Record number of motorists prosecuted for driving while using mobile phones
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From: Brimstone on 14 Mar 2010 15:48 "furnessvale" <furnessvale(a)aol.com> wrote in message news:8de0d939-16b3-4c25-84fa-3309f40e7179(a)t41g2000yqt.googlegroups.com... > On Mar 14, 5:55�pm, Conor <co...(a)gmx.co.uk> wrote: >> On 14/03/2010 15:48, furnessvale wrote: >> >> > So your considered opinion is that the use of a hand held mobile phone >> > while driving has no effect whatsoever on the concentration of that >> > driver to �the primary task in hand. >> >> No, it is my considered opinion that the number of incomptent fuckwits >> doing this that are likely to actually have an accident is so low as to >> be statistically insignificant and said people are still likely to do it >> no matter what law and penalty is in place. >> >> > That would explain the huge number of stone lorry drivers I see on the >> > A6 using their phones on the MT return trip making multiple calls to >> > book the next best profitable loaded trip. >> >> Do you see any of them having a crash? > > Frequently, including on one occasion my garden wall. > How come your garden wall was driving a tipper and making a phone call? ;-)
From: Ret. on 14 Mar 2010 15:52 Conor wrote: > On 14/03/2010 17:45, Mr. Benn wrote: > >> Tests by scientists at the Transport Research Laboratory said >> drivers on mobiles had slower reaction times and stopping times than >> those under the influence of alcohol. >> > > And? > > It would also be interesting to see the details of those who were > tested, i.e were they Joe Average 10,000 miles per annum or people who > drive as part of their jobs who do 60,000+ miles per annum? And was > this done on one of those completely devoid of any reality simulators? > > I suspect, like Climategate, a large part of political manipulation of > results. Due to the difference in individuals, unless they tested > thousands of people, a reliable result cannot be arrived at. I suspect > the figure was closer to ten than ten thousand. > > If it were true, why are there not several thousand deaths from this? > After all, around 500 deaths per annum are attributed to drink driving > and the number using mobile phones while driving far exceeds the > 100,000 or so people found over the limit by, I'd expect, a good > tenfold. So surely if TRL's claims were valid, all the ~3000 non DD > related deaths would be from people using mobile phones? Or maybe, it > could be because its complete overhyped bollox... > > Like the "Speeding Kills" claim, it will undoubtedly come out in the > future that the reality is that it doesn't to anywhere near the level > currently quoted. Remember that with the "Speed Kills", the Police > finally admitted that it was only a major contributory factor in 4% of > accidents. There has been a lot of research done into the use of mobile phones and driving - in various different countries. All of it backs up the rest, in that concentrating on a telephone conversation reduces the concentration on the driving - and in simulations, reaction times were always affected. The human brain is not good at multi-tasking. The TV is currently on as I'm typing this on my laptop on my knee. I cannot follow the TV programme *and* concentrate on what I am typing. I can concentrate on the TV programme - or on my typing - but not on both a the same time. Research has shown that conversations with passengers do not have the same effect because drivers tend to just stop talking - and even ask their passengers to 'hang on a minute' when a driving task is becoming a little more intensive. For some reason this tends not to happen with a mobile phone conversation. The research shows that it requires greater concentration to make sense of what is being said by a telephone caller, rather than a passenger - and that greater concentration reduces driving attention. There's no getting away from it Conor. Talking on a mobile phone *does* reduce the level of attention given to driving. Kev
From: Ret. on 14 Mar 2010 16:01 Ret. wrote: > Conor wrote: >> On 14/03/2010 17:45, Mr. Benn wrote: >> >>> Tests by scientists at the Transport Research Laboratory said >>> drivers on mobiles had slower reaction times and stopping times than >>> those under the influence of alcohol. >>> >> >> And? >> >> It would also be interesting to see the details of those who were >> tested, i.e were they Joe Average 10,000 miles per annum or people >> who drive as part of their jobs who do 60,000+ miles per annum? And >> was this done on one of those completely devoid of any reality >> simulators? I suspect, like Climategate, a large part of political >> manipulation >> of results. Due to the difference in individuals, unless they tested >> thousands of people, a reliable result cannot be arrived at. I >> suspect the figure was closer to ten than ten thousand. >> >> If it were true, why are there not several thousand deaths from this? >> After all, around 500 deaths per annum are attributed to drink >> driving and the number using mobile phones while driving far exceeds >> the 100,000 or so people found over the limit by, I'd expect, a good >> tenfold. So surely if TRL's claims were valid, all the ~3000 non DD >> related deaths would be from people using mobile phones? Or maybe, it >> could be because its complete overhyped bollox... >> >> Like the "Speeding Kills" claim, it will undoubtedly come out in the >> future that the reality is that it doesn't to anywhere near the level >> currently quoted. Remember that with the "Speed Kills", the Police >> finally admitted that it was only a major contributory factor in 4% >> of accidents. > > There has been a lot of research done into the use of mobile phones > and driving - in various different countries. All of it backs up the > rest, in that concentrating on a telephone conversation reduces the > concentration on the driving - and in simulations, reaction times > were always affected. > The human brain is not good at multi-tasking. The TV is currently on > as I'm typing this on my laptop on my knee. I cannot follow the TV > programme *and* concentrate on what I am typing. I can concentrate on > the TV programme - or on my typing - but not on both a the same time. > > Research has shown that conversations with passengers do not have the > same effect because drivers tend to just stop talking - and even ask > their passengers to 'hang on a minute' when a driving task is > becoming a little more intensive. For some reason this tends not to > happen with a mobile phone conversation. The research shows that it > requires greater concentration to make sense of what is being said by > a telephone caller, rather than a passenger - and that greater > concentration reduces driving attention. > There's no getting away from it Conor. Talking on a mobile phone > *does* reduce the level of attention given to driving. There is plenty of the research on the internet if you care to look for it: http://safetyatworkblog.wordpress.com/2009/07/23/new-old-us-research-into-driving-and-talking/ The New York Times has revealed research on the hazards of driving and using mobile phones that was withheld since 2003. The newspaper understandably focuses on the intrigue that prevented the report from being released but the content of the report has the potential to substantially change how companies "manage" the hazard of their staff using mobile phones whilst driving. The report, obtained through Freedom of Information and made available on the newspaper's website, was a substantial project for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and, according to NYTimes: "The research mirrors other studies about the dangers of multitasking behind the wheel. Research shows that motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers, and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content." http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/workmobiles.pdf A substantial body of research shows that using a hand-held or hands-free mobile phone while driving is a significant distraction, and substantially increases the risk of the driver crashing.High mileage and company car drivers are more likely than most to use a mobile phone while driving. Some employers provide mobile phones or reimburse the cost of work-related calls made on private ones. There are good business reasons to do so.There are also good health and safety reasons for lone workers and staff who travel in areas where summoning help (if they break down, for example) may be difficult. But, this should not mean that staff should use the phone while driving. Drivers who use a mobile phone, whether hand-held or hands-free: ? are much less aware of what's happening on the road around them ? fail to see road signs ? fail to maintain proper lane position and steady speed ? are more likely to 'tailgate' the vehicle in front ? react more slowly and take longer to brake ? are more likely to enter unsafe gaps in traffic ? feel more stressed and frustrated. Research indicates that they are also four times more likely to crash, injuring or killing themselves and/or other people. Using a hands-free phone while driving does not significantly reduce the risks because the problems are caused mainly by the mental distraction and divided attention of taking part in a phone conversation at the same time as driving. http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/mobile_phone_litreview.pdf One criticism of RoSPA's stance on hands-free mobile phone systems is that a driver holding a conversation on a hands-free system is no more distracted from driving than if they were chatting to a passenger in the car. A number of studies have been published which have investigated this issue and they have found that significantly less effort was required to maintain an intelligent conversation with a passenger than with a colleague when using a carphone. This is confirmed by measurements of the drivers' heart rate (a physical measure of driver stress) which has been found to be significantly higher in drivers during mobile phone conversations than in conversations with passengers. Drivers have also rated a conversation held on the mobile phone when driving as being more stressful than with a passenger. Differences were also noted in the conversations between the driver and passenger and between driver and phone caller in terms of intonation and timing of speech. It has been established that passengers monitor the traffic as well as the driver and so modify the delivery and content of their speech accordingly (e.g. ceasing to talk if they see that the driver is having to concentrate on a particular traffic situation). Passengers also warn drivers of hazards which they had not noted. Just do a Google on 'Research into mobile phones and driving' and you will find a plethora of such findings. They cannot all be wrong. Kev
From: Harry Bloomfield on 14 Mar 2010 16:24 on 14/03/2010, TJ supposed : > It's about time that the Motability Scam was stopped and people who are not > genuine cases are prosecuted. In many cases, yes. I'm aware of a local and genuine case, but the disabled person is not the one getting the use out of the vehicle - it is a general run-around for the rest of the family. -- Regards, Harry (M1BYT) (L) http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk
From: Conor on 14 Mar 2010 17:52
On 14/03/2010 19:28, furnessvale wrote: > On Mar 14, 5:55�pm, Conor<co...(a)gmx.co.uk> wrote: >> On 14/03/2010 15:48, furnessvale wrote: >> >>> So your considered opinion is that the use of a hand held mobile phone >>> while driving has no effect whatsoever on the concentration of that >>> driver to �the primary task in hand. >> >> No, it is my considered opinion that the number of incomptent fuckwits >> doing this that are likely to actually have an accident is so low as to >> be statistically insignificant and said people are still likely to do it >> no matter what law and penalty is in place. >> >>> That would explain the huge number of stone lorry drivers I see on the >>> A6 using their phones on the MT return trip making multiple calls to >>> book the next best profitable loaded trip. >> >> Do you see any of them having a crash? > > Frequently, including on one occasion my garden wall. > How do you know this was due to driving whilst using a mobile phone? -- Conor I'm not prejudiced. I hate everyone equally. |