What i was trying to say was, what are the regs or laws where you are. Do you agree?

Just to clarify, in the UK it will be illegal to use your mobile without it being fully hands free whilst operating a vehicle from December 1st. Similar to drink and drive, well that's how it is being pitched in their christmas period TV advert. Personally, i agree with the new law but that's me.

In Israel and lots of other places it's already so. America desperately needs this law.

I think it should be the law everywhere. It is too dangerous to have people, who may already be lousy drivers, distracted by a cell phone.

Ah, id din't know that, i always thought they must be using anothers template for the law, this back that up.

I believe what they are really targeting it is use on motorways as well as the other roads which have roundabouts and zebra crossings and all that.

You look down to see who it is or are checking or sending a text then you look up and crash. You wouldn't want to shut your eyes for 3 seconds whilst on a motorway and that is what is basically happening with this, so thats my theory.

@#$@!! I thought the American government did something right for a change... :(

Of course there should be a law banning the use of cell phones when driving. When I took driver's ED in HS, I was taught you should be focused on the road with both hands on the wheel. Talking while driving is no better than trying to shave or eat breakfast while on the highway. If you want to yak with someone, put aside some time for it off the road. Get up earlier if you have to.

We've had that law over here in Australia for ages now. :)

We already have that law here in New York. It's been in place for a while.

Hmm, ok that's No 2 for those who already have it, do you know what the laws stance is on hands free kits?

I take it you are Australian Platinum so i will just get this in, something you won't be having for much longer is the Rugby World Cup, The English are gonna take it home with them so that you won't hae had for ages.

On a slightly light hearted note, they wouldn't have needed a law with those cell or mobile phones from the 80's, there is no way you'd get that between your head and the door, too big.

Int hose nations where ther is already a law, what's enforcement like?

I am glad their are some complete idiots that drive and talk on the phone. (not saying all, but their sure is alot)

That law is in place in several states in the US. Now enforcement is another issue. (Illegal cell users vs. police and more important things obviously is an unfavorable ratio.) I have a cell but have it in case of emergencies and such. Not to yack while driving!

They've done studies stating that Food and Radios are more distracting to most people then cell phones.

Here in NY the law is in place. But it lacks enforcement. Everyone drives around with the cell phone same as before, just hide it when you see the police. My outlook people that are bad drivers are bad drivers, if you take away the cell phone they eat , smoke, play with music CDs or believe it or not read a book while driving, some of those are worse than the cell phone i imagine.

Originally posted by Critic
I take it you are Australian Platinum so i will just get this in, something you won't be having for much longer is the Rugby World Cup, The English are gonna take it home with them so that you won't hae had for ages.

hehe - I'm a South Aussie, down here we don't play or have any interest in rugby. ;)
Although I did notice the NZ'ers copped a right flogging the other night. :D

Cannot use the phone/mobile while driving, been that way since June or July here.

Originally posted by Critic
Hmm, ok that's No 2 for those who already have it, do you know what the laws stance is on hands free kits?

Hands free kits are fine here in Australia. It's just the whole "holding the phone" part.

I still think it would be just as distracting, but that's not for me to decide :)

Int hose nations where ther is already a law, what's enforcement like?

It is enforced with a fine and potential loss of points from license (or even loss of license depending on the status of the license). I know a few people who have been fined.

-Shaun

I think its ridclious. More civil liberties out the door under the guise of safety. They're just using this as one more way to get into our lives and tell us what to do.

More people have accidents changing radio stations, eating fast food, smoking and slapping thier dumb little kids than talking on cell phones. And this is a fact.

And it is a joke, too. Treating it like drunk driving. Ha! They cant even get the drunk drivers off the roads and keep them off the roads, what the hell makes them think they'll be able to get rid of cell phone users any easier? Give me a break.

And yes, I hate seatbelt laws too. Local citizens will be treated when my editorial in the local paper which is going to call for the resignation of the county sheriff unless he cease participation in click it or ticket, is expected to be printed tommrow.

Originally posted by Q_Max
@#$@!! I thought the American government did something right for a change... :(

Of course there should be a law banning the use of cell phones when driving. When I took driver's ED in HS, I was taught you should be focused on the road with both hands on the wheel. Talking while driving is no better than trying to shave or eat breakfast while on the highway. If you want to yak with someone, put aside some time for it off the road. Get up earlier if you have to.

So when your in the car with someone, you don't talk to them? How is that any different than being on a cell phone?

So when your in the car with someone, you don't talk to them? How is that any different than being on a cell phone?


Simple. I don't have to take my hand off the wheel to talk to someone else in the car. Nor do I have to look down to dial a number or press a button to answer them when they talk to me. I keep my eyes on the road at all times and both hands on the wheel.

Originally posted by VH-Robert
So when your in the car with someone, you don't talk to them? How is that any different than being on a cell phone?
:rolleyes:

Originally posted by shaunewing
Hands free kits are fine here in Australia.
-Shaun

Even that is being looked at being made illegal as well... (being discussed on radio stations and that over here in WA atleast).

Also, in Victoria (I think it was Victoria) a female driver killed a cyclist while she was typing up a SMS.......

But as mentioned before, what about radio stations etc? mmm what about passengers.. now they can be distracting!

Originally posted by Q_Max
Simple. I don't have to take my hand off the wheel to talk to someone else in the car. Nor do I have to look down to dial a number or press a button to answer them when they talk to me. I keep my eyes on the road at all times and both hands on the wheel.

So I assume you mean that if you can have the hands-free system it would be ok to talk in the car? because that's not what you originally said.

Is it a full moon or something, things just went mad in this thread.

I'll get to the point, kkimmel, you are a menace to society in my view. In the UK the campaign against drink driving is being won as figures reduce or plateau every year. A large increase in incidents related to drink driving haven't had a sustained increase for decades. So you are wrong kkimmel on that point.

Civil libertarians will never be happy with the world.

When it comes to changing radio stations, most cars now have the controls on the steering wheel so you can keep your eye on the road so that is on its way to a better situation.

With regards to the others, yes, accidents do hapen but what are you saying, as they occur there we shouldn't try and prevent fatalities and accidents in other areas??

We work on what we can as and when society/gov decides on a solution.

VH Robert, if you talk to someone you don't have to take your eyes off of the road, if you answer your phone or read the LCD or read or write a text message you do.

So I assume you mean that if you can have the hands-free system it would be ok to talk in the car? because that's not what you originally said.

If you didn't have to dial anything and take your eyes of the wheel while driving, there's nothing wrong with a hands-free system.

I said specifically in the first sentence there should be a law banning the use of cell phones while driving. Because I didn't use the word "cell phone" with the word "talking" for every sentence in the rest of the pargraph does not mean I am against all forms of communication while driving.

Holding is not using, end of story.

Honestly, it's not about civil liberties, it's about the lives of others at stake. If you're going to talk on a cell, then pull the hell over! Show a little respect.

Talking on the cell while driving is dangerous, plain and simple. You're not putting your full attention where it SHOULD be, and you are in control of something that weighs between 10 and 20 times what you do, and can go out of control in less time than it'd take for ou to hang that thing up. And people wonder why I made a choice a LONG time back not to drive. Too many people think it's more important to talk on the cell than pay attention to what's ahead of them. The same goes for applying makeup, singing and a variety of other things. Cell phones just seem to be getting to be more and more of a problem.

Personally, I applaud the people who stood up and voted for that law. Now, if only it'd get enforced.

Hmm... Every accident I've been involved in was caused by some *** on the phone.

Actually, for Florida, it is against the law and has been for several years now. However, nobody gets cited for it. The bitch that hit me when I was on my bike when she didnt see me and decided to hit me when I crossed the crosswalk. If we wasnt dicking around on the phone, she wouldnt have had me land on her hood.

Then about a year later, some *** decides to plow into my car at 35mph while the rest of us was stopping at a red light. If he wasnt on the damn phone, he might have seen my brakelights... Oh well, my old car screwed up his truck.

The people driving 100 in a 65 zone around here are great. Its fun swirving when they jum into your lane on your left or right... Then they dont know what the hell they're doing...

Anyways... I'm glad it is finally getting into the books, but what good is it if there is nobody enforcing it. It is supposed to be a $250 fine, and required drivers course down here (Florida) for the 1st offense. Not sure what it is now, cause I read that a few years ago.

Originally posted by MGCJerry
Hmm... Every accident I've been involved in was caused by some *** on the phone.

Actually, for Florida, it is against the law and has been for several years now. However, nobody gets cited for it. The bitch that hit me when I was on my bike when she didnt see me and decided to hit me when I crossed the crosswalk. If we wasnt dicking around on the phone, she wouldnt have had me land on her hood.


Kind of hard for the Cops in Florida to inforce the law when they, themselves, drive around talking on the cell phone.

Ok, i just heard the government ad. Apparantly there was an enormous majority in favour.

Try this figure [gov stat] on for size those of you against it.

You are 4 TIMES more likely to crash or lose control whilst holding or operating a mobile/cell phone.

I think that is pretty conclusive, Game, Set and Match to the agree camp.

They even warn you off of hands free whilst driving in certain areas.

Critic, I also have seen a study that showed that cell phone use was the cause of 0.4% of accidents which is lower then any other cause. If they are going to make cell phone use illegal, I think they should make thinking illegal too. How many times do we day dream or just think about stuff while driving. We never put our full attention to driving when we are in our cars/trucks. I talk on my cell while driving and don't see any problems with it. My phone also has voice recognition so I do not need to look down to call someone. I do agree that people should not be sending text messages while driving. But someone that does that, probably also does other things they shouldn't be doing while driving and it is just a matter of time before it causes an accident.

Good law.

Genlee, i am not aware of that study but in the UK, the 4 times figure does apply, you have to remember that texting is huge here; we send 6 times as many texts as the whole of the USA combined. That is a nation many times larger and this will contribute to the figures.

You are right that things can put a driver off other than phones, we can't stop people from thinking but we can try and save lives with this law and it shouldn’t be avoided because other activities have nt also been banned.

Let me put it another way; you are driving down a street that goes past a primary school, there is a zebra crossing, nobody is on it when you first see it, you then receive a text or a call and look down at the phone as the car is still moving, just 2-3 seconds, you look up and can't avoid the kid crossing the road. I don't think i need to explain the consequences of something like that on a motorway/highway.

Remember the law as it stands only prohibits holding a phone, hands free kits have not yet been considered and not everybody has voice recognition phones.

I would just finally say that the strength of feeling over here is so strong that there has been NO recognisable opposition from any Libertarian group over here.

Critic, I also have seen a study that showed that cell phone use was the cause of 0.4% of accidents which is lower then any other cause. If they are going to make cell phone use illegal, I think they should make thinking illegal too.

Other distractions should be made illegal too but how many drivers are going to admit they were using their cell phone when they wrecked? I don't believe that .4% statistic at all.

Show me a study that proves one thing, I'll show you another one that proves the exact opposite thing. Why? because studies are setup by focus groups which are hired by companies. Those companies either look for the good or the bad, depending on the objective of the company.

Case in point:
Tobacco industries will cite countless studies stating that there is no addictive nature in Nicotine

Anti-tobacco lawyers, firms, etc will cite just the opposite.

Studies are pretty much a waste of time and paper any more, the outcome is 99% of the time partial towards the company that has the study done.

As I said earlier here:
You're in control of something that can weigh 10-20x what you are and can be turned into a destructive force in LESS time than it takes to hang up a phone. Common sense would say you need 100% of your attention devoted to THAT, so that you don't end up killing someone.

I was using that stat as a point to prove that you shouldn't listen to all those studies about cell phone use and accidents since they all contradict each other. I don't see how places can ban cell phone use but not hand free sets. When the phone rings, you still have to look at it to see who is calling. There is no difference then talking on the phone with a hand free set or holding the phone. There isn't any law saying I can't drive with only 1 hand on the wheel. Maybe the govt should make manual cars illegal too since you have to use your hand to shift. Critic, I am not disagreeing with you on the text messages, anyone who writes them while driving is a moron and shouldn't be behind the wheel.

The thing about a cell phone is that it is an ADDED distraction to a driver. For instance, I'm driving down the road with my fast food lunch in my lap, with my wife next to me, my two kids in the back, and the radio on. So far, there's five potential distractions -- then the cell phone rings...

Not using the phone is going to be safer in my opinion. If you really need to use the phone that much then pay for a fitted hands free kit. My phone answers it's self after 2 rings while driving while in the car kit.

The new law in the Uk states also that you are not allowed to make calls when driving. Not even speed dial unless it is voice activated I believe.

You do not "have" to look at the phone when someone calls. So... receiving a call will give you the choice to look or not. If it answers it's self then you dont need to look at all.

People can argue all day though like saying... I need to look at my radio to change the station so whats the difference in answering my phone and looking who called.

At the end of the day it rules out some peoples stupidity (Like the bus driver I saw full of passengers in the middle of Leeds city centre near rush hour on his mobile phone). It will improve safty.

Does this rule out blinking because you would be taking your eyes off the road for a fraction of a second? Just kidding ;-) LOL.