Go Hands free or Hang up

[Kandyman]

Only a few days left to make sure you have got your hands free kit installed/working.


What is the Law

From 1st December 2003 it became an offence to hold a mobile phone or other transmitting device when driving


What is the Penalty

From 27th February 2007 the minimum penalty for breaking this law is increasing:
• £60 fine (or up to £2,500 on conviction)
• 3 points on your licence
Remember if you are believed to be driving dangerously even when using a handsfree solution you can still be charged with driving without due care and attention.

[windrush]

A nice reminder Kanyman The amount of Drivers that still use the phone while driving shows that the law is not tough enough

[Rich]

Parrot kits are under £80 on ebay now!

[JohnDotCom]

Unless they start putting Traffic Cars back out it will not improve who's going to pull you up, a Cardboard Cut Out? or are traffic cameras going to start photographing every vehicle?
I know its wrong but perhaps more efforts could be made to stop all the Uninsured, Untaxed Motors out there causing real problems now, not to mention cloned number plates!

[baxlin]

Originally Posted by JohnDotCom

Unless they start putting Traffic Cars back out it will not improve who's going to pull you up, a Cardboard Cut Out? or are traffic cameras going to start photographing every vehicle?
I know its wrong but perhaps more efforts could be made to stop all the Uninsured, Untaxed Motors out there causing real problems now, not to mention cloned number plates!

Well said JDC, particularly the bit about uninsured/untaxed motors.

Malcolm

[BMC123]

funny enough, over here in 'norn Ireland for many years drivers were able to "string out" the payment of car tax (and even insurance) as the police here had other things to deal with. It was not uncommon for a car to go 2 or 3 months over before it would be taxed, with very little in the way of fines or regulations to enforce it.

With the advent of "normal" policing, new rules were introduced and heavily enforced. Both the police and DVLA went on a huge enforcement campaign, firstly they warned people that fines and tickets would go up, then they told us the clamper's would be out and....
nobody took a blind bit of notice, that was until they started.

In one day recently around here they clamped 47 cars, issued 270 parking tickets and towed away 55 cars :SHOCKED: Oh the locals went mad ranting and raving, but once they had calmed down they realised there was nothing they could do. they had broken the law and that was it, as every time one of them would complain to the press, the following day there would be loads of letters and people phoning the local radio station asking why these people were complaining as they had obviously been driving/parking illegally in the first place, so no sympathy whatsoever

so at least over here, they are doing something (mind you it was a bit of a shock to the system)

[Tom Collins]

What a waste of time. I cant believe anybody ever gets caught and fined on their mobile phones. If I stop next to somebody at lights etc, and they're on the phone, I usually try to get their attention and then give them the appropriate hand signal.

[Rich]

Yeah likewise!

I also usually shout (I've got a fairly loud booming type voice too) GET OFF THE [insert relative expletive] PHONE!

The shock alone normally makes them drop the phone instantly

[Paranoid Carlos]

So if my bluetooth earpiece is set to auto answer, thats legal?

[Raistlin]

Originally Posted by JohnDotCom

I know its wrong but perhaps more efforts could be made to stop all the Uninsured, Untaxed Motors out there causing real problems now, not to mention cloned number plates!

John, I find myself only partially in agreement with you here.

I, more than most, am acutely aware of the situation regarding the uninsured and those who drive while disqualified. There are ever increasing numbers and I find myself frustrated not only by the fact that there are many more than are actually caught but also that our system leaves us with no truly effective way of dealing with such offenders in the early stages.

The level of fines we can impose viewed against the cost of insurance is pitiful but then again, what would be the point of fining somebody an amount they could not possibly pay?

It is a sad fact, but MOST un-insured drivers have an income at such a level where any fines are effectively peppercorn and are paid off at the rate of £5 per week. No incentive there to get insurance.

We seize and crush the cars involved but most of them were purchased for £50 or thereabouts and are considered a consumable item by their owners.

I'm not too bothered about untaxed vehicle in this case owing to the focus on things dangerous rather than pecuniary.

Where I find myself disagreeing with you is in not prioritising the detection of those using mobile phones. A chat with any traffic officer will make it plain that they are the cause of many horrific accidents and that the Police routinely search vehicles at the scene of an accident these days for evidence of a mobile phone having been in use.

Indeed, my own unfortunate experience a month ago is looking increasingly like the result of a driver using his mobile phone to the detriment of his concentration on driving.

In an ideal world, we would have sufficient resources to detect all offending but it just isn't going to happen.

My being an eternal optimist allows me to think that the imposition of points on a driving licence will deter people from using mobile phones, especially, as with speeding offences at the moment, where they suddenly find themselves with 9 points.