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WHY!!!!!!!!

Bring back the birch and hanging.

Only joking - I agree with Stan Laurel that it did die down for a while after the law changed.

What we need is a hard-hitting public education broadcasting showing the aftermath of accidents caused by mobile phone usage with cars in a mangled mess and body parts dotted around.

For professional drivers how about mandatory cameras in the cab and a law to ensure employers monitor the footage periodically which btw didn't seem to have happened in this case.
 
There are some pretty fundamental privacy, human rights and data protection issues around CCTV in the cab. Not by any means an obvious solution, and likely to be heavily disproportionate. More road police would help, but that was scaled back in favour of speed cameras. Many of us argued this was dumb, at the time. We were often derided as selfish speed freaks.

And successive Tory governments have cut police funding. Go figure.
 
Spraggons Den said:
What we need is a hard-hitting public education broadcasting showing the aftermath of accidents caused by mobile phone usage with cars in a mangled mess and body parts dotted around.
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I predict that to work exactly as well as those grisly photos they put on fag packets.
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
One interesting observation though: he obviously ploughs his truck into a stationary vehicle at something approaching 56mph, while deliberately not wearing a seat belt, and he survives to face the music.
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The decceleration he gets is much lower than you would get if you drove a car into the van, the lorry uses the van as a crumple zone
 
A three year sentence is woefully lenient.

And, on the subject of phones, when in the car I put it somewhere out of reach - usually on the rear seat behind me. I have also made a point of not having the phoned blue teethed to the car so there is no temptation to take a call whilst driving - there is that remarkable feature called voicemail!
 
I do use hands free but phone out of reach. I reject calls if required, there is probably a strong case for banning phone use full stop whilst driving. Apple do this as part of their set up.
 
hifilover1979 said:
We've all got Bluetooth in our cars; some of us in our families have nav built in, others have it on their mobiles

But physically handling phones whilst driving is something we don't do and as 2 families (my side & my wifes side) are all ex-police; we stick to those roles.

We've even agreed that if a calls taken and we're driving and it's not urgent, it can wait

I have nav built into my 02 BMW Touring; I don't use it though as it's low down in the dash and it means me taking my eyes off the road; so my mobile is set up on a decent holder on the windscreen at eye level and I'll glance at that if necessary;, if the vocal instructions aren't direct enough etc

Not sure about the rest of you; but I don't like loud music in my car either, find it very distracting
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Agree with all of this… I drive a MK4 golf and I have a double DIN Sony head unit with Apple CarPlay, but I have to look down to view my nav screen with that, so an iPhone on a windscreen mounted holder is a better bet, it’s mounted low down on the screen, level with my instrument binnacle, so a very safe location.

I was traveling in convoy with my brother a few weeks back on a 200 mile journey (I don’t like traveling in convoy but he insisted), he must’ve called me five times in the first half of the journey, whenever he lost sight of me, it was stressful for both of us.
We stopped and had some lunch in Cambridge as planned and arrived at the pre arranged location within a minute of each other, he was convinced that it was his effort in keeping us close together that made that possible… I told him to resist calling me and not panic about staying in sight of each other for the second leg, just concentrating on his own journey and guaranteed that we’d arrive at our final destination within similar timing… he agreed and guess what? I was right. I arrived first but I hadn’t even taken my seatbelt off before he arrived. Why was I so sure we’d make the same timing? We were on the same journey, paying the same level of attention to our driving. All his calls in the first half of the journey were an unnecessary risk.
 
mansr said:
I predict that to work exactly as well as those grisly photos they put on fag packets.
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“It’s never harmed me before, why should I worry now”…

Actually been in a collision resulting from mobile phone use is probably the greatest deterrent. My accident was pre-smartphone. I’d had Bluetooth in my car before I even passed my driving test so I’d never had any temptation to handle my phone whilst driving anyway… but being pinned in my car, upside down with the cabin crushed so badly that I’m being crushed in it, all because someone was paying more attention to their phone than the dual carriageway they were about to enter and t-boned me, that was a deterrent for life. I thought I was going to die in that car, it took me a year to learn to walk again. The other driver got a suspended sentence, a lengthy ban and lost her job… so hopefully it served as a deterrent to her too.
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
Agree with all of this… I drive a MK4 golf and I have a double DIN Sony head unit with Apple CarPlay, but I have to look down to view my nav screen with that, so an iPhone on a windscreen mounted holder is a better bet, it’s mounted low down on the screen, level with my instrument binnacle, so a very safe location.
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Current VAG models now have everything controlled from a screen and (unlit) buttons. As much as I'd like to consider a new Golf R or Audi 'S' model, this is a deal breaker for me. It's as dangerous AF and surprised EU safety regs allowed such a thing.
 
As a 1st Offence, 6 penalty points and a £200 fine for use of a hand-held phone when driving isn't working.

I would make it a 3-6 month ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £300) and an extended driving test.

2nd offence is a 12-24 month ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £600) and an extended driving test.

3rd offence is a 5 year ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £600) and an extended driving test.
 
Seeker_UK said:
Current VAG models now have everything controlled from a screen and (unlit) buttons. As much as I'd like to consider a new Golf R or Audi 'S' model, this is a deal breaker for me. It's as dangerous AF and surprised EU safety regs allowed such a thing.
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Agree, they’re getting slated for it, my 7.5 is better.
 
Stuart Frazer said:
As a 1st Offence, 6 penalty points and a £200 fine for use of a hand-held phone when driving isn't working.

I would make it a 3-6 month ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £300) and an extended driving test.

2nd offence is a 12-24 month ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £600) and an extended driving test.

3rd offence is a 5 year ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £600) and an extended driving test.
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Pretty much agree. There are studies which show the level of impairment to driving are similar to driving whilst drunk. Similar penalties should apply. It should also be treated as a massive aggravating factor in the event of an accident, and sentenced accordingly.
 
Seeker_UK said:
Current VAG models now have everything controlled from a screen and (unlit) buttons. As much as I'd like to consider a new Golf R or Audi 'S' model, this is a deal breaker for me. It's as dangerous AF and surprised EU safety regs allowed such a thing.
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Absolutely agree, I really struggle without tactile controls, I won’t take my eyes off the road. My old golf has the basic rotary controls and buttons for the heaters and air conditioning, I can reach down and operate them without looking because you can feel where everything is, it’s a far better solution.

I don’t buy new cars so the next one will probably be an F30 hybrid BMW (330e), those still have tactile controls, I can drive one and use all vital controls without taking my eyes off the road… the nav screen is at the perfect height too. I’ve driven a few different F30s, good cars.
 
I initially thought his sentence was a bit stiff but I imagine the prosecution had context- his multiple actions leading up to the crash and deliberately circumventing the seat belt alarm. Surprising it didn’t happen earlier given his attitude to road use.

Four years ago I had a young driver persistently less than one car length from my rear bumper for 2 miles through an urban area, head down both thumbs going on the phone. She must have had very good peripheral vision because every time I touched the brake, her head would come up and she would brake. Quite impressive.
 
Stuart Frazer said:
As a 1st Offence, 6 penalty points and a £200 fine for use of a hand-held phone when driving isn't working.

I would make it a 3-6 month ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £300) and an extended driving test.

2nd offence is a 12-24 month ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £600) and an extended driving test.

3rd offence is a 5 year ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £600) and an extended driving test.
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What penalty do you have in mind for someone reading a newspaper whilst driving (it was a broadsheet spread across their lap) on the motorway?
 
Stuart Frazer said:
As a 1st Offence, 6 penalty points and a £200 fine for use of a hand-held phone when driving isn't working.

I would make it a 3-6 month ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £300) and an extended driving test.

2nd offence is a 12-24 month ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £600) and an extended driving test.

3rd offence is a 5 year ban, 6 penalty points, fine of 75%-175% of your weekly income (min £600) and an extended driving test.
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Why should these arseholes be given three chances to kill someone?
 
Spraggons Den said:
What penalty do you have in mind for someone reading a newspaper whilst driving (it was a broadsheet spread across their lap) on the motorway?
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I would have thought that offence would be covered under existing Driving Without Due Care and Attention or Careless Driving laws. If your point is that the offence is essentially the same as using a mobile phone whilst driving, then I agree.
 
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