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The Forum > General Discussion > Idiots on Mobile Phones Whilst Driving

Idiots on Mobile Phones Whilst Driving

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Robert,

Thank you for taking the time to find the studies. It seems to stand to reason that the distraction is the problem. It takes less manual dexterity and concentration to hold something on your ear then it does to manipulate gears. If the manual thing was the issue manual cars would be banned.

The scary is that some people chat away merrily and self righteously on their hands free and react with disdain if they spot someone doing the same thing on a hands held.
Posted by mjpb, Thursday, 31 January 2008 5:44:20 PM
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Crikey, I have provided some pretty juicy stuff for discussion for all you readers out there who share the frustration expressed by TammyJo, Celivia and Ludwig.

So let’s get stuck into some juicy debate, and see if we can’t come up with some answers to this highly sh*tful situation of being subjected to dangerous and illegal actions on our roads without being able to do a *@#@* thing about it!
Posted by Ludwig, Friday, 1 February 2008 8:04:41 PM
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One third of all deaths on the road are pedestrians. Half of these are aged over 55. Something MUST be done to stop them!
Posted by palimpsest, Friday, 1 February 2008 8:31:09 PM
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Ludwig, I'm getting angrier!

What are the car insurance policies?

Insurance companies don't cover the drunk-driver's own damage.

They also should not cover the damage of drivers who cause an accident because they were talking on the phone- I dare say even if the phone was turned on in the car they should not be covered.
Your phone does not need to be switched on during the trip.

It's easier to check straight after an accident whether a phone was left on than it is to prove that someone was on the phone at that time.
Drivers who have their phone turned on during an accident should also not have the right to make insurance claims for their own damage.

Not only do these anti-social drivers risk other people's life, they also are a cause of more expensive insurance cover that I do NOT want to pay for.
Why should we all have to pay for the extra damage that they cause?

Perhaps we should all HONK HONK HONK every time we see a driver using a phone and POINT AT THEM so other drivers will join in.
Posted by Celivia, Friday, 1 February 2008 9:26:07 PM
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Thank you everyone- you have all raised excellent points of view on this bugger of a dilemma. There have been some great ideas worth exploring further. Even though talking on cell phone whilst driving is illegal- chances of being caught are slim- so that side of changing behaviour is nigh on impossible. Perhaps with time it will become socially unacceptable and that would make people think twice about it. Who knows. I for one am going to toot my horn at anyone driving and holding/and talking on their cell phone and do a quick charade (nicely) letting them know what real asses they are. Wish me luck!!
Posted by TammyJo, Friday, 1 February 2008 10:28:36 PM
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Celivia, it is an interesting idea to extend the illegality of mobile phone usage in a car to simply having the unit turned on. And I’m sure you are right about the need for reform in insurance policy in regard to illegal mobile phone usage.

But it still comes back to the need for effective policing. If people think that there is only a tiny chance that they’ll get caught, then no change in the law is like to achieve much, except perhaps something really draconian such as mandatory jail terms for offenders.

You are willing to “HONK HONK HONK” at offenders and draw attention to them…but you, and everyone else who has commented in this thread, seems to be stone cold on my idea of the public actually upholding their duty of care by way of gathering evidence and making formal complaints, which if it was properly facilitated by the police and authorities, could be done on a scale large enough to really impact on this type of infringement.

We either need something like this or a vastly increased police presence on our roads… in unmarked cars. I’d reckon at least a ten-fold increase would be needed to make any impression. That’s not gonna happen. So the obvious way to go is to empower the public to practice their fundamental duty of care by being able to properly undertake community policing.

There seems to be an enormous schism here, that I have noticed repeatedly on this forum: great concern or frustration over one or another point of law or dangerous activity, but a total reluctance to endorse improved policing!

To me it just doesn’t make any sense at all!
Posted by Ludwig, Sunday, 3 February 2008 8:56:21 AM
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