Mobile phones & bikes.

[Kwikasfuki]

You can pick up a bluetooth headset cheap these days so if you must use your phone use a headset.

[Rusty]

I heard a story .... and please remember this is The Met so anything could be true  ;D ...... of a Traffic Officer who would be at a point or place and stop people for the said offence, write them a ticket ..£60 and 3 points ... parting with the words " I shall be here for 1 hour ,if you come back with a headset in that time I'll tear the ticket up " .... apparently he had a good take up !

[Lonewolf]

I like the concept, I also see an opportunity for that Officer to make a few extra quid. If he bought some headsets in bulk he could potentially be in an ideal position to make a sales pitch and rake in a mint....and possibly even retire early!

Cushtie as they say in The Met ::)




;D

[Ziderman]

You can pick up a bluetooth headset cheap these days so if you must use your phone use a headset.

No amount of options...but loads still do it. No one to enforce it...so what's fekin point. More using mobiles while driving now than ever.

[Nygie]

At least post it on here ;)

[Lonewolf]

At least post it on here ;)

Maybe one day, I'll where this matter goes first. She'll have received it by now, I'm back at work this afty, see if she's been in touch.

[Kwikasfuki]

LW, what happened?

Was in the third lane today and noticed a car in the middle lane weaving. Stupid woman was on the phone. Must have thought I was a copper cause as I pulled next to her she just let the phone fall from her hand.

[Lonewolf]

I have to admit that I am very disappointed and embarrassed at the way we view people using mobile phones. Its like it doesn't matter. I see so many people using their phones while they are driving its quite alarming.

Late last year in sub zero temperatures while working I narrowly avoided getting knocked down by a driver who was taking photographs of a badly damaged car at an accident scene I was at. The driver before I managed to get his attention then sweved onto the opposite side of the road and nearly hit my colleauge and two men from a breakdown recovery company who were with their vehicles. He was suffering from target fixation as he was attempting to photograph the damaged car while he was driving forward,  consequently that is where he steered, straight towards what he was photographing.

[Boomer]

We can all make a difference.
When someone calls you and you think they are driving, ask them and if so, ask them to call you back when they are parked, then hang up.
Legislation/enforcement doesn't work, but social pressure does.
It worked for drink drivers and DWP (Driving Whilst Phoning) is just as bad in terms of accident stats.

I recently took a phone out of a friends hand when he answered it whilst driving (I was a rear seat passenger).
He freaked out and stopped the car.
I got out of the car and walked away.
He got out, we discussed it semi-sensibly and we agreed that I would report him to the cops if he ever did it again.
He acted like I'd just cut his d**k off. Jeez people, it's just a bloody phone.

Your life won't end because you missed a call.
It might end because you answered that call!

[mecki]

Sorry, but I really don't get what the fuzz is all about.
I think talking to passengers in the car is at least as dangerous. Especially those drivers who can't talk without having to look at the person they're talking to. It really scares the sh..t out of me when somebody does that.
What about smoking, drinking, eating, applying make-up, changing DVDs or radio stations, programming the sat-nav?
All things people driving around in cages do all the time.
I reckon they should ban cars altogether since they are far to dangerous for us bikers. ;D

[Boomer]

I smoke whilst driving but I do so in a way that minimises the time that my eyes are off the road.
It's all about priorities.
For me driving is #1 priority and everything else ranks a lot lower.
For many people driving is 4th or 5th on their list,... and it shows.

I have sat behind a motorcyclist on an organised rideout who I thought was having an epileptic fit!
When we next stopped I asked him what he had been doing and it turns out he was having an argument with his pillion over the intercom.

[Lonewolf]

I can spot someone on a mobile at a 1000 yds, usually by their driving and I often get ribbed about it at work. People say, How the bloody hell did you know they were on their phone? And I've heard every excuse under the Sun ::)

[fred24]

There are a lot off things people do in cars that are distracting but the problem with mobiles is that the distraction lasts a lot longer and is more severe.

You can always spot someone on the phone because they are the ones drifting towards the kerb or white line or nearly sideswipe you as they join the motorway or start to slow down for no reason or are late reacting to slowing traffic etc as they are paying more attention to the phone conversation than the driving.

Seems nowadays that everytime I see someone doing something stupid on the road they have a phone in their hand or are "talking to themselves"

I always turn my mobile off when driving to avoid any distractions

[Mark W]

In my opinion mobile phones should be automatically deactivated when a vehicle starts to move, as should make up mirrors, shavers, laptops and in ear headphones, on my daily 40 mile commute I see things that just shouldn't happen whilst driving. Rant over!