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How many times have you driven to work in the morning and either on a dual carriageway or parked at traffic lights looked at the car next to you; only to be confronted by the sight of some Muppet with a mobile phone glued to his or her ear.
It is a sight that is now becoming increasingly common as more people than ever before have mobile phones and people drive to work rather than use the pathetic public transportation system (see previous gripes!). However, a recent study at the Transport Research Laboratory sponsored by insurer Direct Line has provided new evidence that driving and using a mobile phone may be more dangerous than driving whilst under the influence of alcohol.
The research showed that on average the reactions of the driver were nearly 50% slower than when driving normally and that even using a hands free kit did not completely eliminate the distraction caused by having a telephone conversation whilst driving.
Using a hand held mobile phone and driving is illegal in many countries including the UK and those caught in this country are usually prosecuted for dangerous or careless driving. Some MPs however believe that it should be treated as a separate offence and are currently trying to push bill through parliament banning the use of hand held mobile phones when driving.
It is not just the Nokia wielding maniacs that give me cause for concern. A friend of mine emailed me this morning to tell me about a woman he saw driving at around 100mph in a BMW with her face close to the rear view mirror as she applied her makeup. Also, the number of times I've seen a sales rep sitting in his company car either shaving or reading the paper just never ceases to amaze me. Why???
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I am not saying motorists should not take care but why should not some of the care come from the pedestrians themselves and if they are proved to be negligent while crossing the road at the same time as using a mobile phone and this results in an accident they should be prosecuted and any damage or injury they should be made to compensate, yes this may mean the pedestrian taking out insurance cover like the motorist. Why should motor insurance pay for it all ?
Will people ever learn that it is ILLEGAL to use your phone when driving except in an emergency? Need tougher penalties for doing illegal stuff.
I do not support the use of phones to chat while driving anymore than I do any other form of poor driving but the figures (such as they are ) do not support the reaction. 0.3% of fatal accidents occured while a phone is in use (which doesn't actually mean it was the reason for the crash). So yes, we know its stupid. we know it impairs driving..
The real killers are excess speed and dangerous manoevres and these shoud be targetted first. I count using a phone to chat in moving trafic as a dangerous manoevre, but holding it or answering a quick call on an empty road as just stupidity; for which you shoud be penalised only if theres an accident
I could literally stand outside my house and catch tonnes, with undeniable proof they were doing so!
It's a quick and easy way of increasing police figures without really doing any work. Yet they don't seem to grasp this simple concept!
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