while driving these days. There's plenty of public info about how dangerous this is but still people do it.

grungebob

http://i1034.photobucket.com/albums/a428/grungebob/Mobile Uploads/B9A903F7-626B-4711-B990-973DF0AB0534_zpspxwrwm6h.jpg

joneve

I admit to briefly looking at my phone to skip a track or whatever as my phone is my audio source in the car, but this is no different to glancing at the stereo. But I agree with everything you said above. 

stickyfiddle

It's terrifying. Happens here a shitload too. Absolutely horrendous stupid thing to do. There will be lots of people getting "Darwinned" over the next few years.

JAYJO

I never cycle in the winter. Tough enough in the summer . The amount of people driving before clearing their window screens etc. Ive been at the lights while cars next to me are still trying to clear their screens (usually women).And tbh ive noticed most of the drivers i have seen on their mobiles were Women!. Young dopey ladies taking corners while on the phone, checking the rear view to see if there hair is ok! Animatedly Gabbing to a friend in the  passenger seat arms going everywhere etc. pissess me off. I walk in the winter.

ROOG

I've never understood what is so important about an incoming call that you simply must take it whilst driving. Most seem to be people having a nice chat with their mates, perhaps Im wrong?

Ok so there are lots of small businesses who are desperate for their next order, but it can't be worth the risk of an accident and worse.

I don't know if the police do this already but checking phone records must be relatively little work for them and provides good chronological  evidence. Making calls whilst driving is just setting your self up for the fall. 

TTony

Emp_Fab said:

I already video all my journeys with my windscreen-mounted phone, but I'm going to start doing the same from the passenger window with my old phone and mount, to make a video to show just how many people are doing this.

It's all these people video-ing their journeys that worry me.

Fingers jabbing at their dash-mounted cameras (some people even have 2 cameras set-up!!) to pause/record, replaying bits of footage, zooming in on someone who they think is just about to drop some litter ... arrghhhh .... talk about dangerous ...

stickyfiddle

ROOG said:

I've never understood what is so important about an incoming call that you simply must take it whilst driving. Most seem to be people having a nice chat with their mates, perhaps Im wrong?

Ok so there are lots of small businesses who are desperate for their next order, but it can't be worth the risk of an accident and worse.

I don't know if the police do this already but checking phone records must be relatively little work for them and provides good chronological  evidence. Making calls whilst driving is just setting your self up for the fall. 

It's not phonecalls that are the big problem. You can potentially have a phonecall without your eyes ever leaving the road. It's facebook, twitters, whatsapp, etc on smartphones that people are staring at.

TTony

But it is actually quite scary how quickly an "incident" can arise, and how even a slight distraction can increase the risk of an accident.

I was driving the other day, along a road that I've driven many times, talking to my wife on the phone.  

All voice-activated, hands-free, so no looking away from the road at all.  

I stopped at a junction, checked for traffic, my wife said something, I pulled out ... only to slam on the brakes because of a car turning that I'd not noticed (he might have been indicating to turn, he might not - that's how much I noticed).  I probably travelled 2ft into the junction before stopping, the other guy took avoiding action, so there was no damage and no drama.

But it was still scary how easily it can happen with the slightest of distractions.

A little wake-up call.

VimFuego

too busy loading the Glock to use my mobile while driving.

CabbageCat

Installing a camera on ones car is just lame.

I look forward to the headline, "Local busybody loses license in snooping backfire after his video of phone driver shows he is speeding". I would high-five the news if I saw that (whether Fab was the busybody or not).

Emp_Fab

Is that the one that you keep in the holster that used to hold the H&K pistol ? - i.e. the Cuckoo Glock ?

Sorry.. !

Jalapeno

Is Hands-Free voice calling really any more distracting than chatting with a passenger ?

CabbageCat

Jalapeno said:

Is Hands-Free voice calling really any more distracting than chatting with a passenger ?

Yes and no. A passenger can shut up if he sees you're at a bit of road that needs concentration - but I was always told that chatting with passengers is dangerous too.

Indeed there are a great number of unnecessary things we do while driving that are dangerous: listening to music, smoking, leching, or just driving when you could be using alternative methods...but people have bought into phones being the Big Evil and ignore the rest because taking a stand against one crime morally absolves them from partaking in the rest.

Emp_Fab

No.  We're not really talking about that, we're talking about people taking their eyes off the road to fiddle with their phones - texting / facebook etc.  However, now that you've raised it, I would say it's less distracting as you have no person physically next to you that it is tempting to turn to look at.  I've seen lots of drivers, usually female when they have a mate in the passenger seat, repeatedly turn to face them when talking.

Emp_Fab

CabbageCat said:

...but people have bought into phones being the Big Evil and ignore the rest because taking a stand against one crime morally absolves them from partaking in the rest.

Here he comes, Devil's Advocate.   Nice try Cabbage, but we're talking about people taking their eyes off the road to look at a mobile phone screen.  You don't do that when you're listening to music, smoking etc...

beed84

It is scary, and totally irresponsible.  The other day I noticed a woman driving with both hands on her phone, not the steering wheel.  I wondered what the three child passengers thought.  

I agree with the OP, something should done to highlight the dangers of pratting around with a mobile phone while driving what is essentially a killing machine if handled incorrectly. My view is text messages can wait, the accidents caused because of them won't. 

CabbageCat

Emp_Fab said:

CabbageCat said:

...but people have bought into phones being the Big Evil and ignore the rest because taking a stand against one crime morally absolves them from partaking in the rest.

Here he comes, Devil's Advocate.   Nice try Cabbage, but we're talking about people taking their eyes off the road to look at a mobile phone screen.  You don't do that when you're listening to music, smoking etc...

Much as I appreciate your guidance I don't think you're qualified to control what Jalapeno and I talk about.

Emp_Fab

ROOG said:

I don't know if the police do this already but checking phone records must be relatively little work for them and provides good chronological  evidence. Making calls whilst driving is just setting your self up for the fall. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28585757

She got a six year prison sentence because although there was no evidence that she was playing with the phone at the time of the crash, the phone records showed that she was texting SIX MINUTES EARLIER.

That's a very sobering thought.  If there's any evidence that you handled your phone at any point in your journey before an accident, it will be assumed you were playing with your phone at the time of the crash - and you're going to pay heavily for that.  The police can, and will, use all evidence available - call records, browser history, data records from the service provider, IOS/Android log files - everything is time stamped.  If you use your phone for anything at any point, there will always be a record of that use somewhere, and they will find it.