Mobile phones

[GTR1400MAN]

Received in my email today.

IAM Surety adopts a zero tolerance policy towards penalty points for mobile phone usage whilst driving

The risk of using mobile phones while driving has been very prominent in the media recently, following the tragic quadruple fatality caused by an HGV driver using a phone at the wheel, From this point forward our insurer, IAM Surety, will be unable to offer our exclusive ‘members only’ insurance scheme to any members who obtain points for using a phone while driving. This will be a permanent exclusion.  Please do be sure to inform your local groups, so everyone understands the position. We support this positive step towards making using a mobile phone while driving socially unacceptable. 

[Strangely Brown]

That's interesting. If every insurance company adopted the same approach that would be, in effect, a lifetime driving ban. Maybe the market will prove effective where the courts are impotent.

[angus]

It will be like if you've had a drink driving conviction - only some insurers will cover you at inflated premiums. Or people will drive without insurance

[Silk]

Received in my email today.

IAM Surety adopts a zero tolerance policy towards penalty points for mobile phone usage whilst driving

The risk of using mobile phones while driving has been very prominent in the media recently, following the tragic quadruple fatality caused by an HGV driver using a phone at the wheel, From this point forward our insurer, IAM Surety, will be unable to offer our exclusive ‘members only’ insurance scheme to any members who obtain points for using a phone while driving. This will be a permanent exclusion.  Please do be sure to inform your local groups, so everyone understands the position. We support this positive step towards making using a mobile phone while driving socially unacceptable. 

Typical knee-jerk, politically-correct, populist statement from an organisation that is becoming too corporate for its own good. Perhaps they should give a list of offenses that they consider to be acceptable. What a joke.

[Silk]

That's interesting. If every insurance company adopted the same approach that would be, in effect, a lifetime driving ban. Maybe the market will prove effective where the courts are impotent.

Insurers will do what they always do and assess risk using actual evidence rather than "post-truth" nonsense, and balance it against the need to stay in business. Im sure someone may attempt to organise a boycott of companies that allow drivers with mobile phone convictions to legally obtain insurance - best of luck with that.

[Silk]

Interesting discussion, but I do sometimes wonder if there are compensatory factors by which these electronic devices have significantly improved safety?
Anyone driving alone twenty years ago would have got to within half a mile or so of their destination and then had their driving concentration severely compromised by glancing at a map on the drivers seat, whilst looking for road signs, hotel names etc. etc.
I am often called by delivery drivers (hopefully hands free) asking to be 'guided in'. This is surely much safer than a succession of impromptu U turns etc?

You make some good points. I'm sure some of what you say may explain why we haven't seen a massive spike in road deaths to correspond to the massive spike in mobile phone use. I certainly remember driving through unfamiliar cities with an AtoZ on my knee.

[Silk]

I've changed from having a phone using the hands-free on my GPS, to being in the glove box and Bluetooth disabled. That's what voicemail is for...

Some people are too busy to faff around with voicemail.

[waremark]

As an interesting question - and having watched a driver this morning...

mobile phone in a holder (so fixed) being used on a satnav app to change directions / settings etc.
- mobile phone use - therefore illegal etc.?
- satnav use - therefore legal? (a fixed screen is no different whether made by apple or tomtom - it could even be running the identical software)

which does it fall under?

Alasdair

Surely if in a holder the specific offence is not comitted, whatever the device is being used for?

[fungus]

IIAC the use of a citizens band radio to converse with a fellow radio user is not illegal, but it still involves the same processes as using a mobile phone.

Nigel.

[akirk]

IIAC the use of a citizens band radio to converse with a fellow radio user is not illegal, but it still involves the same processes as using a mobile phone.

Nigel.

And CB is much simpler to use, pick up, press button and talk
However, I had a car for a while with CB and VHF and both are legal to use, yet VHF is far more complicated than a mobile phone with operation needing you to bounce across repeaters etc in our use you would be expected to do that when not driving, but it was certainly legal and shouldn't be as a distraction...

I think that we have a case here of this being a simple target (similar to speed which is easy to measure) so rather than looking at dangerous driving which is hard to judge or prosecute, simple targets are pursued... it is easy to video someone on a phone, so it is easy to prosecute...

Logic need not apply!

Alasdair