Well in Washington state, USA we already have a law similar to what’s being proposed there. What a joke. People do not care because the police don’t enforce it. People will sit at a green light for 5-10 oblivious to the world around them reading the texts tweets whatever until someone behind lays on the horn to get them moving but since someone has already killed 5-10 seconds off the green the normal amount of traffic doesn’t get through. Like another poster I too with they would make the fines more substantial and actually enforce the law then maybe people would get it then.
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UK to Close Loophole That Allows Phone Users to Take Photos or Play Games While Driving
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Maybe it’s Driving For Dummies?
So far only 0.01% of the cars in the UK are Teslas. I'm sure that when there are more UK law will take them into account. Anyhow, If you put your Tesla into self drive mode you are controlling it.
"stupid brits"?
As a Brit I could take offence at that.
How many Teslas are in the UK? - Car Keys
We take a look at how many Teslas are actually on UK roads and which models are the most popular in which areas.
A future of not being able to use your phone while driving is exactly where we're heading. But it's going to happen more organically rather than from draconian government laws.
We have hands free calling and texting. Music, maps, and other through Car Play and Android Auto.
We're already seeing our phones act as car keys.
Now we have iPhones with magnetic backs and wireless charging.
It's not hard to see where this is going, as all the major pieces are in place. You can take it to the bank that within 10 years, new cars will require that the driver place their phone on a magnetic dash tray, where it then charges (of course), integrates into Car Play / Android Auto, and serves as your car keys to run the car.
To deter drivers from actually using their phone, removing the phone while driving will cause the car to enter automatic shutdown within 30 seconds - 1 minute. Either place it back, or pull over and stop.
No laws required. The progression of tech will see our phones become integrated into our vehicles, because they're an extension of ourselves.
You joke, but this could become an issue for Tesla:
Tesla touchscreen wiper controls land driver with fine after crash
A driver using the touchscreen controls for windscreen wipers was distracted, a German court says.
www.bbc.co.uk
Can't believe folks need to talk about that. Normal things everybody actually should know. I just hope i never get bounced by another car for that reason.
Remember that video a long time made where girls writing sms within driving a car and had that terrible accident? It was a commercial for not using phone while driving a car. That was more then a decade ago...
I think - if they catch someone like that - he/she should walk insted of driving for at least one year, should have to redo the drivers licence plus a fee that actually hurts very bad.
Remember that video a long time made where girls writing sms within driving a car and had that terrible accident? It was a commercial for not using phone while driving a car. That was more then a decade ago...
I think - if they catch someone like that - he/she should walk insted of driving for at least one year, should have to redo the drivers licence plus a fee that actually hurts very bad.
They did. Even autonomous vehicles must have a "driver," who must be in control of and take responsibility for it at all times it is on the road. Even if they are not physically doing the driving. It is by design rather than accident that there is no exception to the mobile phone rules, or any others, for self-driving cars.
But even if you are just sat in a parked car, by law you are can still be considered a driver of it if you are the person responsible for its operation.
Incidentally, there is an Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018 to address the issue of insurance liabilities for cars where they are not being physically driven by the driver. And an insurer can even recover a claim from a policy holder for failing to install security-critical software updates.
People have very much thought about Teslas and the like. They just did not think about people playing games and videoing on their phones. But that is more because people tend not to remember or review the specific text of laws passed almost fifteen years ago until something happens to highlight a problem with them.
No matter how the steering and speed is controlled, it does not absolve personal responsibility.
Stopped using CarPlay because it more distracting than actually handling my iPhone for gps navigation.
Someday they will insert a NFC in your steering wheel and no phone will operate within 6 feet of that chip.
As a GIG driver, I don't see how any restrictions can be implemented? These apps require constant attention within a very limited timeframe, I'm surprised they're still allowed.
Someday they will insert a NFC in your steering wheel and no phone will operate within 6 feet of that chip.
As a GIG driver, I don't see how any restrictions can be implemented? These apps require constant attention within a very limited timeframe, I'm surprised they're still allowed.
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Don't get me wrong I'm not against road safety, I was just saying that if they ban phone holding specifically, there's still a loop hope with other things.
For example maybe updating my navigation on the phone takes 5 seconds, but if I hold the phone I might bet a fine. So then you decide to do it via watch, and you'll get distracted for 30 seconds, but you won't get fined...
I can't imagine stopping on the motorway and turning my engine off just to switch my destination, it feels a bit dumb 🤷♂️ and probably more dangerous
That is possible but it would preclude that passengers in a car could use the drivers phone.
Nanny state socialism at work. All it does is erode freedoms one by one in the name of "safety" like so many other authoritarian regimes in the past. And yet, people never learn.
If it’s in a phone mount, I believe you are allowed to make a quick tap. E.g to confirm a new route. But you aren’t allowed to hold it to make that tap.
The arguments against this sort of law remind me of the people who think it's OK to "have a few drinks" before getting behind the wheel.
1: Using a handheld device is a totally different animal from an installed navigation or infotainment system. The handheld device requires the attention to hold, balance, look at (that means keeping it aligned in such a way that makes it useful to the driver) and devoting the thought processes to actually doing what you want the handheld device to do. You can simply ignore an installed navigation device because you're not devoting attention and energy to the complexities of dealing with a handheld device. Want to use your phone as a navigation system? Buy a mount. BAM, it's no longer a hand held device, it's a navigation system that happens to be a phone. Something you can ignore if the ever changing task of driving a vehicle requires your complete undivided attention.
2: Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) thinks they are a better driver than most people. In fact, you're lucky if you're average. If you think you're one of the special people who can operate a hand held device and drive, you're not. If you still think you are, see the above listed drunk analogy. Drunks think they drive drunk just fine. Follow one home from work when you're done 2nd shift and they spent that time at a bar. Hot mess. Drunks are terrible drunk drivers, because drunk driving gets people hurt and killed.
3: There's no need other than voyeurism or idle curiosity to take pictures of crashes on the highway. You're not helping the authorities. Most every section of major highway in the US and UK is covered with cameras. Some on tall poles, some at intersections. If it's so bad that you're there first and the authorities aren't, then maybe you should be stopping to help. Otherwise, you just want to send a picture to your buddies or post it on social media.
I used to text and drive, and I thought I was OK at it. Then my wife pointed out how foolish and selfish I was for doing it, and I started taking a critical look at my behavior. It was a OMG moment. I mean, I was really surprised at how many errors I made, and how dangerous the practice is. Now I hook my phone up to car play (for navigation and music) and leave the phone in my console. I just don't do it.
My text message, either incoming or outgoing, is not more important than someone else's safety or property. It's just not a valid trade. Some say they feel as though their "civil liberties" are violated. I disagree. Your rights end where they cause real harm to others. Do as you want, so long as it doesn't break my leg or pick my pocket. Which this activity has massive potential to do both. It's more a violation of the social contract to do so than an infringement on your liberties.
Well, that' my wooden nickle on the subject. Please put your phone down when you're driving. If its so important it can't wait, than it's worth pulling over for. Period.
1: Using a handheld device is a totally different animal from an installed navigation or infotainment system. The handheld device requires the attention to hold, balance, look at (that means keeping it aligned in such a way that makes it useful to the driver) and devoting the thought processes to actually doing what you want the handheld device to do. You can simply ignore an installed navigation device because you're not devoting attention and energy to the complexities of dealing with a handheld device. Want to use your phone as a navigation system? Buy a mount. BAM, it's no longer a hand held device, it's a navigation system that happens to be a phone. Something you can ignore if the ever changing task of driving a vehicle requires your complete undivided attention.
2: Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) thinks they are a better driver than most people. In fact, you're lucky if you're average. If you think you're one of the special people who can operate a hand held device and drive, you're not. If you still think you are, see the above listed drunk analogy. Drunks think they drive drunk just fine. Follow one home from work when you're done 2nd shift and they spent that time at a bar. Hot mess. Drunks are terrible drunk drivers, because drunk driving gets people hurt and killed.
3: There's no need other than voyeurism or idle curiosity to take pictures of crashes on the highway. You're not helping the authorities. Most every section of major highway in the US and UK is covered with cameras. Some on tall poles, some at intersections. If it's so bad that you're there first and the authorities aren't, then maybe you should be stopping to help. Otherwise, you just want to send a picture to your buddies or post it on social media.
I used to text and drive, and I thought I was OK at it. Then my wife pointed out how foolish and selfish I was for doing it, and I started taking a critical look at my behavior. It was a OMG moment. I mean, I was really surprised at how many errors I made, and how dangerous the practice is. Now I hook my phone up to car play (for navigation and music) and leave the phone in my console. I just don't do it.
My text message, either incoming or outgoing, is not more important than someone else's safety or property. It's just not a valid trade. Some say they feel as though their "civil liberties" are violated. I disagree. Your rights end where they cause real harm to others. Do as you want, so long as it doesn't break my leg or pick my pocket. Which this activity has massive potential to do both. It's more a violation of the social contract to do so than an infringement on your liberties.
Well, that' my wooden nickle on the subject. Please put your phone down when you're driving. If its so important it can't wait, than it's worth pulling over for. Period.
If people could follow the spirit of the law rather than the letter, we would have a much better legal system. Everyone wants to find a loophole or shortcut, when all it really does is make MORE laws for everyone.
Or (c) press that button on your steering wheel and ask Siri for directions, if you're lucky enough to have CarPlay. Whether you're on the move or not.
The one problem I have with CarPlay is that my car - like most with CarPlay - is wired only. Invariably, if I set off on a short journey, it's too much trouble to plug in the phone and wait for it to mess about getting connected, so I jus leave the phone in my pocket. Also invariably, that's when someone decides to call me! It's a real tempter to at least glance at the phone screen when that happens.
I so wish Apple would manufacture a wireless CarPlay dongle. I know there is a Chinese gadget doing the rounds, but I read plenty of bad reports about it.
What a great idea! You’re saying the driver is not being ‘safe’ by paying attention to their phone while on the roadway, yet you’re practicing an unsafe manner by attempting to reverse your vehicle into them ‘slowly’? So if you were to cause an ‘accident‘, you’re putting yourself and others safety at risk while playing games on the roadway, but hey, I guess you would be ‘entertained’ as you said.
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The law requires you to be able to take control of the vehicle at any moment on self driving vehicles or vehicles with self driving or assisted driving capabilities.
In fact I’m pretty sure we have not authorised the full self driving mode of Tesla cars here in the U.K. yet and it is disabled via software.
So yes, it has been thought about and acted upon.
If you're drinking coffee, reading a book, making a video, solving a Rubik's Cube, playing with a Chinese finger trap, practicing Vulcan salutes or attempting to summon Cthulu via mystic finger runes while driving you can be prosecuted for "driving without due care and attention" but the prosecution may have to prove that you were distracted.
Specific rules against using phones while driving are - technically - redundant, but - in the face of a plague of iMorons who seem to be psychologically incapable of putting down their phones and think that they can drive and play Candy Crush at the same time - it makes it easier to spot and easier to prove. Yes, there's an element of the Government being seen to be doing something rather than (e.g.) improving policing, but no matter who you vote for, the Government always gets in....
It's not driving. You are... and, yes, "autopilot" where the driver is expected to stay alert and catch any mistakes made by the AI is a ruddy stupid idea which Tesla are irresponsible for promoting. That doesn't get you off the hook for blatantly ignoring the instructions and texting while driving - it does buy you a certain amount of sympathy if you were trying to pay attention but "zoned out" out of boredom on account of being a human being.
Self-driving is something that won't be ready until it is ready - which as far as I'm concerned means a law being passed that makes the manufacturer solely responsible for the safe operation of the car while driving. Until then, things like auto-braking and lane-keeping where the AI watches the human make a bit more sense (but are still a recipe for complacency).
Can't you pair your car via bluetooth? That way calls (and contacts) will go through the car so you can see who's calling on the car display and take the call using the steering wheel buttons. The phone auto-connects to the car when you turn the car on which is neat, however on my car it also auto-plays whatever (music or podcast) as soon as it's connected, which is super annoying.
I guess you’d like to live in the 60’s where you would have had more ”freedom” on the roads. I mean, why wear a seatbelt? How dare they infringe on that liberty. Or even force you to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. Or damn the governments that force you to take driving tests and place road speed limits to reduce casualties.
If you want to live in a civilised society, there are norms and common sense rules to adhere to. This isn’t an anarchistic and “Mad Max” world we live in.
Did you even bother to read the article?
"making phone calls and sending text messages are banned while driving on roads in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland."
Good thing they left the loophole where you are allowed to juggle up to three iPhones while driving, as long as the sunroof is open.
No, but you can submit video to a number of police forces in the UK - I regularly submit stuff I capture on my helmet camera.