Last night I listened to a woman on the news saying that Hands Free car phones were dangerous because they are distracting.
First there are thousands of things in this world that are distracting and we learn to live with them.
The serious point is where did this imformation come from .I work in the mobile phone industry in Germany and can find no records of any accident caused by driver using a hands free unit as the Germans are better at recording facts and figures and the British useless I have to accept what imformation is available.
There are records for accidents caused by smokeing ,sleeping,eating,using a mobile phone without hands free,adjusting the radio or cd and all the the other reasons but hands free has a clean bill of health.This women will probably go on to convince some government goon that the use of phones in cars is against the law.And then we have another law to contend with that was brought in without any consultation and without any
research.
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Andrew,
According to my paper (Daily Express) a British Medical Association (BMA) review - whatever that is!- has called for urgent changes in the Highway Code and Government guidlines, neither of which condem the use of hands-free. A BMA spokeswoman said it was "the distracting nature of a conversation" rather than one less hand on the wheel that put road users in danger. The authors say there have been at least 14 deaths due to mobile phone use (note no mention of hands-free) since 1994.
OK to tear around with one arm out of the window then, but passengers are banned !!
Regards, Adam
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Would this be the best reason to leave the mother in law at home?
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I didn't mention that in case mine is surfing today, but .............!!
Adam.
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All I can say is that I see a lot of drivers using one hand for the steering, gears, indicators etc. and one for ther phone
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Try reading and listening to the radio simultaneously -- you can't. Try listening to the voice on a telephone and reading the road simultaneously -- you can't. Sorry folks, but I think phoning while driving is plain dangerous and I keep well out of the way of those who do it.
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IMHO.,....
In many respects driving is different to reading.
Driving... its like riding a bike.
When you start you have to think about everything.... when to push the clutch in, which way to steer, what gear to be in etc.
After a while this becomes automatic and you dont have to think, it just happens.
It all becomes a bit tricky when other factors come into play... cars pulling on from side roads, children playing.
In these instances if you are a respnsible driver it is automatic to come off the power and take more interest in the situation.
The stated problem with mobile phones is that conversation is a distraction.
Has anybody here been in a car where someone talks to the driver?
I hope not....
I believe that as long as you are alert it is possible to hold a conversation and drive well.
As long as the conversation is not animated/passionate.
Having to take your eyes off the road to dial, change radio setting, adjust heater controls etc. is much more dangerous.
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Roger Jones wrote:
>
> Try reading and listening to the radio simultaneously -- you
> can't. Try listening to the voice on a telephone and reading
> the road simultaneously -- you can't. Sorry folks, but I
> think phoning while driving is plain dangerous and I keep
> well out of the way of those who do it.
So presumably Roger you don't listen to the radio for travel reports and completely ignore your passengers when they talk to you.
Of course the guy/gal on the phone could just be phoning to reschedule the appointment they are late for, thus taking off the pressure to get there that little bit quicker and take that ever so little risk.
As so many things in life its a question of maintaining a balance.
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Roger, I'm with Stuart & Gavin on this. I don't feel that listening to the radio, talking to passengers or talking on the hands-free compromises my driving ability or concentration. Frankly, I couldn't work without the thing. If it's installed correctly, it should be just like talking to a passenger i.e. phone answers after 2 rings and mutes the radio. I think stress level are reduced being able to deal with issues at once rather than letting them simmer or escalate.
It's a sight less dangerous than lighting a cigarette, or a pipe, or having a drink, or eating a sandwich. Or, as I often see on the A1, reading a b----y map!
What do others think?
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I agree. The main problem though with mobiles is not the actual talking, its the using your hands and probably also your eyes to phone, answer calls and even write or read text messages, that cause the accidents. A properly installed car phone kit is just as safe as travelling with people in the car, probably even more so as you aren't tempted to lance at the passenger you are talking to.
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I hope you all realise I meant glance and not lance above. I don't want to kill my passenger, well not most of the time at least.
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Using a mobile phone with a properly installed hands free kit is a safe as anything. I have a travelling salesman friend who phones friends up for a chat from his car phone whilst on long motorway journeys. This keeps him alert and I think represents a safety factor. These kits don't require you to lift a finger to answer a call and modern phones often include voice dialing.
This shouldn't be confused with people using a handheld phone whilst driving which is v.dangerous or the personal handheld kits which are alright when you've got them on but will cause an accident when you're trying to grab for them and stuff the right end in your ear.
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Highway Code, section 127
You MUST exercise proper control of your vehicle at all times. Never use a hand held mobile phone or microphone when driving. Using hands free equipment is also likely to distract your attention from the road. It is far safer not to use any telephone while you are driving -- find a safe place to stop first.
Law: Road Traffic Act 1988, sections 2 & 3
That's good enough for me.
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Roger Jones wrote:
>
> Highway Code, section 127
> You MUST exercise proper control of your vehicle at all
> times. Never use a hand held mobile phone or microphone when
> driving. Using hands free equipment is also likely to
> distract your attention from the road. It is far safer not to
> use any telephone while you are driving -- find a safe place
> to stop first.
> Law: Road Traffic Act 1988, sections 2 & 3
>
The only part of the RTA 1988 cited is the sentence containing the
word MUST.
Elsewhere in the HC there is a statement that the words MUST or MUST
NOT indicate laws, the rest is a "code" - for the guidance of the wise and
obediance of fools.
/John
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If you will excuse me adding an extra comment about my strategy on the phone. It's totally hands free, and generally I only accept incoming calls, when as others have said, it mutes radio, answers automatically, then hangs up and fires the radio up at the end of the call without having to touch a button.
If the call is complicated either I ask if it can be postponed or I stop in a safe place as soon as possible, and they just have to hang on.
From people that I talk to regularly they know that at times the conversation dries up because the road situation is getting a bit complicated and they respect that. If its someone who doesn't then I find that to resort to an abbreviated commentary on whats happening out there , rather like you do in an advanced test, both gets them to understand the situation and shut up, and also keeps your mind actively focussed on the important job in hand.
As for listening to the radio and driving, I have lost count of the number of times I have started listening to the weather forecast, and at the end have realised that I have not a clue about what has been said, because attention has been on the road situation.
Other opinions will differ from this I know, but for me, this is the balance that works.
Everyone have a nice weekend, and if you can't be good, be safe!
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Far safer to use a hands free mobile than it is to talk into a radio mike when going through a red light on the wrong side of the road. Never seen anyone prosecuted for that.
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I suppose it's only a matter of time before some stupid driver, when stopped for offensive driving, claims in their defence that they were in the middle of lunch, and had just decided to adjust the graphic equaliser, when the phone started ringing.
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Please don't get me started on the police.
Did you read about the man hit by a police car speeding and was seriously injured but "he shouldn't have been in the road" and his case for compensation was dismissed?
This is *not* a joke.
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I think Guy you are stretching a point here. The police car was on a 999 call, crossing a clear traffic light on green, with blues & twos going, when the lad wearing dark clothes, suddenly ran out into the road, at an angle, facing away from the police car and without looking first, even though he could have been expected to have heard the sirens.
OK I know your views on the police, and whilst I might not agree with you, would defend to the death your right to say it, but I believe that there needs to be an objective view.
If you had made a 999 call because your house was burning down, I think you just might have something to say if the fire appliance drove there at 20 mph in case that old granny stepped out without looking.
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Lots of opinions here, but Andrew Bairsto began by asking for concrete evidence that hands free car phones cause accidents. It should be possible to compile this from mobile phone call records, so that if someone had a crash while on the phine it could be proven. But it hasn't been. So all we get are opinions. And no one dared to even mention banning smoking while driving a car. To smoke a fag in a car the driver has to remove the fag from a packet. He then has to put it into his mouth and bring something very hot within four inches of his face to light it. He then blinds himself with acrid fumes. He has to control the dropping of ash. And if the clowing end of the fag drops off into the crutch of his trousers he has real problems when driving. Yet no politicians talk about banning smoking while driving.
HJ
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What about banning single disc CD players? Anyone who can get a CD in or out of its case one handed is a magician.
Cheers
john
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honest john wrote:
>
> And no one dared to even mention banning smoking
> while driving a car. To smoke a fag in a car the driver has
> to remove the fag from a packet. He then has to put it into
> his mouth and bring something very hot within four inches of
> his face to light it. He then blinds himself with acrid
> fumes. He has to control the dropping of ash. And if the
> clowing end of the fag drops off into the crutch of his
> trousers he has real problems when driving. Yet no
> politicians talk about banning smoking while driving.
This is because as long as you aren't exceeding the speed limit being blinded distracted and in imminent danger or causing a fire is perfectly safe.
I would have thought an 'expert' such of yourself would have realised this...
Dave
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OK, I dare to question smoking while driving.
In an emergency you can drop a phone or microphone without immediate danger to free up your hands. I can't imagine anyone dropping a lighted cigarette into their lap under the same circumstances.
And what about the fire danger in the case of an accident. An extra source of ignition for spilt fuel is all we need.
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Brian wrote:
>
> OK, I dare to question smoking while driving.
> In an emergency you can drop a phone or microphone without
> immediate danger to free up your hands.
...and the used fag goes out of the window, usually into the face of an overtaking motorcyclist.
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Dave wrote:
>
> Brian wrote:
> >
> > OK, I dare to question smoking while driving.
> > In an emergency you can drop a phone or microphone without
> > immediate danger to free up your hands.
>
> ...and the used fag goes out of the window, usually into the
> face of an overtaking motorcyclist.
... to be returned to it's rightful owner, by the motorcyclist who slows down, draws alongside, and drops it through the open window.
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John Kenyon wrote:
>
> Dave wrote:
> > ...and the used fag goes out of the window, usually into the
> > face of an overtaking motorcyclist.
>
> ... to be returned to it's rightful owner, by the
> motorcyclist who slows down, draws alongside, and drops it
> through the open window.
I never thought of that!
Funny as a motorcyclist retaliation fo rbad driving is a real problem.
I know plenty of bikers who will kick a car that does something stupid/dangerous, and most will offer a single finger as an indication that the other drive ris foolish and/or dangerous.
However I refuse to do the first and the latter comes across as thuggish and doesn't really make a clear and concise to the other driver.
I find myself having to adopt a positive approach and offer a thumbs upi to anyone who does something that make smy life safer or easier. (People who leave large gaps between the outisde two overtaking lanes of the motorway in solid traffic are usually rewarded thus...) But what I really want to do is tell the tw*t who pulls out of a junction in front of me just how much terror he's caused me...
I now have two 'asides':
1) I've noticed an increased rate of women using their mirrors recently. Anyone got a theory why? Has Marie Claire run an advanced driving article?
2) Wouldn't it be nice have a recognised hand signal to be able to acknowlege your own blame when you do something stupid...
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Dave wrote:
>
> 2) Wouldn't it be nice have a recognised hand signal to be
> able to acknowlege your own blame when you do something
> stupid...
Establish eye contact, look apologetic and mouth the word "Sorry".
Hand signals can be misinterpreted, and the best one (showing two
open palms) is a bit dangerous when moving.
/John
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I use my mirrors all the time because I've noticed you can see out of the back window or to the side when you do. Very handy. I also use those funny little orange flashing lights by moving that little stalky thing when I go round corners and especially when I go round roundabouts. I think maybe I've got that wrong though 'cos not many other people do.
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Carole Adams wrote:
>
> I use my mirrors all the time because I've noticed you can
> see out of the back window or to the side when you do. Very
> handy. I also use those funny little orange flashing lights
> by moving that little stalky thing when I go round corners
> and especially when I go round roundabouts. I think maybe
> I've got that wrong though 'cos not many other people do.
Very commendable.
But do you carry a broom in your boot to sweep up the glass after your inevitable car park shunts?
...and does your husband have to reverse your car into the garage for you after your hard day hesitating at junctions and clipping kerbs?
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Very sexist!
Maybe you should change your wife before your car.
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Brian wrote:
>
> Very sexist!
I wasn't being serious.
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I realised that you weren't serious.
However how about a swap, wives that is, I like my car !
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Brian wrote:
>
> I realised that you weren't serious.
> However how about a swap, wives that is, I like my car !
Fine, I dunno what you're going to do with two cars, but I'll take her off your hands for you. ;-)
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Dave - no, and no.
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Carole Adams wrote:
>
> Dave - no, and no.
Funny, most of my conversations with girlies seems to involve repeated use of the word no. ;-(
Dave
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