Banning of Mobile Phone Use in Cars

[Spike56]

Interesting that mention of talking.... Why do some drivers insist on looking into the face of the person that they are talking to?? It really does wind me up!

[GMcL]

That will be the next thing, drivers being distracted by passengers need to sit in a separate cabin.

Oh ! You need a cabbies licence to drive your family now.

As soon as AV is approved your drivers licence will only be good for a track day.

[christheancient]

All of this (nearly all of which I agree with about Yorkshire "do-nowts"), makes me remember back to my mini that I had on the 60's:

• A speedo with a fuel gauge and three warning lights in it... 'Oil', 'Ign' and 'Main beam'
• A light switch
• A wiper switch
• A heater blower adjuster

Plus of course the usual driving controls.

I have never had the 'privilege' (?) of driving one of these modern cars with touch screens, voice control (would the voice control have some sort of answer to "feck it" and "w@nker"? when I get annoyed by another driver playing with his 'thingies') and I remain eternally grateful!

[Spike56]

Was it not the fault of the Maestro and it's artificial voice messages for safe ety belts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNycWQSeOnE

[christheancient]

A great pair of clips from one of the best comedians ever!

[c1800]

There are many studies that conclude hands free is only slightly less distracting than talking on a handheld while driving.

Similar discussions on other car forums always seem to bring out the “experts” who say that looking at and navigating a touch/mouse controlled screen is not distracting, because they’ve never caused an accident! Even looking at an in- dash satnav is more of a distraction than looking at a windshield mounted satnav.

The simple fact is that taking your eyes and mind off the road for any purpose is a distraction , as is talking to someone on a phone, talking to a passenger, or simply letting your thoughts wander from the task at hand - driving.

[id5]

If talking hands free to a phone is a distraction then so is shouting at the car when the voice command goes wrong or trying to listen and navigate through the voice help menu whilst driving.

Drive by iPad is just very annoying.

[XCeed]

You can’t blame the manufacturers for introducing useful aids to driving, even if you believe them to be a distraction. But however advanced the technology, the car can still be driven in the conventional manner...steering, brakes, lights, wipers etc, etc. My technophobe wife drives my high-tech car without ever using the high-tech aids, and has no problem. I, on the other hand, love the 360 degree camera, auto parking, shadow headlights, cruise control, etc. You pays your money, you take your choice!?
For the record, I do believe that hands free telephoning is dangerously distracting and I only ever use mine for brief messages, never for general conversation. You only have to look at people using mobiles generally to recognise how disconnected they are to what’s happening around them!

[Spike56]

The problem is that if these are fitted then they will be used. There is a reason why in car videos are disabled when driving, some Muppets will try and watch. I followed a minicab driver through Lee Green up to Eltham. Everytime I pulled alongside you could see he was watching porn on his IPhone, mounted (!) on his windscreen! People will play with gadgets. Some more than others. I bought a parrot mini (I think) hands free (visor mounted) if a call arrives all that is needed is to say aloud 'accept' or 'refuse'. No need to look, no need to touch. You can ask for he name of anyone in the phone book and it will dial for you. Never take your eyes off the road. Never have to press a button. It even switches on and off itself!

Yes by all means have all the bells and whistles but disable them while moving or put them wher they can only be reached from the passenger seat.

[Harvey1512]

Originally Posted by Spike56

The problem is that if these are fitted then they will be used. There is a reason why in car videos are disabled when driving, some Muppets will try and watch. I followed a minicab driver through Lee Green up to Eltham. Everytime I pulled alongside you could see he was watching porn on his IPhone, mounted (!) on his windscreen! People will play with gadgets. Some more than others. I bought a parrot mini (I think) hands free (visor mounted) if a call arrives all that is needed is to say aloud 'accept' or 'refuse'. No need to look, no need to touch. You can ask for he name of anyone in the phone book and it will dial for you. Never take your eyes off the road. Never have to press a button. It even switches on and off itself!

Yes by all means have all the bells and whistles but disable them while moving or put them wher they can only be reached from the passenger seat.

I had a Parrott hands free kit installed in a car of mine a number of years ago. I used the voice controls and it was brilliant. I have had 2 Volvo's and a Skoda since and the voice controls are unusable. They may work one in 4 attempts but that is just plain annoying so I don't use it. Similar to inbuilt satnavs, why don't car mfrs use companies whose gear is tried and tested, eg Garmin and Parrott? Very annoying.