cidersurfer Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 No gadget while driving is the answer but I agree policing it is an issue. We banned mobile usage of any kind whilst driving at the start of this year. I know, it's difficult to achieve and I have had to rechip myself to achieve it but even hands free is a distraction. I've modified my driving pattern. As a result of living in Devon but covering the UK with my work my journeys are long, mostly in the 3-5 hour range, I used to spend hours driving non-stop - emergency breaks only! I now find myself leaving more time for journeys and stopping more often to catch up on calls, email, etc. When my phone connects to the car bluetooth, it silences all alerts - text and calls receive a polite text message informing people that I may be driving and if they leave a message I'll get back to them. The max they'll have to wait is circa 2 hours - we've all had meetings that take longer than that! As above, the on-demand society is the problem and gadget use is a real danger to road users - it is killing people today. I accept that people want to be in touch with their loved ones/mates - there are real emergencies in life but thankfully the real ones are few and far between. And.... What about bl##dy sat navs stuck in the middle of the windscreen! Quote
dhutch Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 I must say I have a 'smart phone twitch' in that i get an automated reflex to check it when it beeps. I dont like it, but its there. And they wont be just be texting, they will be on facebook/whatsap/email/tinder, you name it. It would be a lie to say I have never view/sent a message while in the car, as well as checking satnav while waiting at the lights and the like, however I make a very active effort to avoid it and am also shocked how many people young than me (its alarming that, now 27, theres a who decade of drivers younger than me) seem to spend so much time on their phones. I have had two crashes, both on back roads at low speed, one into a post and rail fence where one of the rails came through the windscreen and one into a telegraph pole went down the side of the engine stopping only after it too the front wheel back 6inches and pushing the roof up slightly. Both bad driving on my part, too fast for the varying conditions, but with a closing speed of maybe 30mph for both I was luck to be able to walk away from both with no injury, but it does an'alf wake you up to how easy it would be to destroy a car if you hit something at 2-3 times that speed! But if all of Staffordshire are have caught 4 in a whole year, it explanes why everyone is doing it again. Daniel Quote
XTR2Turbo Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 I actually think Sat Navs on the windscreen near the rear view mirrow are safer than where some OEM units are installed low down on the dash. I can glance at a Tom Tom with my forward field of vision maintained. To look at an OEM satnav down by the heater controls takes your eyes completely off the road. Quote
Gerry H Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 I find sat navs, particularly Tomtom, very useful on unfamiliar, twisty roads as they show the direction and severity of up-coming bends. Handy for getting a move on. Quote
WestyNottm Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 On my (short) 9 miles commute, it is rare not to be following at least one driver who is texting etc. My dash cam is my witness.... Quote
Paul Edden Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 Saw a chap of approx. 70 - 80 years today - driving with a dog hanging out the drivers window. When he turned off the main road - clearly see a white scruffy dog sitting on his lap. Only reason this boils my p**s - 0830 this morning, a cyclist was killed by a lorry not less than 100 yards further up the road. Quote
Lyonspride Posted April 21, 2015 Posted April 21, 2015 On my (short) 9 miles commute, it is rare not to be following at least one driver who is texting etc. My dash cam is my witness.... Yup, I won't drive without one these days. Quote
John K Posted April 21, 2015 Author Posted April 21, 2015 Yup, I won't drive without one these days.+1 to that, got my Roadhawk HD wired in for ignition on running.The whole "getting rear ended" (ooo-er misses) is getting to be such a worry, I'm actually considering getting another one, possibly std def, and pointing it out the rear window. I'd like to think I can be somewhat in control of what I'm going to run into, but it is very hard to control what is going to run into me... But to drag myself onto topic, anything that requires eyes off the road to operate is seriously bad news... Quote
Lyonspride Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 In pedestrian mode, i've been hit twice by drivers using mobile phones. It's not just messaging though, some are engrossed in Facebook and Twitter too It wouldn't be so bad if you could say "oh it's just kids", but only yesterday I came onto a dual carriageway slip lane doing 65+, round a bend only to find a gentleman who should be old enough to know better, almost at a complete stop faffing about on his mobile phone as the lane merged. Basically the problem is just a part of that attitude which has been growing over the last few decades, that attitude that a car is just an extension of the living room. Eating, drinking, smoking, mobile devices, chatting/gossiping (and yes listening to the radio IMHO) and finally turning your head 180° to entertain children, it all distracts from safe and proper driving. Quote
dombanks Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 In pedestrian mode, i've been hit twice by drivers using mobile phones. It's not just messaging though, some are engrossed in Facebook and Twitter too It wouldn't be so bad if you could say "oh it's just kids", but only yesterday I came onto a dual carriageway slip lane doing 65+, round a bend only to find a gentleman who should be old enough to know better, almost at a complete stop faffing about on his mobile phone as the lane merged. Basically the problem is just a part of that attitude which has been growing over the last few decades, that attitude that a car is just an extension of the living room. Eating, drinking, smoking, mobile devices, chatting/gossiping (and yes listening to the radio IMHO) and finally turning your head 180° to entertain children, it all distracts from safe and proper driving. you dont live in birmingham do you? and walk long distances to work? 1 Quote
Lyonspride Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 ^^ No, I used to work in Worcester city centre and walked 2 miles in from about the only street (Shrubbery lane area) in a 5 mile radius where the council coudn't put down double yellow lines to force people to use their car parks. Basically it was £3-£4 a day parking versus a 2 mile walk it was on this 2 mile walk, whilst crossing a road, that I got hit (clipped) by an Audi and then months later a BMW, both drivers faffing with phones. Quote
Chris Hooper Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 I use a MIO Mivvue358 dash cam these days. We saw so many on the continent and they are cheap these days. Quote
s2rrr Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 Cerrioli to the forum or maybe not. The use of any device within a certain distance around the steering wheel is I believe illegal as are windscreen cracks in the same area greater than 19mm. How about ear pieces - watched a young girl cross the road right in front of me this morning she saw me approaching but missed the car coming the other way. Totally oblivious of whats around her. Just an accident waiting to happen. Bob Quote
jeff oakley Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 Dash cameras are fine if you never do anything wrong! I know of a man who was involved in an accident that was not his fault and handed over his memory card of the incident. The police took great exception to his riding before the accident and prosecuted him as it had everything on it all GPS recorded. Quote
dombanks Posted April 22, 2015 Posted April 22, 2015 Glad some one picked up on it s2rrr Could dash cams be an invasion of privacy? I don't want to be filmed by someone without my permission Quote
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