Just been announced that from February 27th the fine for using a handheld mobile phone whilst driving will double to £60, plus three licence penalty points.
If this proves as effective as current ineffectiveness on stopping this practice I'm not holding my breath.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Who's going to enforce this? Another raft of cameras on the roadside!
The worst offenders on my commute seem to be the wagon drivers.
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My work provides professionally fitted car kits for the company issued mobile phones in the company cars & vans, they also sent a reminder out to everybody telling them the handsfree kit provided must be used when driving if the phone is to be answered & any fine & penalty points they pick up by not using the handsfree kit is down to the person in question & also disciplinary action will be taken.
Cant really say fairer then that can you.
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Enforcement is always the issue, but perhaps making the penalty more commensurate with the 'crime' and/or possible outcome by making the driving with one hand on the steering wheel & divided attention a 'driving without due care & attention' offence - which of course, it is.
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Long overdue. But will it be enforced?
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Can't see how nobody being present to enforce a £60 fine will be any better than nobody being present to enforce a £30 fine.
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On my 5 min. walk into town I'll see two or three people talkinto hand-helds;now if I was a copper on foot!1
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> ...the handsfree kit provided must be used when driving...
Do they supply a brain-free kit too? Having said which, most of the mobile conversations one overhears appear to be brain-free anyway, so perhaps the question of divided attention doesn't generally arise. ;-)
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Talking to a Traffic Officer today, he seems to think that this will be the death knell fro using phones whilst driving. EPPTs are a performance indicator in this area and this will be like shooting fish in a barrel. About time I say.
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>>Talking to a Traffic Officer today>>
A number of my friends who are police officers used to be traffic cops - the decimation of their section of the force meant that many of them ended up on the beat.
Like so many police officers today they are bitterly disillusioned and can't wait to join those of their colleagues who have retired.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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There are plenty of cops looking forward eagerly to retirement, and as has been said, most are disillusioned, just wait until the 30th anniversary of the start of the miner's strike. This was a period when the Police recruited heavily and offered excellent pay and pension packages.
These pension packages required a minimum 30 years service to retire on a full pension, those 30 years are now very nearly up and a fair few cops will be leaving very soon and taking a lot of experience with them...
Good legislation (particularly as I spent £70 having my bluetooth kit professionally installed in the new motor :) but I doubt that it will be heavily enforced in many areas when the level of enforcement is viewed in relation to the scale of the crime.
Blue
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be like shooting fish in a barrel. >>
??? You mean after puncturing the barrel with your first shot, all the other becalmed fish just lie around with their fins up waiting to be arrested?
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Who's going to enforce this? Another raft of cameras on the roadside! The worst offenders on my commute seem to be the wagon drivers.
And when they make their roll up fags. And make their Tea, (literally), and play with their CB's and look at their delivery notes, (on the wheel). Said it before and will say it again and again if necessary and to plod if necessary. Most Lorry drivers, (not all), have a disdain for others bordering on contempt. POSSIBLY due to their unreasonable workloads, wages and hours, but it is not the General Publics fault so be a bit more considerate. A person with little or no interest, sat in an air conditioned environment on an air cushioned seat five feet above the rest of the world may feel immune, but the consequences of dangerous actions if it goes wrong may haunt one forever, or indeed, it may not! Applies to us all. Not just the Truckers.
MD
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I put Parrot kits in both of our cars, one of the main benefits of these kits is that I can see who is calling as they have lcd displays, this means I dont answer all the calls, only the ones I think are important.
When I worked for RoyalMail a few years ago we were told not to use the company mobile in the car, in fact they took a lot of the hands free kits out, it was suggested that we turn the phone off when in the car - this was fine by me as I was spending up to 6 hours a day in the car so it made my day a lot easier. Another company I worked for, the depot manager wanted me to get car kits fitted to all the vans so we could contact the drivers, I managed to get him to see sense, I also made the drivers aware that I did not expect them to have the mobiles on when driving, but I did expect them to check them regularly for messages etc.
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Please note that it has tightened up more than just the FPN and points.
It will also be an offence if a police officer considers that you are not in proper control of your vehicle even when using hands free for the call.
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Revert to reply number two,I have not seen one patrol or in fact a police officer of any kind this week its probably to cold for them.
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Revert to reply number two,I have not seen one patrol or in fact a police officer of any kind this week its probably to cold for them.
I've seen one police car in the last week. Unfortunately it pulled out of a side road in front of the car ahead of us, nearly causing an accident, so I'd rather have seen none at all.
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