5 ms·
UK to ban any handheld use of a mobile phone behind the wheel
- Cypher 5y agowhat about using it for map directions?
- RealStickman_ 5y ago> drivers can continue using their devices hands-free, such as for navigation purposes, so long as they're secured in a cradle.
- perl4ever 5y agoI have a newer car and don't generally have my phone "secured in a cradle". Instead it's laying on a platform and plugged in via USB, and my car has Android Auto. I wonder if they are allowing for this mode of usage, and if so, it is allowed to use the built in screen in the car. Although hands-free usage is supported in the sense of choosing navigation destinations, there are still plenty of buttons on the car touchscreen that are usable and intended to be used on my 2021 model. It would be interesting if they are outlawing that sort of thing. If they are not outlawing it, then it doesn't seem very consistent.
- lucian1900 5y agoI would expect that isn’t usage of the phone, but of the car’s own controls.
- kranke155 5y agoThis is already the case where I live. I think it’s obvious you shouldn’t be allowed to do this on a moving car.
- abrowne 5y agoDitto on both. Doesn't mean that enforcing it is easy unfortunately.
- waste_monk 5y agoNot my jurisdiction, but automated measures are starting to be deployed to detect phone use: https://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/stayingsafe/mobilephones/technology.html https://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/stayingsafe/mobileph... My local police having been taking the more pragmatic approach of setting up detection stations at convenient places (such as on the slope of a hill with a tunnel exit with a good downwards/sideways view into traffic) or even hiring a party bus to cruise up and down busy roadways, with plain-clothes officers in the windows looking down into cars - and then radio-ing the license plate number to mobile units (usually a gaggle of police motorbikes stationed nearby) who pull over and ticket the offending drivers.
- bennysomething 5y agoTwice I've seen drivers watching videos on their cradle attached phones. Was at traffic lights once and saw it in car beside me. I should have tapped his window and said something
- thunkshift1 5y agoAre they running out of things to make laws about
- waste_monk 5y agoDistracted driving is almost as bad as drink/intoxicated driving, as far as causing accidents go. If you're using your phone for 3 seconds while driving at 60 km/h, you've essentially travelled ~50m without anyone in command of the vehicle. Even just taking a call on a properly setup hands-free arrangement incurs a dangerous cognitive load, to take your attention completely off the road to change a playlist or send a txt message is outright insane.
- thunkshift1 5y agoOk, fair point. How are they going to enforce this? Just saying ‘dont do this’ is not going to deter a lot of people. So it seems like an empty gesture that passes as caring for the public without much effort going into its enforcement.
- waste_monk 5y agoPer my other comment, look-down phone detection cameras are becoming broadly available, and my local police occasionally use raised vehicles like mini-bus with plain-clothes officers looking down into cars in the adjacent lanes then dispatch mobile units to pull over and ticket the offending drivers. It is possible to enforce, and ML-powered traffic cameras are only becoming more common
- stuartd 5y ago> Drivers can't do any of [these] even while their vehicle isn't moving. The government will revise The Highway Code to explain that being stationary on the road, such as at traffic lights or in the middle of traffic jams, still count as driving. So now I can't pull to the side of the road to start Maps or see who texted me without getting out of the car? Even if I turn the engine off?
- spywaregorilla 5y agoIf you're pulled off the road, you're not on the road.
- perl4ever 5y agoAt least in the US, major highways seem to have a "breakdown lane" that exceeds the width of a vehicle. So if you're pulled "to the side of the road" here there's a good chance you're still on the tarmac (although you might not be).
- spywaregorilla 5y agoBreakdown lanes are for emergencies. Entering the breakdown lane for a non emergency, such as to check your phone, is illegal in some, if not all, US states. It is also just a generally really bad, dangerous idea. If you need to check your phone, get off the highway.
- perl4ever 5y ago>get off the highway What exactly do you mean by that? Get over in the grass or whatever is beyond the breakdown lane?
- spywaregorilla 5y agoI'm confused by your confusion. Do you drive? I mean get off at an exit and find somewhere safe to park. You should not be stopping in the context of highways unless you absolutely have to. The phone issue is way, way secondary in this context. In non rural areas, you don't typically have open land to the sides of the highway. You have a wall. Pulling off the highway and then presumably just getting back on at a spot of your choosing would be incredibly dangerous.
- infensus 5y agoFunny how this is illegal, but car touchscreen controls are not