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UK: New Drivers Caught Using a Phone Will Lose Their License (bbc.com)
Under new rules in England, Scotland and Wales, drivers caught using a phone within two years of passing their test will have their license revoked. BBC reports: Penalties for using a phone at the wheel double from March 1 to six points and a 200 British pound fine. New drivers who get six points or more must retake their practical and theory. More experienced drivers can be banned if they get 12 points in three years. Can I check social media or texts if I'm queuing in traffic or stopped at traffic lights? No -- a hand held phone cannot be used, even if stopped at lights. Texting and scrolling social media (even if the phone is mounted on a hands-free holder) is distracting and dangerous. It doesn't come under the handheld mobile phone law but the police may decide to charge you with a number of other offenses. Can I use my phone to listen to music, play podcasts or watch video clips? You can't watch video clips -- not even if your phone is mounted in a hands-free holder. You can use your phone to listen to music and podcasts but only if your phone is in a hands-free holder or connected by Bluetooth. However, just as you can be distracted by the noise of a car radio, if it affects your ability to drive safely, you could still be prosecuted by the police. Can I use my phone's sat nav? Yes -- as long as the phone is mounted in a hands-free holder. If it's in your hands, it's illegal. However, if you are distracted by the sat nav and it affects your ability to drive safely, you could still be prosecuted by the police.
Those rules sound pretty reasonable. If you use it in a way that takes your attention away from the road, it's forbidden. If it doesn't, it's OK.
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
Why is common sense news? Shut up and drive.
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Same in Florida. They get speeders and DUIs, never texters/distracted drivers. I'm honestly less scared of someone with a .09BAC than someone texting, yet texting and driving seems to be treated like a seatbelt violation or something. It's nuts! I'm usually not in favor of criminalizing common behavior but this is people's lives. Don't use your fucking phone in the car, especially not to text/interact with the screen! Because it worked 999 times in the past doesn't mean it will always work. It is lowering your ability to drive considerably.
If they bought that in where I live, traffic jams would be a thing of the past, but the trains and buses would be filled to overflowing.
Yes, pedestrians using phones running into other pedestrians is a real problem. Wrist and hip fractures are the common problems seen. A typical situation is a young fit person using a phone bumps into and elderly person who falls. There are also tram lines and an amazing number of people mange to trip over them over the last few years and most were using a phone at the time. I wonder if the jay walking laws need to have words like "or using a phone" added in the right places.
I know the UK started trying to collect stats about these things after their NHS found out how much Pram Rage was costing them.
There was a cop in Atlanta I think that made a point of getting people stopped at lights or stop signs that were texting. He got droves of them. Most people believe it's only while you're moving but that's not the case. If I have to use my phone I've gotten to where I just pull over in a parking lot or something. I had a case where I was trying to unlock it so I could call and I ran right through a red light. Thank God no one was in the intersection. That cured me. My arrogance in thinking I was superior could have been a disaster.
Oh come on. A common sense law that you can't watch movies while you drive isn't evidence of a police state. Put down the crack pipe.
When wearing your headphones, can you hear that emergency services vehicle, siren wailing, coming up behind you? Certainly not from the same distance as without headphones.
I was unaware of this. I agree you should be looking where you are going no matter how you are getting around in public. I'm somewhat skeptical raising speed limits is the best course of action in the long term, but I'm open to accepting that it is. Thanks for informing me of this. I live in a city of ~250K in th US in the inner downtown core, where you don't have to press a button to cross a street (unlike the larger overall city). I guess in the UK with much higher densities you have issues I hadn't encountered or imagined.
I'm glad you lived past your "oh shit" moment. I used to be a serious leadfoot as a teen and young 20's guy. One day I almost lost traction with my younger sister and her friend in the car and almost slammed into a huge concrete divider. The type of thing that separates an interstate exit from the main trunk. It scared the shit out of me and made into a 100% defensive driver. I had done autocross previously and knew how to gas through corners under pressure (RWD) etc, but I just didn't "get" it until I almost killed a family member. I held onto that feeling, and I hope you also don't forget your humbling lesson. Life is fleeting!
I just want to point out that S.Petry's comment above is in a discussion of a law making it illegal to watch fucking movies while you're driving.
You are welcome on my lawn.
It applies to EVERY driver. NEW drivers (who will primarily will be young) only have 6 points to lose before they have their licence revoked. Once they have been driving for 2 years it goes up to 12 points before a ban. So if an older driver is caught on their mobile twice within 3 years (offences expire) then they will be lose their licence. You also get points for speeding, no insurance, illegal tires & a host of other offences. https://www.gov.uk/penalty-poi...
And it's also worth remembering that in the UK, the majority of cars are stick shift. So being one handed is even more of an issue.
Must be a libertarian - those guys seriously think that a stop sign on a road is an intrusion into personal liberty comparable to slavery and traffic signals are the flashing signs of the fascist police state.
How dare the evil gubmit tell me when I can cross the intersection. Letting everybody get a chance to cross safely is socialism I tell you !
Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
I wonder if the jay walking laws need to have words like "or using a phone" added in the right places.
There are no jay walking laws in the UK. We're trusted to be able to cross the roads by ourselves.
That's true pretty much everywhere outside of North America I think. Certainly true for the whole of Europe.
Statistically, newer drivers have the most accidents - which is why we have a 2 year probation here in the UK, which has a lower "lose your license" limit. Other countries have similar restrictions, such as not allowing passengers etc.
The sat nav didn't kill her; stupidity killed her.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
There is a safety concern, though - they are in charge of a vehicle on the public road, and have to react to their surroundings in order to prevent accidents. It sounds like the officer singled it out because so many people wrongly assume it's perfectly safe and reasonable to entirely ignore your environment when in control of a car. If drivers won't learn the law before driving, learning it while driving seems only fair.
There is a safety concern, though - they are in charge of a vehicle on the public road, and have to react to their surroundings in order to prevent accidents.
There is no realistic situation where somebody stopped at a stoplight needs to "react to their surroundings in order to prevent accidents." I defy you to find one documented case where somebody texting or using their phone while stopped at a stoplight was at fault for an accident.
How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
That may be the law, but that cop was a jerk. There's no real safety concern with people texting while stopped at a stoplight. Singling that out for special enforcement -- that's just jackass behavior of someone with a little power and an axe to grind.
1) Maybe the cop has sat behind cars that just sit there when the light changes because the driver is busy on their phone.
2) If said person suddenly notices that the light has changed and hits the gas w/out checking to see that the way is clear, it does become a safety issue.
I was pulled off a road, backed up along an entrance to a pasture that had a gate, doing some texting for work. A sheriff's deputy tapped on my window. Wanted to know if I was ok. Said when he passed by it looked like I was slumped over the wheel. I said no, I just had some texting for work to do, and pulled off the road to do it. I think he about fell over and had a heart attack. It's just not worth it to text/drive. If I'm on the phone, if it is an important, or detailed phone call, I'll pop into a parking lot because I get animated sometimes with my hands and I know good and well my concentration is on the call and not the road. Once, I was on an extended call, and I got to my destination and DON'T REMEMBER how I got there. I use hands free 100% but the distraction is still present.
Around here, regular health checks are mandatory to keep your driver's license after 70.
Of course, now that the boomers are facing the possibility of losing their licences, they're putting pressure on politicians to raise it to 80 or abolish the checks altogether.
Eat the rich.