Mobile phones the bust of the month

sandcaw said :

Thank you Overheard for your observation on my meek observation. After reading the road rules I stand corrected. And yes, Tooks, shooting from the hip is not my style. Does make you wonder though, why are police cars equipped with radios?

Why do police cars have radios? For the same reason as ambulances and fire trucks (and other emergency services). Radios are generally for quick, concise communications.

Captain RAAF said :

Jim Jones said :

Cops get particularly hardcore driver training

So, if you have specialist driver training you can operate a vehicle and use a phone, eh?

Where do I go to get this annotated on my licence?

Police Academy.

Awesome place … there’s this one guy who makes all these really cool sounds and can imitate helicopters and stuff, and Steve Gutenberg is there too.

Jim Jones said :

Cops get particularly hardcore driver training

So, if you have specialist driver training you can operate a vehicle and use a phone, eh?

Where do I go to get this annotated on my licence?

sandcaw said :

Thank you Overheard for your observation on my meek observation. After reading the road rules I stand corrected. And yes, Tooks, shooting from the hip is not my style. Does make you wonder though, why are police cars equipped with radios?

Actually, I was referring to *my* meek observation.

Thank you Overheard for your observation on my meek observation. After reading the road rules I stand corrected. And yes, Tooks, shooting from the hip is not my style. Does make you wonder though, why are police cars equipped with radios?

KeenGolfer said :

Captain RAAF said :

If you can’t operate a car and use a phone at the same time then there is something wrong with you.

Talking on a mobile phone whilst driving is a major distraction. I’ve seen this proven over and over again by the fact a fully marked police car can “sneak” up on someone talking on the phone, without them realising a police car is driving next to them, watching them talking on the phone.

You can pick most of the mobile phone users from a fair distance. Not driving in the middle of the lane, not driving at a constant speed, not noticing when the light goes green, etc.

Some of those behaviours occur also when the driver is looking for something in his car for example. But as said before, they can choose to interrupt that activity, while once you are on the phone, you’re unlikely to interrupt the call and therefor your attention to traffic remains very low until you hang up.

And reading or writing a text in the car is even worse of course.

Captain RAAF said :

If you can’t operate a car and use a phone at the same time then there is something wrong with you.

Talking on a mobile phone whilst driving is a major distraction. I’ve seen this proven over and over again by the fact a fully marked police car can “sneak” up on someone talking on the phone, without them realising a police car is driving next to them, watching them talking on the phone.

Classified said :

Tooks said :

sandcaw said :

Overheard said :

I heard this on the news last night and thought, ‘Excellent’. Especially after seeing a woman on Flemington Rd on Monday, phone held up against one ear with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other.

And I was reminded this morning as I drove down Bindubi Street and passed a police van, and Mr Plod the driver had his phone held up to his ear. “Do what we say…”

Class. I too recently was stopped at lights on Kingsford Smith Drive and a convoy of police cars went by…..with one of them on his mobile phone. Setting a great example – not. The amount of drivers on mobile phones in this City beggars belief. Theres no deterrent here. In the UK plain clothes police stand on the side of the road and report to an officer about passing drivers on their phones. Now there’s an idea.

Police are exempt. Maybe check the road rules before shooting from the hip.

So it’s not dangerous then?

Cops get particularly hardcore driver training, and often need to use phones/radios/etc to communicate about ‘incidents’ while they’re on the go.

I’m no fan of the cops most of the time, but the whole argument that ‘cops do it so it can’t be too dangerous’ or whatever has all the logic and emotional maturity of a playground hissy-fit.

Classified said :

Tooks said :

sandcaw said :

Overheard said :

I heard this on the news last night and thought, ‘Excellent’. Especially after seeing a woman on Flemington Rd on Monday, phone held up against one ear with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other.

And I was reminded this morning as I drove down Bindubi Street and passed a police van, and Mr Plod the driver had his phone held up to his ear. “Do what we say…”

Class. I too recently was stopped at lights on Kingsford Smith Drive and a convoy of police cars went by…..with one of them on his mobile phone. Setting a great example – not. The amount of drivers on mobile phones in this City beggars belief. Theres no deterrent here. In the UK plain clothes police stand on the side of the road and report to an officer about passing drivers on their phones. Now there’s an idea.

Police are exempt. Maybe check the road rules before shooting from the hip.

So it’s not dangerous then?

Not as dangerous as travelling at well over the speed limit to get to an emergency.

Captain RAAF said :

If you can’t operate a car and use a phone at the same time then there is something wrong with you. I can eat a pie and drive at the same time, I can drink a can of coke and drive at the same time, I can sing along to my favourite Barry Manilow track and drive at the same time, what the hell difference does using a phone make?

Unless you are having a deep conversation with your pie or coke then there is a substantial difference as the conversation itself is what takes concentration. Also you can choose when to eat or drink and that is different to an unpredictable call, hunting for the phone, looking at the screen, etc.

Having one hand occupied in a manual car/truck/van (common in aus), means zero steering wheel control when you change gears or indicate (if you bother).

Captain RAAF said :

why haven’t I crashed into a bus load of nuns yet?

Because there aren’t enough nuns left in Canberra to fill a bus ?

I had a friend that crashed his car while drunk, wrote it off and not surprisingly the insurance company wont pay anything. Given that the police or insurance company could potentially check your phone records could they technically deem you liable/reduce liability for accident and injuries whilst on the phone and driving, as deliberate negligence ???, like they can for speeding, neg driving, etc.

Captain RAAF said :

I can eat a pie and drive at the same time, I can drink a can of coke and drive at the same time, I can sing along to my favourite Barry Manilow track and drive at the same time, what the hell difference does using a phone make?

I once put it to one of the plod that phone-driving is no different to eating a McBurger while driving. The response was that burger-driving is also illegal, as you are required to have full two-handed control of the vehicle (assuming you actually have two hands, I suppose).

Last study I saw concluded that talking on a hand-held phone, talking on a hands-free phone, being an involved listener to a sporting event on the radio, and being right on the alcohol limit all had the same impairment effect on driving skills.

In one state in the US, the incidence of mobile phone use and motor vehicle accidents actually increased once it was outlawed. They found that while it was legal, most people could operate their motor vehicle safely whilst using their phone up at their ear but once the change came in and it was made illegal, people began to hide their phone use. Using a phone while it was hidden from view like down on their lap, drivers were paying less attention to the surrounds and taking their eyes off the road and more accidents being the end result.

If you can’t operate a car and use a phone at the same time then there is something wrong with you. I can eat a pie and drive at the same time, I can drink a can of coke and drive at the same time, I can sing along to my favourite Barry Manilow track and drive at the same time, what the hell difference does using a phone make?

Hell, sometimes I can do all three at once, why haven’t I crashed into a bus load of nuns yet?

Oops, Henry82 already did so. Thanks!

Tooks said :

sandcaw said :

Overheard said :

I heard this on the news last night and thought, ‘Excellent’. Especially after seeing a woman on Flemington Rd on Monday, phone held up against one ear with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other.

And I was reminded this morning as I drove down Bindubi Street and passed a police van, and Mr Plod the driver had his phone held up to his ear. “Do what we say…”

Class. I too recently was stopped at lights on Kingsford Smith Drive and a convoy of police cars went by…..with one of them on his mobile phone. Setting a great example – not. The amount of drivers on mobile phones in this City beggars belief. Theres no deterrent here. In the UK plain clothes police stand on the side of the road and report to an officer about passing drivers on their phones. Now there’s an idea.

Police are exempt. Maybe check the road rules before shooting from the hip.

Perhaps you could provide us with a link to the rule that states police can talk on a mobile phone while driving? I’d be curious to see how it’s worded.

sandcaw said :

a convoy of police cars went by…..with one of them on his mobile phone.

…The driver of a vehicle (except an emergency vehicle or police vehicle) must not use a mobile phone. http://www.police.act.gov.au/roads-and-traffic/use-of-mobile-phones.aspx (first sentence)

They can also speed, make illegal moves etc with or without lights/sirens on (within reason).

Tooks said :

sandcaw said :

Overheard said :

I heard this on the news last night and thought, ‘Excellent’. Especially after seeing a woman on Flemington Rd on Monday, phone held up against one ear with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other.

And I was reminded this morning as I drove down Bindubi Street and passed a police van, and Mr Plod the driver had his phone held up to his ear. “Do what we say…”

Class. I too recently was stopped at lights on Kingsford Smith Drive and a convoy of police cars went by…..with one of them on his mobile phone. Setting a great example – not. The amount of drivers on mobile phones in this City beggars belief. Theres no deterrent here. In the UK plain clothes police stand on the side of the road and report to an officer about passing drivers on their phones. Now there’s an idea.

Police are exempt. Maybe check the road rules before shooting from the hip.

So it’s not dangerous then?

Tooks said :

sandcaw said :

Overheard said :

I heard this on the news last night and thought, ‘Excellent’. Especially after seeing a woman on Flemington Rd on Monday, phone held up against one ear with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other.

And I was reminded this morning as I drove down Bindubi Street and passed a police van, and Mr Plod the driver had his phone held up to his ear. “Do what we say…”

Class. I too recently was stopped at lights on Kingsford Smith Drive and a convoy of police cars went by…..with one of them on his mobile phone. Setting a great example – not. The amount of drivers on mobile phones in this City beggars belief. Theres no deterrent here. In the UK plain clothes police stand on the side of the road and report to an officer about passing drivers on their phones. Now there’s an idea.

Police are exempt. Maybe check the road rules before shooting from the hip.

“Shooting from the hip”?

Hardly.

It was merely a rather meek observation on the ‘one rule for us, one rule for them’ divide.

sandcaw said :

Overheard said :

I heard this on the news last night and thought, ‘Excellent’. Especially after seeing a woman on Flemington Rd on Monday, phone held up against one ear with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other.

And I was reminded this morning as I drove down Bindubi Street and passed a police van, and Mr Plod the driver had his phone held up to his ear. “Do what we say…”

Class. I too recently was stopped at lights on Kingsford Smith Drive and a convoy of police cars went by…..with one of them on his mobile phone. Setting a great example – not. The amount of drivers on mobile phones in this City beggars belief. Theres no deterrent here. In the UK plain clothes police stand on the side of the road and report to an officer about passing drivers on their phones. Now there’s an idea.

Police are exempt. Maybe check the road rules before shooting from the hip.

The one that gets my goat most is those pulling out of a carpark or driveway whilst on the phone. They’re often tradies too. Surely they could wait 30 seconds to finish their call before they drive off??

Overheard said :

I heard this on the news last night and thought, ‘Excellent’. Especially after seeing a woman on Flemington Rd on Monday, phone held up against one ear with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other.

And I was reminded this morning as I drove down Bindubi Street and passed a police van, and Mr Plod the driver had his phone held up to his ear. “Do what we say…”

Class. I too recently was stopped at lights on Kingsford Smith Drive and a convoy of police cars went by…..with one of them on his mobile phone. Setting a great example – not. The amount of drivers on mobile phones in this City beggars belief. Theres no deterrent here. In the UK plain clothes police stand on the side of the road and report to an officer about passing drivers on their phones. Now there’s an idea.

I heard this on the news last night and thought, ‘Excellent’. Especially after seeing a woman on Flemington Rd on Monday, phone held up against one ear with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other.

And I was reminded this morning as I drove down Bindubi Street and passed a police van, and Mr Plod the driver had his phone held up to his ear. “Do what we say…”

..and about time too, many near misses, slow traffic, failure to indicate, drifting about, missing red lights all caused by being in the phone, this is dangerous and negligent. 3 points and $237 (I think, it may have gone up). I hope they start on Majura Rd and Fyshwick where frequently truckies and commercial vehicle drivers are on the phone.