BS: Drivers using mobile phones

Subject: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 04:44 AM

I am bloody sick of meeting drivers with a mobile phone stuck to their ear, trying to change gear unable to use indicators and not giving a toss about other road users.

Met a lady this morning, came around a corner towards me, crossed white line, laughing into phone perched on her left shoulder. It was a big four by four with about five kids in the back.

If the police had caught her it's still only a £30.00 fine. A guy who killed an 11 year old girl a while back while driving and using a phone was fined £250.00. I feel her life was worth more.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: nutty
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 04:49 AM

I recently had a close encpunter with a 'white van man' - mobile in one hand - cigarette in the other. (no damage fortunately)

My passenger rang his employer to complain and was severely verbally abused.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Mr Red
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 04:56 AM

Flash yer lights and put up a sign to the effect "Police Check Ahead"
you would have to drive with it on the passenger seat and use it rather a lot. And it would be a hazzard akin to talking on the phone and driving but.....

I'll get me coat

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 05:51 AM

Why can't people learn to hold them ear to shoulder?

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: mandotim
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 05:55 AM

Hands free kits, using bluetooth or a speaker cradle now cost between £10 and £25. No excuse.
Tim

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 06:27 AM

I can't see why they don't just introduce a lifetime driving ban for anyone caught using a mobile while driving.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 06:40 AM

What gets me is what is so important that a lot of people either driving or walking up the street need to be making or receiving phone calls.

Maybe I am old school, but I can get through life the best making and receiving calls from my own home. Yes I have a mobile, but if I want to call someone for an everyday conversation I can do it from home.

I was on a busy train from Belfast a few weeks ago and you couldn't help but over hear peoples conversations as they were inches from me. Never heard so much crap, nothing life threating or urgent or put the tea on I am 30 minutes from home.

Do you ever notice the look you get when you hit the horn at one of these guys talking and driving. Oh to be so important, a legend in their own lunchtime.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 06:58 AM

Divis, I've only once overheard an appropriate conversation on a mobile in public. A sharp, almost tropical rainstorm hit & a bloke on the bus called home to be collected. The bus shelter would not have been much shelter as it was full of folks trying to stay dry till their buses arrived! Fortunately the rain had stopped by the time I got off as I didn't have an umbrella.

I don't own a mobile & will never have one, as like you I see no reason to discuss my business with the world. Some years back when my sister went overseas she gave me a phone card. Several years later I gave it to a colleague as it was almost out of date & I'd only made one call (to my doctor to say I was running late).

Dunno whether they are legends, unselfconscious or exhibitionists!

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 07:09 AM

Ah Divis - a colleague of mine has gone one better. He spend his mornings researching stuff on his internet connection at home, and then comes to work to call the appropriate store to check its availability ON THE WORK PHONE! This is despite having his own landline at home and a mobile phone.... One day someone will catch up with him.....



if I only knew the right person to contact..!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,Geoff the Duck
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 07:23 AM

But Liz - Is said person ina ny danger of fatally crashing your office?
Quack!!!
GtD.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Midchuck
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 07:27 AM

I can't see why they don't just introduce a lifetime driving ban for anyone caught using a mobile while driving.

I strongly disagree.

Gut shot, left in a roadside ditch in the sun to bleed out slowly....

(I am a little psychotic on the subject because I have to cross the main road through our village to get my mail and morning paper. I use a marked cross walk. I nearly get hit by someone who fails to notice me, on the average once every ten days or two week. Maybe eight out of ten times that happens, the driver is talking on a cell phone.)

Peter.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 07:36 AM

Depends on your definition of crash.... he certainly impedes the progress of many and there could be a fatality - his if I ever get my hands round his throat!


I'm also of the 'hang the bastards' school of thought when carved up, blocked or sideswiped by drivers on phones.... I live near a school which has a crossing patrol. Helen, the lollipop lady has been clipped twice this year by drivers on phones, dropping off their own children.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,Janine
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 08:10 AM

Using a mobile phone while driving was made a separate offence a while ago following a horrible, tragic accident. There was already an offence on the books about 'not being in full control of a vehicle' so from that point of view it seemed unnecessary to pass a new law. It seems to have had no effect anyway as I seem to see more and more drivers with phones glued to their ears. Is anything that important that they can't stop?
Janine

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 08:17 AM

I believe the 'tragic accident' referred to above was denied by the driver, until the police produced a recording of the call, which concluded with the driver shouting 'I've hit something' and then ringing off.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: terrier
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 08:27 AM

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend (a retired police officer) who was reminiscing about the old days when he was a motorcycle cop.
In those days, the onboard communication was the old fasioned telephone handset ( remember those big black heavy ones ) and he said many's the time he would be tailing a speeding motorist whilst holding the handset to his ear. One hand on the phone and the other hand to control the bike !!!
How times have changed.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Becca72
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 08:48 AM

I had one eye on the girl behind me for my entire commute this morning, because she was screaming into her cell phone and smoking at the same time, reaching across her body to flick ashes out the car window. There were a couple of times that you could tell she forgot she was even in the car.

I have a cell phone and I carry it with me all the time. I also take a lot of road trips and have it in case something happens with the car or whatnot. If I'm in a public place and someone calls me, I tell them I'll call them back when I'm finished what I'm doing. I don't generally talk at all while driving, but if I have to I do have a hands free device for just such a purpose. I have considered getting in touch with my local government about passing a law that requires people to use hands free devices at the very least. Right now I don't know that there's any such thing on the books in my area.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Big Mick
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 08:55 AM

New Jersey has a ban on cellphones when driving unless one is using handsfree. That is misleading as well. The reports I have seen indicate that handsfree has only a marginal effect on safety. It has to do with concentrating on the road. I would like to see it a class one offense with loss of driving privileges for any repeats. In my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan about a year ago, a young woman driving a Hummer H3 and talking on a cell phone drove through a red light and killed a kid and injured his Mother.

I use a bluetooth when I am driving, but I try and not be on the phone at all when driving.

Mick

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Wesley S
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 09:06 AM

What amazes me is that often the driver with the cell phone attached to his ear has a passenger sitting there doing squat. Why can't the passenger make the call and leave the drivers hands free to drive?

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Midchuck
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 09:24 AM

Wesley, in this case I think the feminine pronoun is more appropriate. I see a lot of males doing this, but many more females.

Peter.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 09:28 AM

When my cell goes off (I can't say it "rings" when it both vibrates and plays Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyrie") I do something totally out of character: I pull over, stop and answer the thing. Ditto if I do have to make a call when I'm driving.

I've even pulled onto the shoulder of the highway.

I have a cell phone because I Am The Boss and the staff does have to contact me at times.

And yes, I also have hands-free set-ups for it.

But I prefer not to use it at all when I'm driving. A) It's dangerous and B) I actually use driving time to think!! I might not even have the radio on or music in the player!!

One of the greatest environmental disaster, in my opinion, is the demise of silence.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 09:32 AM

I think cell phones are really good to have in cars in the event of. However, I admit to a longing that may seem a bit over the top. When I see people driving 120 km/hr and using one hand to help cradle the phone to their ears, the urge comes upon me to take the phone from their hands and shove it up their collective arses. Usually, however, I figure that sooner or later some first responders will be cutting them out of a crash. (At one 'accident' scene, I bit my tongue real hard. The guy had his phone and it was still clutched in his hand. He'd overturned the vehicle--yep, all by himself--and I was aching to ask if he was talking with Suzie Galore at a 900 number. However . . . .) Few calls can't wait until people have the opportunity to pull over. IMNSHO. Done too many calls for idiots like that.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 09:33 AM

I travel all over the place with work and have a company mobile. I find it very easy - While driving the phone is switched off. After 2 hours of driving I take a break and check for messages while I have a cup of tea. Kills two birds with one stone:-) If anything happens while I am driving it can wait two hours till I pick up the messages.

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Big Mick
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 09:56 AM

Peter Midchuck, I suspect you should rightfully prepare to catch almighty hell. Gender has nothing to do with this. I spend a lot of time in a car, and I can tell you this is equally a male/female problem.

Now let me move over here out of the shrapnel zone. LOL

Mick

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:01 AM

There are a 'few' laws like Mick refers to, but I suspect that they are relatively hard to pass because the idiots who MAKE laws are confirmed cell/mobile users!.

   I'd love to see a universal law that you MUST have a hands-free device or pull over to the side!

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Midchuck
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:01 AM

I pedestrian a lot. When you pedestrian, you get a better chance to observe the drivers as the cars go by - especially the ones that barely miss you. I stick to my position - there are significantly more females talking while driving. Observed fact, not prejudice.

If the women's movement won't tolerate generalizations about differences in male/female behavior, if they're negative to women, even if they're based on personal observation, then...well, anything I could say will only make things worse, so you can guess at it.

Peter

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Big Mick
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:17 AM

Peter, the observations of one pedestrian in a small town in the Northeast based on observations made at the same time every day, are hardly a generalization one can rely on. I think I would probably put more faith in observations, such as these, that are based on appropriate data.

Here is what they had to say:

- Compared to non-users, drivers who were using their cell phone at the time of their crash were more likely to be male, under the age of 55, and driving a sport utility vehicle. The vast majority were at least partially responsible for their crash, based on information noted under the "driver violation" variable of the crash report form.

This is but one of the conclusions, and I have linked to the whole 66 page study, but it seems to blow a hole in your observation. I am sure I could find more.

No offense intended but I find these types of generalizations troubling.

Mick

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Scoville
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:26 AM

A client of one of my old employers ran her SUV into the back end of a stopped (stopped in traffic) eighteen-wheeler while she was on the cell phone and killed one of her seven-year-old twin daughters. Not that she couldn't have been distracted by something else, but I'll bet she never talks on the phone while driving again. I don't know how I would live with that.

*****

My mother's fantasy is that whenever she sees someone talking, applying makeup, etc. while driving, or just driving like a jackass, she could teleport them back to their own driveway. Nobody would get hurt and the more asinine they were, the longer it would take them to get anywhere.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:28 AM

Men shaving. I love that one. (I figure it would be a real difficult thing to do if ya drive a standard. How would you keep yer foot near the clutch?"

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:46 AM

You shave with your feet????

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:54 AM

NO. I shave my legs.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Becca72
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:54 AM

Seems like women shaving would be more of a problem with keeping one's foot near the clutch...

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 11:55 AM

I find the best way to avoid being run over while crossing the road (in England) is to stop, look right, look left, look right again, and if it is safe to do so, cross the road while listening. You get a feeling even before you see the phone about the way some people drive that tells you relying on a traffic signal to stop them is a bad lifestyle choice.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Wolfgang
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 12:20 PM

There are many ways to drive with reduced attention (BTW, that's n adverse side effect of the modern very helpful cars), phoning while driving is just one. One German driver recently was found being online with her laptop on her lap.

Why do you only talk about cars and mobiles? Is it not forbidden on bicycles as well in your countries? I'm living in a bicycle town and I get mad at the phoning bicycle riders changing direction without indicating it. I then overtake them and ask very politely if the next time they could bother to indicate a change of direction with the hand.

The looks I get then or the words I hear indicate that this is a totally silly damand. It's only more fun to ask the same question of a cyclist with an open umbrella during heavy rain.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 12:20 PM

There have been studies(I'll source them when I can) that have demonstrated that driving while taliing on a cell phone, hands free or not, is as dangerous or more so than driving legally drunk.

IF anyone cared, cars would be made to contain a farady cage that would block ALL cell phone signals....

Same with movie theatres and resturuants and schools and libraries. (There is a nano-paint that's being or has been developed that can be 'wired' to block cell phone reception with the flip of a switch)

If you want to talk on a cell phone, go the FK outside with the smokers...

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Mooh
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 12:27 PM

I often see folks pull out of the bank parking lot across the street with cell phone and face grafted together. This when, just moments before, they were parked and could have made the call safely. What fucking sense does that make?

Geez.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: mandotim
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 12:42 PM

On the subject of distractions and those who say even hands-free is 'dangerous'; I'm not sure what the difference is between answering a call on a hands free earpiece and (say) talking to a passenger, dealing with a lighted object close to your face, soothing fractious children/dogs/spouses, looking briefly at a map, changing the station on the radio, adjusting the seat position, turning the heater up or down...so lets see...we need laws that ensure
-No form of conversation between driver and passengers
-no children or pets to be carried in vehicles unless bound and gagged
-No smoking in cars
-Compulsory satnav
-radios with only a single station
-fixed seating
-no heaters or aircon

Tricky to enforce, don't you think? Life has risks, try it, you might enjoy it.
Tim

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:01 PM

Not true at all, but from a very early age we're taught to especaiily pay close attention to conversations we're having on the phone... We have to... We're missing a LOT of what makes human discourse possible.... facial expressions, body language... that kind of stuff (The same kind of stuff that's missing here)

So when we're on the phone, we attempt to block everything eles out so we can pay attention... It's not the same as having a conversation with someone who's in the car with you... Or the radio (Which is VERY easily push to the back of out attention 'stove' when we need to)

With a cell phone, it's the DRIVING that gets pushed back.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Midchuck
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:05 PM

Mick, you're claiming I should believe a statistical study someone published instead of my own firsthand observations. I will sit firmly on my first impulse to make a suitably rude reply, and merely say I refuse to do so.

Tim, you're turning a shades-of-gray situation into a black-and-white one. You're perfectly right, you can't have cars at all without some degree of risk. But you have to draw a arbitary line somewhere. It's just like speed limits. The lower they are, the fewer accidents you get (as a general proposition, although I think low speed limits have some tendency to cause people to fail to pay attention because the driving is boring). So do you lower them to zero and have no accidents, or to you let everyone drive whatever speed they want, and have a real mess? It's a balancing thing.

Peter

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:13 PM

" my own firsthand observations"
Every cop worth his salt will tell you that Eye Witness Testimony is the WORST form of 'evidence'... Humans eyes are too easy to fool, and our memories are too easily blurred...

I'll believe an empirical study over anecdotal evidence nearly every single time

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Big Mick
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:16 PM

Peter, take a breath. As a father of three daughters and the spouse of a phenomenal person who is a woman, I am also choking back suitable rude replies. While not meaning to attack you, I am saying that generalizations such as yours serve no purpose and are factually incorrect. That wasn't just a study "someone published". It was commissioned by the State of North Carolina to get to the bottom of the issue. It was based on data collected and analyzed by suitably qualified people, and it was based on a statistically appropriate cross section. But I believe that I see a **twinkle** in your cyber eye as you "take the piss" as our Brit friends are fond of saying. Would you do me a favor? At some point in the future I am sure you will meet my wife at a gathering somewhere, perhaps even one of more of my daughters. Would you do me thfe kindness of repeating your assertion in their presence? But give me a little warning, OK? I just want to make sure I have a good seat out of the line of fire? ***LOL***

It is true, Tim, that we can go overboard on reg's. Walking down the street can be dangerous. But when it can be shown that an action increases danger for the average citizen outside the norm's, then appropriate legislative action should be taken.

Mick

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Bill D
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:16 PM

quote from somewhere:

"I was driving along the other day, when I saw a woman looking into the rear view mirror, trying to apply makeup ...startled me so badly I almost dropped my cell phone into my bowl of soup."

I had a woman using a phone 'almost' hit me awhile back as she veered into my lane as we were turning out of an access road, as she simply couldn't steer the curve with one hand.
Even if one NEVER talked while driving, the cell phone would so much handier than a few short years ago when we had to look for a pay phone and find some change! Pull OVER...even to answer! Phones have a 'missed call' feature....you can call back!

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Wesley S
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:23 PM

But have you noticed that most people hate to miss any kind of a phone call? In the car or at home it doesn't matter. I'm getting a lot better at just letting the phone ring if I'm busy. That's why message machines were invented.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:33 PM

I have ZERO problem not answering the phone.... that's what Call Display is for.... If I want to talk to you at that moment, I'll pick up... if I don't you can leave a message.... If you don't, then it couldn't have been that important

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:34 PM

"I use a marked cross walk. I nearly get hit by someone who fails to notice me, on the average once every ten days or two week. Maybe eight out of ten times that happens, the driver is talking on a cell phone."

Peter, I sympathize. I've also thought of a way to deal with such a situation. When I am about to cross a busy road, I move my arms and legs about, as if exercising. People are used to that, so I don't feel stupid about it. Nonetheless, the flailing arms and legs tend to attract the notice of drivers.

At night, I carry a white handle bag and swing it jauntily to and fro. It catches headlights nicely.
-------
I agree that people should not drive and use cell phones. A good friend of mine has a basketball coach who lost a baby because a driver using a cell phone ran into her car.

Another story: I used to work in a fabric store. One day I noticed a young woman who was trying to select buttons. She had a little baby in a stroller and a toddler who kept trying to run away from her. As she scanned the racks of buttons (it's so hard to find the perfect button), her cell phone rang. It was her husband, wanting this, that and the other.

Young mothers, you have enough to do - don't let them stick you with a cell phone so you can make an even better servant!

Another thing I noticed often was mothers who tried to use a cell phone to supervise children who were clearly too young to be left at home. Lazy, irresponsible behavior!

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:34 PM

If cyclists do something stupid or selfish (and some do), the person who stands to get killed or injured mostly is going to be themselves, that's the difference.

As for men and women using mobiles while driving so far as I can see men are at least as likely as women to do this.

I think men and women tend to use the phone differently.   In general men are more likely to use it for a few seconds in an instrumental way, women are more likely to use it for extended conversations. I suspect that this would actually mean that men are more likely to use it while driving - "I'll be late", "Has the stuff arrived" so forth. Action man ganes, making like that pillockl in "24".   Extended conversations fit in much better with walking along.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Big Mick
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:36 PM

Sources for your assertions, please, Kevin. Or is it just your opinion, with regard to the differences between men and women?

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:41 PM

Dunno why the phone should take so much precedence. If you think about it, it happens in non-mobile situations as well. How many times have you been into a reception area only to have your conversation interupted by the receptionist you were talking to answering the phone? It seems to happen a lot around here and it gets right on my nerves. Why should a phone call have priority over a face to face conversation? More to the point - what can we do about it? Should I shout down the phone ''scuse me I was here first!' or some such?

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Midchuck
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:47 PM

Mick, I'll carry a notepad and write down each time I see a driver using a handheld while driving, if it'll help.

"There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics." Was that Mark Twain? I forget.

Peter.

PS: I am not asserting that women are more dangerous drivers in general. I just that think that when women do stupid things while driving, it tends to be due to their overestimating their ability to multitask, whereas when men do them, it's simple testosterone poisoning.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:48 PM

It was Mark Twain.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 01:53 PM

Women seem to crash their vehicles more than men, but more men die in crashes. It seems to indicate that women drive a bit more slowly, or conversely, men drive faster.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Becca72
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 02:04 PM

Mick,
I am currently playing the role of receptionist at my office and I can tell you that we have a policy that the phone is not to ring more than 3 times (the big boss gets PISSED) BUT, that said, I will excuse myself from the person I'm speaking to in person and put the caller on hold until I'm finished with my face to face conversation.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 02:13 PM

I've seen receptionists that can rattle off that "ExcusemeHelloWidgetsIncorperatedthankyuforcallingpleaseholdI'msorry" thing so quickly that one hardly even notices happening untill well after it's over....

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Wolfgang
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 02:21 PM

I'm not sure what the difference is between answering a call on a hands free earpiece and (say) talking to a passenger (Mandotim)

OK, I'll tell you. A passenger nearly always shuts up in a potentially dangerous situation, a phone partner just babbles on.

I'm still curious. Is it allowed in your countries to phone while cycling?

As for the cyclists mostly injuring themselves, maybe "mostly" is true in my town in the sense of in more than 50% of all cases, but they endanger, injure and kill pedestrians and other cyclists. I live in a town in which more than 40% of all movements are made by bicycle, next comes walking and only then cars. If I shall be injured in a traffic accident more likely than not it will be by a cyclist, though if I shall be killed in a traffic accident even in my town it will be very likely by a car.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Big Mick
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 02:24 PM

My only bone of contention is the following assertion from Peter's first post:

Wesley, in this case I think the feminine pronoun is more appropriate. I see a lot of males doing this, but many more females.

Peter.

I then cited a respected study that demonstrated something to the contrary.

Mick

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 02:29 PM

Holy crap, let it frigg'n go Mick.... You been taking lessons from Shambles or what?!?!?!

Get over your big fat self would ya.....

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: DougR
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 02:52 PM

I thought perhaps this was only a problem with drivers in the U.S. Not so, I learned after a two plus week driving trip through Devon, Cornwall and Wales recently. The Brits love their mobil phones every bit as much as Americans do. It's a shame.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: terrier
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 03:46 PM

I spend most of my working life driving a car many thousands of miles a year, I see many people illegaly using mobile phones whilst driving but I can not remember ever having a 'close call'with one of them but on the subject of distractions whilst driving:

One of the worst accidents I remember recently took place on the M56 (Cheshire).A car driver swerved into the path of a wagon,the wagon driver swerved to try to avoid the car,the wagon crashed through the hard shoulder barrier and plunged onto a railway line,the wagon driver was killed. Traffic was stopped for around 8 hours that day over a huge area (rail and road).You can imagine the chaos it caused. The driver of the car (who was uninjured)later confessed to police the he was trying to put an audio cassette into the player which caused him to swerve.
Modern cars are FULL of DISTRACTIONS.
I'd like to live a little longer please!!!!

BTW, What is the American equivalent of 'PISSED OFF'

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,ibo
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 03:52 PM

They are total idiots.I see it all the time and they put everybody at risk,but my biggest gripe is the lack of indication drivers use these days.Is it so hard to flick a bloody switch to let us know which way your going

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,Kwitcher gabbin'
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 03:54 PM

Although it's been against the law to use a mobile handset while driving in NJ for some time, I've yet to see anyone stopped for it.

I spend equal amounts of time as a driver, train passenger, and pedestrian and, in my unscientific observation, no mode of transport is safe from the incessant yakking on phones. You'd think everyone would have run out of things to say by now.

On the pedestrian front, I've noticed lately that far too many people, upon reaching the middle of the crosswalk, are overcome with an irresistible urge to stop walking and dial their mobile phones.

One of the saddest, most awkward things I've ever seen was a group of four at a restaurant. Three were gabbing on their mobiles. Felt sorry for the unloved fourth. I was half tempted to extend an invitation to join our table for some real live conversation.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Divis Sweeney
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 04:03 PM

And have you noticed you are not in fashion without a bottle of water in the other hand while walking down the street with your mobile. It was the filofax twenty years ago. In my young it was a slice of pan loaf with jam on it !

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Becca72
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 04:44 PM

"BTW, What is the American equivalent of 'PISSED OFF'"

Terrier,
We Americans say "pissed off". Here it means angry...not sure if that helps, or what it means in your part of the world.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 05:08 PM

Am I right Americans also use "pissed" for "angry" while in England it means "drunk"?

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 05:13 PM

Sources for that assesrtion, Mick? Personal observation, starting with the difference between the way my wife and I use the phone. My impression is that men generally seem to bark a few words into the phone and ring off and maybe make another call, whereas it's more commion to see women walking along having a conversationn as they go.

Of course this is in England - it might be different elsewhere. And it might be that my impression on this matter wouldn't stand up to closer scrutiny.

But a survey in Sheffield of the length of text messages does fit in this idea of a gender difference in how we use phones (I think the numbers here would probably be average number of letters)

Men texting men: 60
Men texting women: 74
Women texting men: 80
Women texting women: 82

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 05:14 PM

In Canada, "I was pissed" could mean either 'I was drunk' or 'I was very angry'. It has to be said in context. However, "The fly on the toilet lid was pissed off" has two meanings as you can see, and can in this case means 'are able to', not loo or dunny.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 05:27 PM

BTW,

Women crash more than men. BUT . . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: wysiwyg
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 05:32 PM

Nubile PHONES?

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: terrier
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 05:35 PM

Thanx Becca 72
pissed off- exasperated and poss. angry...BRIT

Thanx Peace...
"The fly on the toilet lid was pissed off" has two meanings as you can see, and can in this case means 'are able to', not loo or dunny.

Sorry, too much to take in....please explain....too much Guinness and a bit slow tonight.....

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,Tattie Bogle
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 09:37 PM

What hope is there of enforcing the law on using mobile phones while driving while just this week I saw a Police Officer on duty doing just that? Even while working as an on-call GP I didn't do that, but would pull in as soon as I reasonably could to answer the mobile while stationary.
And also saw a driving instructor smoking in his car while driving: he may not have had a pupil on board but surely this is contravening Scotland's anti-smoking law, not to mention having one hand partially incapacitated by holding the cigarette.
In the meantime I'll probaly get done by the traffic mafia tomorrow, for parking on a single yellow line while helping my son to move into his new flat - or worse still, having my nearside wheels on the pavement so as not to obstruct the flow of traffic!
Who was it said " The law is an ass"?

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Bonecruncher
Date: 16 Oct 06 - 10:45 PM

I think the actual quotation is "If the law supposes that", said Mr Bumble, "Then the law is A ass". (Charles Dickens).

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,Andy
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 10:37 AM

Have read these posts with interest, as this driving whilst using a mobile phone thing is one of my pet hates. Why do these people regard themselves as being above, beyond, or more important than the law and the safety of their fellow citizens? However, more to the point, what can be done about them? What changes should/could be made to the law to discourage them from committing these offences? Apart from the unspeakable punishments mentioned in the first few posts, would stiffer penalties discourage this misuse? As someone pointed out, the current penalty in the UK is a thirty quid fine. For a lot of people that's only two or three hours wages and probably regarded as a gamble worth taking. Suppose the penalty was a £1000 fine and six penalty points on their licence? Would that change the behaviour of these selfish, arrogant and dangerous people?

Regards

Andy

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Midchuck
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 11:10 AM

All earlier rants to the contrary notwithstanding, I think using a handheld, at least, while actually driving, is equally as dangerous as DUI, and should be punishable at the same level. It won't happen, of course. For the same reason that pot is a crime and booze isn't, even though you can make a good argument that alcohol is more dangerous. You can't get legislation through if the big money doesn't like it.

Peter.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rasener
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 12:05 PM

Get the police to confiscate the phone, put them on a banned using a mobile blacklist with all mobile companies for a year, fine them £1000 and 6 points on their licence. If caught again, then banned from driving for a year.

The law needs to get tough.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,Kwitcher gabbin'
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 01:08 PM

To the woman who stopped thisclose to the side of my car after running a stop sign and still didn't drop her phone, I say hangin's too good for 'em!

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 01:26 PM

Villan: Essentially, in many places the laws are already in place. It don't mean dick (North American use of the double negative and the whole expression means "It amounts to little") because the laws are NOT enforced.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rasener
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 01:32 PM

I know and thats the worrying problem.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 01:51 PM

Funny you say that, because speeds are posted on many secondary roads here as 80 km/hr. Main highways it's either 100 or 110 km/hr. But tickets aren't issued unless someone gets the speed to about 110 in the 100 and 120 in the 110. Hell, when is the law the law?

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 03:47 PM

Speedometers can be inaccurate for many reasons, Peace. For the reason if the speed of a drver over the limit here in the UK is within 10% + 2MPH (Ie 30=35, 40=46 etc) then no-one will press. What does make me laugh is that people think this is an invitation use the the leeway instead of the limit. Just imagine that your speedo is measuring 'light'. It shows 30 when you are actualy doing 35. You think you can safely do 35 but that is actualy > 40. Then people wonder why they are fined! Incidentaly in a recent test of a large number of different cars it was found that at low speeds the speedo did consistantly measure low while at higher speeds it measured high. You wouldn't think it was rocket science to get it right but it is apparantly a constant puzzle to the motoring trade. I must test mine one of these days - I can compare the speedo to my hand-held GPS!

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rasener
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 03:53 PM

he he my daughters keep an eye on me. Watch my speed and comment and won't allow me to use a mobile. In fact i get a bollocking if I attempt to eat a sandwich. So they feed me. What a life eh :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 03:55 PM

OK, Dave, and thanks. I have wondered about that for years. Must be that the speedos are made by the same folks who make the gas gauges. Thoise friggin' things seem to be screwed too.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 04:45 PM

When the Kansas Turnpike was new, it had the highest legal speed limit in the US...80MPH. Still, many treated that like they do most speed limits and assumed they could exceed that by 10-15%....I think there is this 'wisdom' that the law NEVER means exactly what it says.

Folks did learn better on the Kansas Turnpike when they found out that the toll tickets were stamped with entry time, and when they left the toll road, it was easy to calculate elapsed time and issue tickets based on the average speed over the limit!

So...what happened? Guys who loved speed would drive 90-100, stop for lunch, then finish their trip. There is some innate wiring in some, (fueled by testosterone, I guess) that says that the posted speed is the minimum

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Pistachio
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 04:49 PM

I observed seven 'phoning-motorists' this morning while on a 45 minute commute along foggy winding roads. One young female, waiting to exit a junction, three 'white-van-men' two truckers and the tractor driver (noticed only when I was able to pass him after 4 miles at 22 mph!!!) I've regularly passed cyclists on the pavement (another illegal act) who are actually able to text message on the move....

      They should all be fined heavily!
Like Villain says - confiscation of phones might make people think twice!                           

I believe that some people have absolutely NO consideration for the world beyond theirs. The police have too many rules to enforce and will never be able to get the crime fighting / law enforcement balance right. The ridiculously low fines don't 'phase' any would be offenders into thinking, even for a millisecond, about how 'their call' could cause any grief. Until someone is involved in /or deals with the aftermath of an accident that is 'mobile' related they don't comprehend just what consequences can arise from a lack of patience. Just let it ring!
Stay safe.
Hazel.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rapparee
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 05:41 PM

Well, it IS a self-correcting problem....

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 09:28 PM

True, Rapaire. If Darwin was right, they'll figure it out in a few million years.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: JennyO
Date: 17 Oct 06 - 09:58 PM

Yesterday there were two of them that held me up. I chose the lane with the cab in front as we were approaching a green light, because usually they are pretty competent drivers and don't waste time. Not this one - he got slower and slower and eventually stopped as the light turned orange, and I was stuck behind him. GRRRR! We were crossing a main road, so it was a long wait. Some time later when the light went green again, he started up at a leisurely pace, letting the cars on the other two lanes go past, then had to stop and merge because there was a car parked on our lane. As I went past the parked car, I could see that the guy was sitting there with a phone stuck to his ear, oblivious of the chaos he was causing, and when I was finally able to change lanes and get free of the taxi, I saw that the taxi driver also was deep in conversation on his phone, and still travelling slower than the traffic around him.

We have fines here in NSW (in Oz) that you think would put people off, but it doesn't seem to. Maybe it's because the mantra of most seems to be "Thou shalt not get caught" and nobody seems to be enforcing it.

This is from a government agency:

GET THE MSG: Don't talk or text when driving. Talking on a mobile phone or texting is fast becoming the biggest distraction facing drivers today. Up to 80% of Australians own a mobile phone and many are using their mobile phone illegally while driving a car. The results of driver distraction can be horrific and deadly. Driver distraction is also a major cause of minor car crashes, in particular rear-enders.

What does the law say?

It is illegal in all Australian states and territories to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving – this includes sending or receiving SMS messages. The penalty for being caught talking or texting while driving in NSW is a $225 fine and the loss of 3 demerit points.

Hands-free kits:

It is not illegal to drive using a mobile phone with a hands-free in-car kit or portable hands-free device. However, it is recommended that you park your vehicle before using or answering a mobile phone.

Research has shown that using a hands-free does little to lessen the risk of a serious collision (Study completed by the George Institute for International Health (2005)). Using a hands-free in-car kit or portable hands-free device while driving is the equivalent to having a blood alcohol concentration of .08. The legal blood alcohol limit for an unrestricted driver in NSW is .05, and for young drivers the blood alcohol limit is zero.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,Terry K
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 05:23 AM

There was recently a report of a guy in Hampshire who took vigilante action. Apparently if he spotted someone using a phone he followed them to their destination and spiked their 4 tyres once they had left the vehicle. The general tenor of the report was that this was shameful behaviour on his part but I have to say that part of me applauded what he was doing. Don't know if he ever got caught.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 08:58 AM

I think we ought to ban mobile phones in cars...period. In fact, I should like to see them banned from restaurants, theatres,schools, anywhere that they bring grief to the general public. If ever there was a nuisance invention, the mobile is it. No one is SO important that they must be available to all and Sundry at any time..vanity, vanity. As for driving, they contribute to the risk of accidents, therefore ban them.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 09:40 AM

Saw a good one today... chap in a big people carrier who not only was dialing on his mobile, whilst moving, but was actually holding his finger over the number in the book he had balanced on the steering wheel... this in a street notorious for kamikaze pedestrians, inattentive teenage boy racers, 5 different double decker bus routes, poor visibility over the bridge and a zebra crossing.

He wondered why someone at the bus stop was shouting at him to pay attention to the road, as he pootled along at about 3 miles per hour, holding traffic up for a good 800yds and presumably steering with his knees.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 10:37 AM

Also ban them from Libraries. I have stopped going to the public library because cell phones ring non stop. A lot of this abuse of public space is perbetrated by ten to sixteen year olds giggling away to some one at the next booth. They also do this on the local bus, kids at the front of the bus phone kids at the back of the bus...I would also like to see them banned from shops. people phone home to see what they are meant to buy...I ask you, how much more ridiculous can humans be ?

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rasener
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 11:04 AM

>>I would also like to see them banned from shops. people phone home to see what they are meant to buy...I ask you, how much more ridiculous can humans be ? <<

Well I do that and I am 61 :-) If I can't find exactly what my missus wants, I have to ring her to see if any substitute is acceptable, otherwise I get it in the neck when I get home. No point in upsetting her. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 11:44 AM

Get yer missus to write it down fer chrissake and get out of the aisle. What did yer do before...starve ?

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 11:48 AM

You are how old ? And you can decide what to substitute, Phones are a minor problem when we get to that stage of human ineptitude.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rasener
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 11:52 AM

My missus does wroite it down, but if thay haven't got something she has asked for, she doesn't like it if I don't check with her what replacement she wants. Iam not hen pecked really, but soemtimes you have to think what makes life better LOL :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Midchuck
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 12:19 PM

Here's a fun trick. If you're in a crowded public area like an airport terminal, and you see someone walking toward you while talking on a cell phone, stop and stand still. When he (or she) walks into you, he will ask you why you don't watch where you're going. Then you point out politely that you were standing still at the moment of impact. Then he takes a punch at you for being a wisess...

Well, maybe it isn't that much fun...

Peter.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Becca72
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 12:28 PM

I have no problem at all with someone making a quick call from the store to ask a question "honey, they don't have X, will Y be ok? yes, thanks". DONE. It's the people who stand there and describe their latest doctor's appointment or the famous "oh, I'm in the store, but I can talk" and then they get into long drawn out conversations that I have no business nor desire to hear...

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 02:34 PM

I wrote a story about the case of revenge against cell phone drivers as well as a picture of a human nervous system ( no skin ) driving at 70mph with a cell phone in its ear.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 02:51 PM

I use mine the same way The Villan does. And to find each other in big shops. They are handy things to have - but as for conversations, I'm sure in a few years they'll find out those rumours about them frying your brains if you spend too long on them will turn out to be true. Five to ten seconds is enough for me generally.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 02:54 PM

BIG difference between using it for a minute in a store to check exact needs with wife, and sitting in a restaurant, chatting all during the meal and disturbing folks 3 ft away. And WAY different from using it in a moving vehicle.

I have one...use it 'maybe' 30 minutes a month, precisely to do things like clarify shopping lists with wife when the store is out of something, or give somone an update about when I'm arriving on a trip. (I do wait until I'm stopped to make a call!)

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 04:03 PM

As a conceptual artist ( a good crazy artist ) I sometimes feign having a cell phone conversation in the midst of other loud people actually having a cell phone conversation.

Things like: "Never mind the quarantine, you get on that plane and get back here immediately. There is probably no such thing as Marsburg virus, what is it, from Mars?"

"Thats nonsense, a christian conservative would NEVER do such a thing!"

"No the doctor said they never saw anything like it. MM Hmm, Well first thing was all the blue colored puss..."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Social conceptual artists have been known to frequent a Starbucks with 8 different people doing normal things like a couple aruing over smoking, a guy walking through quickly with a small boombox playing {this is ground control to Major Tom], a woman who exclaims loudly I Forgot My Money and hurries out...

But they do this in an identical sequence in multiple time loops that take about 12 minutes each.
For people who are there for 20 minutes or more, they begin to get rather freaked out and start calling a friend to tell them something wierd is happening,

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 04:14 PM

I suppose if you're a bit screwed up and like talking to yourself with your hand to your head it must be great these days, because instead of people thinking you are crazy, you just blend in.

I do sometimes wonder how many of the people wandering around holding interminable conversations on their mobiles actually have anyone on the other end.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 05:45 PM

100!!!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Peace
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 06:02 PM

I would not have a cell phone turned on while I'm driving. The damned calls distract me from my reading.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: HuwG
Date: 18 Oct 06 - 08:30 PM

Not sure of the details; but the UK lawmakers might have caught up with the notion that fines for using mobile phones while driving might well be as good a cash cow as those for speeding.

I presume that secret cameras will be placed to photograph cars from the driver's side; photographic evidence, cough up and 3 points on the licence.

****

A policeman I know once pulled over a car, as the driver was not only using a mobile phone, but also gesticulating with both hands. Ooops, the car was left hand drive, and the driver was perfectly in control, no matter how excited the passenger became.

I'm not too sure whether SatNav systems are not also a major distraction; they have a nasty tendency to direct drivers into shopping centre car parks, or make recommendations for the potentially dangerous, "Do a U-turn now", when they ought instead to be looking for alternate routes.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Rasener
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 11:39 AM

>>the car was left hand drive, and the driver was perfectly in control, no matter how excited the passenger became.<<


That must be Vin Garbutt when Flossie Malavialle takes him to a gig.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 05:07 PM

I've had a driver behind me gesticulate with both hands whilst sole occupant of the car... not uncommon, but he had a phone in each hand and was talking to 2 people at once!!

Make 'em pick up litter by the side of the roads for a month or so... and if they get hit by another driver not paying attention because they're on the phone... well.. that's karma.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: GUEST,Ranter
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 06:57 PM

The worst for me are the urban cellphone users who make a show of being "connected" to someone else at all times; of having "important business", which is usually a description of what they're gonna get on their Whopper, or something some other idiot said to a third idiot.

They misuse music in the same way: to represent themselves on a public screen as they drive past. They imagine that their identities are cemented by their proximity to some loud and over-produced soundtrack. It's tiresome and unconvincing of anything but the pathetic nature of urban street theater.                                                                                                                     

It's just so much representation of self-importance, and attention-seeking behavior, that, comically enough, costs them money to perform.   

People are afraid these days of silence, because it points them toward their own thoughts. They're afraid of a few minutes of down-time, or any space not filled up with some tinny reification of their "identity".

"This is me: I have important business all the time, and I get calls from all my people, constantly."

"This is me, sitting at a light in my car, all the loose metal on my Buick shaking to the beat, making a show of how "into the music" I am."

"This is me, aggressively foisting all my decadent shit out onto the world, and you have to accept me this way, or I will go off on you."

"I am what I do, and my public persona is a constant show of surfaces."

Idiots. We're beings who are going to die, and we wander through life waving our hands and shouting about "being ourselves", which in the case of urban youth is a totally media-derived-and-driven fiction, as if that will forestall the inevitable, or exempt us from becoming dust. It's not being alive, it's being asleep.

Turn your cap back around (better yet, throw it away if you aren't playing baseball), pull up your pants, stop shouting, turn down the soundtrack, and just be. Just be. Impossible, I realise, but that's what I want to say. Hang up that bullshit phone, turn off the cd player, and drive the fucking car.

Ok I'm gonna go shower now.

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: DougR
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 07:52 PM

Bill D.: I use my cell phone about the same way you do. Probably not even thirty minutes a month. I only use it when I really need to, not for friendly chats, and never while driving.

I think the big problem with outlawing or bannig phone use in a car is enforcement.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 07:54 PM

Any drivers caught with a phone in their hand should have a phone implated in them, so they don't need to use their hands.


Implanted, with great force, in any convienent orifice....

Subject: RE: BS: Drivers using mobile phones
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Oct 06 - 08:07 PM

fines for using mobile phones while driving might well be as good a cash cow as those for speeding.

Great. The more the better. Ideally there would be no income from fines because people would stop being such bloody fools, but until that happens it means money available to be spent on things we need money spent on.

Fines are a form of voluntary taxation. I'm all for that.