Yes but even with the wording from the above link :-
It’s illegal to hold a phone or sat nav while driving or riding a motorcycle. You must have hands-free access, such as:
- a bluetooth headset
- voice command
- a dashboard holder or mat
- a windscreen mount
- a built-in sat nav
Your're not totally hands free if you use your fingers (er hands) to touch the screen at all -
What is so difficult to understand, its clear to me from the DVLA site but in truth it was clear without even looking at it.
Hand free simply means you are not holding the device. Just like a touch screen radio or other touch screen control you can actually operate the device while driving. But it must be in a cradle (or similar).
Touching it with your fingers whilst it is in a cradle is very different to holding it in one hand and touching the device with fingers from your other hand.
But I feel pretty sure you are not allowed to text or carry out other more complicated operations. Answering a call or making one from memory is fine as I understand it. In all our recent cars its been possible to do the above without even touching the screen, buttons on the steering wheel allow such operations without even taking a hand off the wheel in both Bluetooth and Android Auto set ups.
But in truth I never make a call whilst driving and only answer one if its a name I recognise and think maybe important. When I am out the wife will only ring its its really necessary, we don't talk in the house so why would we talk whilst I am in the car.
About 25 years ago a friend of mine was killed whilst using his phone in the car. His girlfriend called him and he pulled over into a layby to talk to her. Foggy day and a lorry misstook the layby he was in for the actual road and ploughed into the back of the car. Not a happy time for all concerned.
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