[JustChris]

How about any of these, will they help? 🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈


Or the snack shack on the move?

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Isn't the real issue, many car users, (can't call them drivers) don't see the importance of giving the best concentration levels to the task in hand. Distractions are allowed, even contributed to, the same as in any other part of their lives.

I know driving with my son, with grandsons in the back, any situation when a higher level of concentration is required they get the signal to 'tame it', plus they understand why. Simple stuff, like turning music down, passengers stopping conversation at times drivers require full concentration, all part of driving and passenger discipline.

Problem with phone conversations (and it is coming out in the discussion on this subject) is the person remote from the car can't interact with the driving situation. This is something I've always been aware of, and if I must talk to someone driving along, ask if it is really safe to have the conversation...

Most of the solution is simple and common sense stuff.

Yeah agree with that. Problem is any one can get a licence it would appear and people are addicted to Phones so cant put them down. I find younger people that have grown up with mobiles from an early age feel a sense of entitlement to check there FB or what ever they use these days...have to be connected at all times. I cant see the clock turning back on this tech.

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by JustChris

How about any of these, will they help? 🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈


Or the snack shack on the move?

Love the snack tray now that is a good idea...i could have my full Sunday roast while driving down the A1... Brilliant...and its not connected...yet.

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by mikeoz

Love the snack tray now that is a good idea...i could have my full Sunday roast while driving down the A1... Brilliant...and its not connected...yet.

M Performance Carbon Fibre snack tray.

Pure eating pleasure.

RRP £299

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by JustChris

M Performance Carbon Fibre snack tray.

Pure eating pleasure.

RRP £299

Hey dont give them ideas...

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Isn't the real issue, many car users, (can't call them drivers) don't see the importance of giving the best concentration levels to the task in hand. Distractions are allowed, even contributed to, the same as in any other part of their lives.

I know driving with my son, with grandsons in the back, any situation when a higher level of concentration is required they get the signal to 'tame it', plus they understand why. Simple stuff, like turning music down, passengers stopping conversation at times drivers require full concentration, all part of driving and passenger discipline.

Problem with phone conversations (and it is coming out in the discussion on this subject) is the person remote from the car can't interact with the driving situation. This is something I've always been aware of, and if I must talk to someone driving along, ask if it is really safe to have the conversation.

Most of the solution is simple and common sense stuff.

+1

In terms of the subject of this thread, all the evidence is that the distraction of a phone call comes from the conversation (not from holding the handset) and it therefore makes just as much sense to ban hands-free as it does hands-held in my view. Although I have hands-free it's rare I instigate a call from the car and generally I don't accept one on the move; if hands-free use was made illegal it therefore wouldn't bother me although the reality is such a law would be almost impossible to enforce.

[mcoops]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

How would you police it? If someone is talking in the car they are breaking the law? Impossible to spot from outside so impossible to police fairly.

If they concentrated on people who just cant drive, regardless of distraction, that would be a great start!

Don't know. I would hope that for some it would be self-policing. Perhaps if they were serious, hands-free devices would be outlawed in the UK. But I get this is all difficult to do.

Agree about the idiots. I was sorely tempted to post about middle-lane imbeciles again yesterday, but it's been done to death.

[moonshine]

I'm not against a ban on hands free, but the large company I work for company (Amey) has a no phones policy when driving . Full stop. If you know someone is driving, don't call. If you are driving, even if on hands free, dont answer

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by moonshine

I'm not against a ban on hands free, but the large company I work for company (Amey) has a no phones policy when driving . Full stop. If you know someone is driving, don't call. If you are driving, even if on hands free, dont answer

And they have that policy with good reason IMO!

[Tengocity]

I have less of an issue with phone calls in the car, be that hands free or even hand held, than I do with folk messaging at the wheel. I see it many times a day and it's quite frankly ridiculous.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by RobUK

Does seem extreme doesn't it, but remember there are thousands... hundreds of thousands in fact that seem unable to drive safely even without the distraction of hands-free!

Personally when I'm in the car the phone is ignored, there's some setting that says when the phone detects that it's paired with the car calls, texts and alerts are all muted.

Would I vote in favour of a hands-free ban? Probably not, but then there's another way of looking at it. What if the statistic was that just one extra death per year is likely to be caused by the use of hands-free phones? Would that be an acceptable risk? What then if that one extra death was someone close to you? Just playing devil's advocate.

Interesting idea... I'd say it's worth one death, because it's equally likely that somewhere in the uk on any given day there's a phone call in a car that's saved someone's life.

[Vasumir]

As someone has pointed out, they can't police the current law on phone use. So what hope do they have of policing hands free? Even if an officer thinks they've spotted you talking, how are they to know you're on the phone and not just singing along to music, or talking to yourself.
I just don't see this ban being realistic at all. I very rarely have calls in the car, but when I do take them I tend to pay hardly any attention to the call. So much so that people give up trying to talk to me and call back later.

[RobUK]

I agree police would have a tough time actively enforcing a ban on hands-free but a lack of police resources to enforce a law is not a reason to not enact that law imho. The simple act of enacting such a law would stop a large number of drivers from doing it which presumably is the primary aim.

Perhaps a ban on hands-free would be pursued more through accident investigation and if it were determined that a crash was caused by the use of hands-free then this law would make it easier to prosecute the offender.

In any case, if you go down the route of not enacting a law because of difficulties enforcing it then you open the door to all sorts of other laws being scrapped.

[SW6Steve]

Ban talking in cars! In fact ban passengers all together! Ban changing radio stations! Ban changing tracks on your iPhone! Ban changing tracks on a CD! Ban manual transmission! Ban turning on your wipers! Ban bibbing your horn!
The list is endless!
What would be the difference between having a conversation with a passenger and say turning your wipers on, or pressing one button to answer a call and talking on your hands free phone?
It seems to me that once something is picked up by the media, then these people have a mission to put something else into the spotlight!
Madness!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by SW6Steve

Ban talking in cars! In fact ban passengers all together! Ban changing radio stations! Ban changing tracks on your iPhone! Ban changing tracks on a CD! Ban manual transmission! Ban turning on your wipers! Ban bibbing your horn!
The list is endless!
What would be the difference between having a conversation with a passenger and say turning your wipers on, or pressing one button to answer a call and talking on your hands free phone?
It seems to me that once something is picked up by the media, then these people have a mission to put something else into the spotlight!
Madness!

I'm sure you are not really serious that we can lump together all you mention, at the same level of distraction.

Levels of distractions are well researched and identified. The science is there, for what distracts most and often the reasons why. Phone use does distract at a high level, and not just in cars. Forget the media sound bites and headlines, look at the serious science if you want to understand the subject better.

[TodmordenLad]

Originally Posted by Wills2

The answer is simple, being human means we're in a constant state of distraction to varying degrees so we just need to ban humans and everything will be fine.

Or maybe just ban thinking, so we'd have nothing to say in the first place.
Gove and his recently announced Ministry of Truth - aka "rapid rebuttal unit" - is working on this, of course. Orwell must be spinning in his grave

[SW6Steve]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

I'm sure you are not really serious that we can lump together all you mention, at the same level of distraction.

Levels of distractions are well researched and identified. The science is there, for what distracts most and often the reasons why. Phone use does distract at a high level, and not just in cars. Forget the media sound bites and headlines, look at the serious science if you want to understand the subject better.

Yes some were tongue in cheek!
But I fail to see how talking to someone right next to you is any different to talking hands free. In fact talking to someone next to you is probably more distracting! My calls on hands free tend to be short and to the point.
I completely agree and understand holding/using your mobile whilst driving is a massive distraction. The fine should be greater imho!

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by SW6Steve

Yes some were tongue in cheek!
But I fail to see how talking to someone right next to you is any different to talking hands free. In fact talking to someone next to you is probably more distracting!

When we dig deeper, it is the opposite, a 'normal' passenger is not as distracting, the interaction is different than talking with someone on the phone. As I say, look at the research science if you want to understand the way we interact.

Personally I'd already come to the conclusion any phone conversations have the potential to be very distracting, long before any transport research group posted their findings. Just watch folks lack of spatial awareness and dulled senses when on the phone, including hands free.

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by SW6Steve

Ban talking in cars! In fact ban passengers all together! Ban changing radio stations! Ban changing tracks on your iPhone! Ban changing tracks on a CD! Ban manual transmission! Ban turning on your wipers! Ban bibbing your horn!
The list is endless!
What would be the difference between having a conversation with a passenger and say turning your wipers on, or pressing one button to answer a call and talking on your hands free phone?
It seems to me that once something is picked up by the media, then these people have a mission to put something else into the spotlight!
Madness!

Agreed it's utterly laughable, managing distraction is an integral part of everyday life unfortunately we need saving from ourselves as we can't be trusted to do that for ourselves.

[rich100]

I wonder what implications this has for the personal in car assistant..... shouting "hey bmw"and trying to convince it to change the aircon setting or whatever could be quite distracting, particularly if Siri is anything to go by.

"No officer I certainly wasn't on my hands free I was just having an argument with the car"

Ditto gesture control... does waving your hands about in a futile attempt to change the volume on the radio constitute grounds for distraction?

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by SW6Steve

Ban talking in cars! In fact ban passengers all together! Ban changing radio stations! Ban changing tracks on your iPhone! Ban changing tracks on a CD! Ban manual transmission! Ban turning on your wipers! Ban bibbing your horn!
The list is endless!
What would be the difference between having a conversation with a passenger and say turning your wipers on, or pressing one button to answer a call and talking on your hands free phone?
It seems to me that once something is picked up by the media, then these people have a mission to put something else into the spotlight!
Madness!

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by SW6Steve

I completely agree and understand holding/using your mobile whilst driving is a massive distraction. The fine should be greater imho!

And your comment illustrates the problem rather neatly. All the evidence shows the distraction with talking on a mobile phone whilst driving comes from the conversation and not from holding the handset; therefore, to advocate higher penalties for hand-held use whilst at the same time condoning hands-free use makes no sense whatsoever.

I accept using a phone hand-held to text and e-mail whilst driving is on another level again but that doesn't alter the fact that talking hands-free is a distraction (and an unnecessary and avoidable one in my view).