The Daily Mail's got its knickers in a twist over drivers using their mobiles at the wheel (especially foreign truck drivers after a mother and 3 children were killed)
Now IIRC, the fine was recently increased to £100 with 3 points and it can be up to £2,500 for HGV drivers. But this doesn't seem to have much effect.
How about an immediate 7 day ban? And if you're a foreign lorry driver, hundreds of miles from base, that applies to you too
Mobile phones
Re: Mobile phones
It's irrelevant when there's nobody out there to enforce it (and people don't think they will get caught).
Re: Mobile phones
Yes and the penalty is due to increase again next year to 6 points and £200 fine.
That RTC was horrendous but I hate the way the good ol' Daily Mail used it to focus on foreign lorry drivers and had a front page spread with only them pictured using their phones. Any excuse to reinforce stereotypes and incite racial hatred. The Daily Mail is a horrid newspaper (I use the term loosely)
But back on topic, how about immediate and permanent confiscation of their phone?
That RTC was horrendous but I hate the way the good ol' Daily Mail used it to focus on foreign lorry drivers and had a front page spread with only them pictured using their phones. Any excuse to reinforce stereotypes and incite racial hatred. The Daily Mail is a horrid newspaper (I use the term loosely)
But back on topic, how about immediate and permanent confiscation of their phone?
Martin - Bristol Advanced Motorists: IMI National Observer, Group Secretary, Masters (dist), DSA: ADI, Fleet, RoSPA (Dip)
Re: Mobile phones
martine wrote:But back on topic, how about immediate and permanent confiscation of their phone?
You could make the penalty immediate and permanent confiscation of the vehicle (but you'd end up with a DM sob story no doubt ), but it won't make any difference if people don't think they'll get caught.
Re: Mobile phones
Phones and texting are here and part of everyday life for a lot of people; we can't go back to what things 'used to be' and with small variations road casualties are dropping.
Re: Mobile phones
martine wrote:Yes and the penalty is due to increase again next year to 6 points and £200 fine.
That RTC was horrendous but I hate the way the good ol' Daily Mail used it to focus on foreign lorry drivers and had a front page spread with only them pictured using their phones. Any excuse to reinforce stereotypes and incite racial hatred. The Daily Mail is a horrid newspaper (I use the term loosely)
But back on topic, how about immediate and permanent confiscation of their phone?
May be jonts suggestion of impounding the vehicle with the employer having to pay a K5 release fee would put pressure on employers to do something like fit cctv in the lorry as in this case. This could be veiwed at the end of each journey and if the driver is seen fiddling with a mobile device, instant dismisal. Obviously the answer is more traffic police, but that isn't going to happen.
The Daily Mail does have its uses though. My wife usually brings a free one home from Waitrose which is used to line the chicken coop. About the right use for it I'd say.
Nigel.
Re: Mobile phones
An immediate 7 day ban requires an immediate court hearing.
Or maybe we should just have a vote and let the authorities give effect to popular opinion by circumventing due process.
Or maybe we should just have a vote and let the authorities give effect to popular opinion by circumventing due process.
Re: Mobile phones
mainbeam wrote:Or maybe we should just have a vote and let the authorities give effect to popular opinion by circumventing due process.
Like we did the last 2 times we had referendums? But then we voted the way we were supposed to
Re: Mobile phones
martine wrote: . . . the good ol' Daily Mail used it to focus on foreign lorry drivers and had a front page spread with only them pictured using their phones. Any excuse to reinforce stereotypes and incite racial hatred.
And ignoring that the A34 driver lived in Andover, Hampshire . . .
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.
Re: Mobile phones
If drivers think it's not serious, and believe that they won't get caught, then nothing will change. There is little point increasing the fine if no one is caught doing it.
I know many drivers who do it (I know of at least one advanced driver on ADHUB who admits to using the phone while driving, albeit hands free).
If its genuinely that serious, then why aren't the police simply out there at the side of the road, detecting and prosecuting. The answer is because it's not really regarded as a major issue, certainly not enough to spend limited resources on.
I know many drivers who do it (I know of at least one advanced driver on ADHUB who admits to using the phone while driving, albeit hands free).
If its genuinely that serious, then why aren't the police simply out there at the side of the road, detecting and prosecuting. The answer is because it's not really regarded as a major issue, certainly not enough to spend limited resources on.
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