From: Ret. on
Dave S. wrote:
> "ChelseaTractorMan" <mr.c.tractor(a)hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:180sp5thkj88hvuf7h31mlpl537hfj77b0(a)4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:36:18 -0000, "Mr. Benn"
>> <nospam(a)invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> When are people going to get the message?
>>
>> not yet, saw woman on motorway this morning struggling with a hand
>> held and looking at it rather than the road.
>
> Makes a change from looking in the rear view mirror whilst applying
> makeup.
>> I will use the hands free to ring my partners mobile to say "be there
>> in 5 minutes" beyond that, no way.
>
> Why not just wait the five minutes? I bet you ring from a supermarket
> to ask what size cabbage to buy :-)
>
>> conversations on the phone are distracting.
>
> I totally agree that mobiles should not be used "hand held", but why
> are conversations on a hands-free phone more distracting than talking
> to a passenger in the car?

Do a Google and look at the mass of research into the subject. It will
explain precisely just why a mobile phone conversation is more distracting
than talking to a passenger.

However, for a start, look at this from RoSPA:

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
intelligentconversation 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.

Kev


From: NM on
On 15 Mar, 22:35, Harry Bloomfield <harry.m1...(a)NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk>
wrote:
> Conor has brought this to us :
>
>
>
> > On 14/03/2010 13:25, oldMaxim wrote:
>
> >> ...why's this a stupid law??
>
> > Because the governments own official statistics prove it is a nonsense. The
> > figures for KSI have decreased over the last decade, meanwhile the number of
> > those using a mobile phone have increased exponentially even in the years the
> > KSI figures have reached record lows. All of this is occurring as the total
> > billion km travelled per year and number of registered cars keeps on
> > climbing. So as a percentage, the risk factor drops off a cliff to the point
> > that it is statistically insignificant.
>
> > Yes it isn't clever and neither are a lot of other things people do whilst
> > driving but the figures prove that it isn't the death dealer the government
> > would like you to believe. It is merely something else the govt can use as a
> > revenue generator.
>
> Today, on a derestricted bit of DC, I along with several others came up
> behind one of those sandwich delivery trucks in L2 simply because his
> speed suddenly fell to 40 from the 50 to 60 he had been doing. Most of
> us assumed wrongly that he was slowing down for a right turn ahead and
> his indicators were faulty and so undertook him. I found out the reason
> as I passed him - he was on the phone and completely oblivious of the
> traffic around him. Now I suppose he was lucky that no one stepped out
> in the road, who might have made a similar assumption.
>
> Many people cannot drive effectively whilst using a phone - he
> definitely was one such example.
>
> --
> Regards,
>         Harry (M1BYT) (L)http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

My friend had his leg broken after being knocked off his motorbike
whilst on his way to work by a red light jumper who was on his phone
and failed (by his own admission) to take heed of the lights.
From: Adrian on
NM <nik.morgan(a)mac.com> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were
saying:

> My friend had his leg broken after being knocked off his motorbike
> whilst on his way to work by a red light jumper who was on his phone and
> failed (by his own admission) to take heed of the lights.

Would you have said that a £60/3pt fixed penalty for being on the phone
was the most serious offence committed there?
From: Mr Benn on
"Dave S." <somewhere(a)nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:hnnfbm$ptf$1(a)speranza.aioe.org...

> I totally agree that mobiles should not be used "hand held", but why are
> conversations on a hands-free phone more distracting than talking to a
> passenger in the car?

Conversations can be every bit as distracting at times. When I'm
negotiating complicated road systems, I frequently stop talking to
passengers so that I can concentrate on the road. I'll then resume the
conversation when it's safe to do so.


From: Rob on
NM wrote:
| On 15 Mar, 22:26, Harry Bloomfield <harry.m1...(a)NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk>
| wrote:
|| Conor submitted this idea :
||
||| However....
||
||| See me after I'd been stood up for 10-20 minutes or carrying
||| something and you'd realise just how bad I am but people like you
||| never do.
||
|| Which has what relevance to my comments?
||
|| I have no problem at all with anyone making full use of a blue badge,
|| or the provision of cars for those who have a need for such. I do
|| take exception to misuse and abuse of either or both provisions.
||
|| --
|| Regards,
|| Harry (M1BYT) (L)http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk
|
| Lots of people do, I regularly use my friends blue badge and I have
| been accosted several times by people in the supermarket car park
| because I am using the disabled bays and appear in fine phisical
| condition, most people don't realise that a carer undertaking a task
| on behalf of the badge holder can use the pass.

Provided the badge holder is in the vehicle, or being collected of course.

--
Rob