Banning of Mobile Phone Use in Cars

[Ian21401]

The present law re handheld phones is being blatantly disregarded by many drivers so banning the use of hands free is hardly likely to be treated any differently. I do not understand why cars are being built with touch screens. How are they so different from holding a phone/device in one’s hand and it is necessary to take one’s eyes and attention away from the road to lookat/touch said screen. IMO the problem is not simply that you have a device in one hand whilst driving, it is that your attention/concentration is elsewhere than on the road you are driving on. Decades ago when driving a police traffic car I frequently had the radio handset in my left hand whilst trying to confer with control room. Trials with voice activated hands free microphones were in their infancy and not very successful at that time. Mobile phones just did not exist at that time, although the Pye Pocketfone personal radio was carried by most officers. The transmitter unit of that was hand held and sometimes required to be used whilst driving.