[Clev]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Mobiles were singled out especially because people whinged that it is not dangerous. The muppets at TTAC still moan that they can use a hand held mobile perfectly safely whilst driving but they are total wankers. There I said it, and will take no arguments on it.

So what you're saying is that it's your opinion. Got it.

I had put together statistics on distracted driving from a couple of sources for a Fark flamewar once. I wish I had kept that analysis, because it was telling.

For instance, among the causes of distracted driving, mobile phone use was in the single digit percentages, right around the other things I mentioned--talking to a passenger, adjusting the radio, sudden movement of an object in the car, drinking, eating, reading, personal grooming, etc. All of those caused accidents at about the same rate. Yet, none of those things is specifically banned in the U.S., even though they were as likely, or even more likely, to cause an accident.

But the law here is quite broad. For example one lady got done for eating an apple whilst driving.

I found that on the web, along with drivers getting nailed for eating ice cream, drinking water, etc. I don't know if that's specifically banned in the UK, or if they were caught because they were driving erratically. (How does a police helicopter spot somebody eating an apple if it first doesn't see them driving erratically?) Either way, if all of those other things are banned (including radios, which were very close to mobile phone in danger, and passengers, which are far more dangerous), then a mobile ban also makes sense. Obviously that's not the case.

Yeah I know, you think this is extreme but you have to remember that a lot of cars in the UK do not have auto trans. A lot still don't even have PAS so not using both hands is quite a risk really.

I drive a stick, so I use a Bluetooth headset. However, to use your logic, they should ban manual transmissions, since you have to take a hand off the wheel (and a foot off the brake!) to shift.

Yet this morning I passed a traffic jam caused by a crash on the A702 bypass. And out of the cars just getting to the crash I estimate 2/3 had drivers on the handheld phone - yeah, you are coming up to a cop standing in the road - good idea. Most were orange women too. Fake tan has a lot to answer for.

And the other third had turned off their radios, told their passengers to shut up and put down the bickies too, I'll bet.

I'm not clear on the point about guns, I am not a fan of them at all but I'm not going to preach about how I like living in a country where they can't be got hold of easily, and I like it that way tbh. To each his/her own.

Has nothing to do with guns specifically. The point of the comment is that there are laws that make penalties for murder higher if a gun is used. It basically puts the focus on the gun, rather than the fact that somebody was murdered. Mobile phones are specifically targeted in the same way, even though they are but a tiny portion of accidents.

Or they learn how to pick locks and remove the boot - which is legal as long as you don't damage it. One bloke removed the boot by picking the lock and then used it to lock the gates to his local DVLA yard, he is on Youtube somewhere.

That's awesome. I had no idea you could legally pick the lock.