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Government Transportation United Kingdom Cellphones The Almighty Buck

UK: New Drivers Caught Using a Phone Will Lose Their License (bbc.com) 180

Under new rules in England, Scotland and Wales, drivers caught using a phone within two years of passing their test will have their license revoked. BBC reports: Penalties for using a phone at the wheel double from March 1 to six points and a 200 British pound fine. New drivers who get six points or more must retake their practical and theory. More experienced drivers can be banned if they get 12 points in three years. Can I check social media or texts if I'm queuing in traffic or stopped at traffic lights? No -- a hand held phone cannot be used, even if stopped at lights. Texting and scrolling social media (even if the phone is mounted on a hands-free holder) is distracting and dangerous. It doesn't come under the handheld mobile phone law but the police may decide to charge you with a number of other offenses. Can I use my phone to listen to music, play podcasts or watch video clips? You can't watch video clips -- not even if your phone is mounted in a hands-free holder. You can use your phone to listen to music and podcasts but only if your phone is in a hands-free holder or connected by Bluetooth. However, just as you can be distracted by the noise of a car radio, if it affects your ability to drive safely, you could still be prosecuted by the police. Can I use my phone's sat nav? Yes -- as long as the phone is mounted in a hands-free holder. If it's in your hands, it's illegal. However, if you are distracted by the sat nav and it affects your ability to drive safely, you could still be prosecuted by the police.
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UK: New Drivers Caught Using a Phone Will Lose Their License

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  • by JanneM ( 7445 ) on Wednesday March 01, 2017 @08:15PM (#53958929) Homepage

    Those rules sound pretty reasonable. If you use it in a way that takes your attention away from the road, it's forbidden. If it doesn't, it's OK.

    • Re:Reasonable (Score:4, Insightful)

      by sit1963nz ( 934837 ) on Wednesday March 01, 2017 @08:29PM (#53959013)
      So, we should see advertising billboards along roads removed because they are specifically designed to grab peoples attention.
      • by JanneM ( 7445 )

        So, we should see advertising billboards along roads removed because they are specifically designed to grab peoples attention.

        I don't know about where you live, but here there are rules for how big and close they can be to a road, where they can and can't be placed, design limitations (no flashing lights, etc) and so on precisely for that reason.

        • Sure, but the reason there are there is for motorists to notice.
          Given most (?) cars have only one occupant, the majority of people the billboard is aimed at is the driver.
          to do that, it becomes a distraction.
          It was posted more in response to the ludicrous suggestion that if you SatNav was a distraction you could still be prosecuted.
          • by JanneM ( 7445 )

            It specifically says SatNav is allowed. But just like speed limits you still have a responsibility of your own. You can drive the speed limit and still be prosecuted if your speed is excessive for the current conditions. And if you use the navigation in a way or at a time when it is dangerous you're still responsible for that.

          • by Calydor ( 739835 )

            I don't know about your SatNav, but mine specifically states every time it turns on that it should NOT be operated while actually driving. If you're cruising along in the city, eyes on the satnav to look for the road you need, or maybe setting it up to search for your next destination, and you hit someone - yes, you get prosecuted. You were not exercising due care and caution while piloting what is essentially a ground-based ballistic missile.

      • by Ichijo ( 607641 )

        And road signs, too!

        When I'm in an area with a lot of signs and other visual clutter, I slow down to give my brain more time to process everything. It's the law [brainscape.com].

      • "So, we should see advertising billboards along roads removed because they are specifically designed to grab peoples attention."

        Well, I don't know if it comes from an European-level regulation, but that's certainly the case here in Spain.

      • So, we should see advertising billboards along roads removed because they are specifically designed to grab peoples attention.

        What billboards? The UK already has strict rules limiting the placement of billboards along motorways and majors roads for exactly this reason which is why so see so few.

      • Yes. We really SHOULD ban billboards near public roads. Would save a great many lives.

    • by amiga3D ( 567632 )

      Actually texting on a phone should be considered reckless driving. No need for a new law, that's a broad brush.

  • by msauve ( 701917 ) on Wednesday March 01, 2017 @08:17PM (#53958941)
    Why is common sense news? Shut up and drive.
  • It seems that the number of distracted people hurt in distraction accidents is related to how much traffic calming used in the local area. Around here when they drop speed limits on roads with many shops from 60 km/hr to 40, the number of people jay walking increases and areas where there were a few near misses a year turn into a minor injuries per year.

    In the high traffic areas that are now pedestrian and tram only areas, the tram drivers are having far more emergency stops which can injure passengers. A

    • by JanneM ( 7445 )

      But is that due to a greater risk of accident, or due to more people walking when the area becomes pedestrian-friendly?

  • no phone-checking in running vehicles if you are YOUNG ( two years after passing test ). then OLD, then while (fill in the blank), then.....
    • by Calydor ( 739835 )

      How about no phone-checking in running vehicles, period?

      There's a safety campaign in my country at the moment with a slogan that basically translates to, "Drive when you drive." Very sane advice.

  • ...as when I used to do long-distance journeys a few years ago, I always listened to music & podcasts on my phone via headphones, with the phone in my top pocket, set up with a playlist at the start of the journey. From the written advice given at the time, I've always believed this to be legal until now. Was my understanding faulty in the first place, or has this now changed?

    You can use your phone to listen to music and podcasts but only if your phone is in a hands-free holder or connected by Bluetoo

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by chrism238 ( 657741 )
      When wearing your headphones, can you hear that emergency services vehicle, siren wailing, coming up behind you? Certainly not from the same distance as without headphones.
    • by JanneM ( 7445 )

      "hands-free holder or connected by Bluetooth"

      Either or, not both. And headphones aren't mentioned at all.

  • end of uber in the UK? or will they just have drivers with no License picking people up?

    • It had to happen. They've been ignoring all other laws related to work and employment ever since their founding -why would they NOT start ignoring licensing laws for drivers ?

      • and get sued when some get's injured and there insurance try to get off with them saying that the driver is not Licensed. An 3rd party victim will be nice no EULA to get in the way of a big judgment.

  • before your next eye exam? Ok, maybe not in the UK, be seriously. I don't have to prove I can still drive until I'm in my mid 60s...
    • Your license lasts till 70 in the UK before you have to renew it with assurances that you are still fit to drive.

      Drivers in their 60s are safer than drivers in their 20s. That's why their insurance premiums are lower.

  • react accordingly, - lowering speed and switching on the emergency light blinking. This is what should be called a self-driving car.

    I do not understand how car manufacturers get away with it - building cars with 320 km/h speedometers, and at the same time not installing driver's alcohol detector, driver's mobile phone detector, etc.

    At the same time more than a million people get killed by these cars each year and millions are wounded. These are WW3 figures.
  • even in those instances where you can use your phone (music, navigating if phone is in a stand) the police can still prosecute you. It feels random and just something they can get you with if they want to.

  • Touch screens are generally distracting, because you have to look at them to operate. By this definition, operating a cell phone while driving is bad. Yet car companies seem to be making more and more car controls work via touch screen. This needs to change too.

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