Phone ban - watch out...

[Nicebiscuit 655]

Law changes today...

 

I'm sure we all agree that phoning and texting are a bad idea, but there are other consequences.

 

If you use your mobile in a cradle for satnav for example and you touch the screen - that is illegal. However, doing exactly the same on the car touchscreen is not.

 

Be aware. GMP just clarified that with me. Rethinking using tomtom on the phone...

 

 

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[Paul 442]

Car is parked on the driveway, engine running, handbrake on, windows defogging. Touch your phone, 6 points.

Utterly mad.

[Nicebiscuit 655]

 

Yep - badly drafted. Still I doubt you'd get pulled for that unless someone really had it in for you...

 

 

But I don't want 6 points for clicking 'yes please - take alternative route' on my tomtom app...

 

 

Might go back to a standalone TomTom

 

 

Difference appears to be that with other devices they have to prove 'not in control of the vehicle' - with internet enabled tablets and phones simply touching the screen is the offence...

 

 

 

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[Lauren 2259]

Surely just better to change to an aftermarket head unit with sat nav? The stock unit is poor anyway. 

[Nicebiscuit 655]

Surely just better to change to an aftermarket head unit with sat nav? The stock unit is poor anyway. 

 

True enough - but costs a lot more by the time you've swapped out everything else (which I inevitably would) and to be honest I've heard worse than stock. You ever heard a non upgraded BMW system?

 

The law is a bit of an ass. It's been much more convenient using the phone, as I obviously have that in the car anyway...

 

 

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[Tareim 343]

30 minutes ago, Nicebiscuit said:

 

True enough - but costs a lot more by the time you've swapped out everything else (which I inevitably would) and to be honest I've heard worse than stock. You ever heard a non upgraded BMW system?

 

The law is a bit of an ass. It's been much more convenient using the phone, as I obviously have that in the car anyway...

 

 

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it will pay for itself if you added up a couple of the fines for getting caught on a mobile 

[Deacon 1357]

Legally you can't touch the sat nav either...

[rob275 1817]

I get the change, but I think it's utterly moronic to completely ban devices that use the internet. Waze is my go to satnav and I simply refuse to use anything else. Where does this leave me? Without a license and no money basically!

I hope there can be some sensibility to this but I think police will be on a power trip for the next 6 months.

[Cerastes 204]

Thanks for the heads up. You can still use your phone for a satnav with it in a cradle though? you just can't touch it right? 

 

[Deacon 1357]

7 minutes ago, Cerastes said:

Thanks for the heads up. You can still use your phone for a satnav with it in a cradle though? you just can't touch it right? 

 

That seems to be correct. As long as you set it on the drive before you leave (with the car off) and don't touch it again until you arrive (and have turned the car off) you're ok.

[Lauren 2259]

To be fair, I just always set my sat nav before I drive off. I don't do it on the move. But I may change my music selection on the move, which is much the same thing. But you could argue that changing a CD is worse, or is it? But then you're into the realms of whether pressing a button to change radio station on an ancient head unit is breaking the law, which would have the same effect as saying pressing my heated seat button, or checking my average mpg. Where does it end?

[Cerastes 204]

6 minutes ago, Deacon said:

That seems to be correct. As long as you set it on the drive before you leave (with the car off) and don't touch it again until you arrive (and have turned the car off) you're ok.

Thanks. Well, I don't think there will be any policeman patrolling around my drive at 06:00. And they speed down my road so they are hardly going to be able to see in my drive, and then into my car and then focus on me touching a screen in the dark when they are doing 30+mph and even then, they won't know that I have the car on. 

[Deacon 1357]

1 minute ago, Cerastes said:

Thanks. Well, I don't think there will be any policeman patrolling around my drive at 06:00. And they speed down my road so they are hardly going to be able to see in my drive, and then into my car and then focus on me touching a screen in the dark when they are doing 30+mph and even then, they won't know that I have the car on. 

Yeah I did mention the off part to point out the ridiculousness of it really.

[Cerastes 204]

2 minutes ago, Lauren said:

To be fair, I just always set my sat nav before I drive off. I don't do it on the move. But I may change my music selection on the move, which is much the same thing. But you could argue that changing a CD is worse, or is it? But then you're into the realms of whether pressing a button to change radio station on an ancient head unit is breaking the law, which would have the same effect as saying pressing my heated seat button, or checking my average mpg. Where does it end?

Exactly. Completely agree, unfortunately it's the usual problem; someone taking a risk (which they shouldn't do) and then it ruins it for everyone else. Someone takes a risk of using a mobile phone when driving, causes an accident/fatality, police have to enforce it and then ban mobile's completely. 

Same with work conditions in one of our offices, you are not allowed to use company vans for personal use, someone takes one home (which is allowed but not to be used for personal use) but then parks the van where it shouldn't be parked on a Sunday when we don't work, gets caught and then no one is allowed to take vans home.  

I can't do a lot of that stuff when driving anyway, I'm too busy concentrating on the road and driving . Although if I am in a non moving traffic/lights then I can skip a track; but now won't be able to do that. 

Before this came into place, I have seen people using mobile phones while driving but never a police officer around to catch them  I see it a lot when driving the company vans. I hope this deters them, as that is the primary reason for it. 

[Paul 442]

By my reckoning I can still skip a track if I use the skip button on the head unit instead of touching the phone?

[Nicebiscuit 655]

I get the change, but I think it's utterly moronic to completely ban devices that use the internet. Waze is my go to satnav and I simply refuse to use anything else. Where does this leave me? Without a license and no money basically!

I hope there can be some sensibility to this but I think police will be on a power trip for the next 6 months.

 

The real silliness is the discrepancy between touch screens on different devices.

 

Given how crap the Toyota interface is, one of the most dangerous things you can do in the car is try change from iPod to Radio 4... . Far worse than clicking 'yes' when the phone says 'I've found a better route - want to use it'

 

 

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[bassett 48]

Thanks for the heads up. Does this include dedicated sat navs ie a garmin/tomtoms? 

I do wonder how the hell are they going to enforce it unless very obvious and the police are driving past someone.

[Mike 458]

Sounds like nothing has changed really, they're just trying to make "driving without due care and attention" more black and white. 

Thing is, while it's illegal to stop at the side of the road with the engine running and text someone to tell them what time you'll be arriving, what copper would pull you up on it?

 

[LarmiqGt 49]

I take it answering a call through the headset Bluetooth system is still okay though

[Cerastes 204]

38 minutes ago, LarmiqGt said:

I take it answering a call through the headset Bluetooth system is still okay though

But you have to press a button to receive it? 

[HariboPenguin 116]

Just now, Cerastes said:

But you have to press a button to receive it? 

It's fine as long as the button is not on the touch screen (awaits inevitable kickstarter campaign for a call answer button dongle) 

Be interesting to see what their view would be on Teslas though considering the whole car control system is effectively a massive internet connected iPad.

[Cerastes 204]

Isn't the hands free button on your phone or some sort of hands free device thingy? 

Sorry I have no idea, I don't take calls when driving (probably because no one calls me ). 

[Paul 442]

21 minutes ago, Cerastes said:

But you have to press a button to receive it? 

You know what, that's a great point.

What an arse of a law where you can't even use the handsfree mode!

[Mike 458]

If your head unit supports hands free calls, you'll interact with the head unit which is legal... unless it distracts you of course 

[HariboPenguin 116]

4 minutes ago, Cerastes said:

Isn't the hands free button on your phone or some sort of hands free device thingy? 

Sorry I have no idea, I don't take calls when driving (probably because no one calls me ). 

From what I gather if its a button on the car head unit or steering wheel its fine, but if you have your phone connected using an AUX cable of FM adapter like I had in my old punto and you have to press the phone screen to answer and that's not fine according to this new thing. All in all its a bit silly and badly drafted.

I agree that they need to clamp down on it but it should be based how bad the interaction is, quickly pressing a call accept button, pressing skip on a track or accepting an alternate route on a sat nav app is unlikely to cause much harm. Scrolling through Facebook or snapchatting whilst travelling down a motorway or trying to park whilst texting however should certainly get you a fine and points though.