Or are they never allowed to use one?
2007-02-21 22:19:21 · 180 answers · asked by David Frost 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
You are allowed to use a hand held phone whilst driving to make an emergency 999 call, if it is a perceived life threatening emergency and there is absolutely no safe place to pull over.
2007-02-21 22:32:18 · answer #1 · answered by Jooles 4 · 7⤊ 2⤋
Never! The only time a hand held phone should be used is when there is another passenger in the car to take a message or tell the person driving who is calling. They should tell them that the person being called is currently driving and ask if they would mind calling back at a time when it is expected the driver will have the opportunity to stop in an appropriate place and speak to them. Personally I wouldn't use the hands-free ones either as it. is still a distraction to the driver. I am still constantly amazed at the numbers of people I see flouting this 'common sense' law!
2007-03-03 06:43:49 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only when the car is switched off, I don't think they are allowed to use one whilst parked at traffic lights or in jams etc... Or is it when not on a public highway or something. All I know is that the fines are rubbish on the mainland, for example, here in the Isle of Man, the fine is a max. of £1000 and 3 penalty points, not a puny £60, if a rich businessman wants to use his phone he may risk the small fine if the call is important to him. He may THINK twice if he has to pay a grand. Personally, I think it's extremely dangerous and if you are travelling behind a driver who is on the phone they are usually doing 15mph in a 30mph zone an weaving over the white lines. Why don't we ban people who do it more than once? I don't know how 'think' works but I presume you are an Insider Pressure Group, if so get talking to the Govt.
2007-03-02 21:26:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are allowed to use a mobile when parked in a suitable safe place with the engine turned off. Or with a suitable hands free kit.
I've heard different things on this. (1 ) is that you cannot touch the phone that you have to have automatic answer. (2) that you can just press one button to answer/end the call, so not too sure on that though.. Please advise on that..
But if phones are a distraction, isn't reaching for cigarettes & lighter/ matches and fiddling with the radio/cd whilst driving a distraction too ? Having conversations as well, does that mean we can't talk to passengers ? Where do we draw the line ?
2007-03-04 02:12:03 · answer #4 · answered by tilly 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When the car is parked in a safe/legal area, hand brake on etc etc.
To the people who mentioned they can use hands free instead. Theyre just as dangerous. The driver will still be concentrating (at least partially) on the conversation, therefore less so on the road. What if the person on the other end says something to seriously distract the driver (ie joke, bad news etc), hits another car / kills a pedestrian? Does that have to happen before hands free is banned as well?
2007-02-25 02:20:03 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well Yes, You can use a hand held 'phone when driving. That is, and the only time, when you are driving on Private Land. The use of a hand held 'phone is 100% BANNED when you are on the Public Highway; this includes Hard Shoulders.
It is mooted that if the present new system is wanting, then £1000 fines and one year bans will come into force.
2007-03-03 20:32:12 · answer #6 · answered by greatbrickhill 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Drivers should never use a hand held phone while driving. It is bad enough to use a hands free (by the way you can buy them for less that £20, for those drivers how hold life so cheap)
2007-03-01 17:31:34 · answer #7 · answered by Freethinking Liberal 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm guessing that you should never use a hand held phone when driving. The effect on reaction time is actually stronger than for drinking and driving. I never answer my phone when I'm driving which drives my friends mad, but keeps me and my children safe.
As far as allowed to is concerned I'm not sure what the law is in the UK but in Mexico City if a driver is caught using a hand held phone they are fined. I hope the law is similar in the UK because I'm sure talking and driving causes accidents. I don't really think there's much difference between hand held and hands free, you're still concentrating more on the phone call than on driving. Talking on the phone is linguistically and cognitively more complex than talking to someone in person so it is not equivalent to chatting to the person beside you.
2007-02-22 01:43:10 · answer #8 · answered by pauline m 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
As I understand it you are not allowed to use a hand held phone when ever you are behind the wheel and the engine is turned on. This is to ensure that the police don't have drivers saying that there car was stationary when the driver made the call.
The only exception from the law are surprisingly the police as they have had "Special training".
2007-03-03 11:31:39 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a few cities now that are banning driving while on the cell phone but it is still LEGAL in most places. While it may be LEGAL, it is never SAFE! When you are talking on your phone, while you may be looking at the road in front of you your attention is not on the road in front of you and that creates a hazard. Distracted driving is the cause of more wrecks than I can count (I rent cars for a living and hear these stories every day). Whether its the cell phone or the breakfast burrito, any time you are driving your car and your attention is not 100% fixed on driving your car you become a hazard to the people around you.
2007-02-28 01:01:19 · answer #10 · answered by joeinchino2000 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Drivers are not allowed to use a hand held Mobile phone at anytime while driving. Drivers may only use a hands free kit while driving!
2007-02-24 02:59:34 · answer #11 · answered by taz 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋