Cellphones and driving banned from Nov 1st

[Mr.Phreak]

But CBs and RTs are still ok

I just get depressed at the dumbing down of society by having to legislate things that should be common sense

[Adamal]

Yea, why not just let Darwinism take its course?

(Its a JOKE to all you $&#$% retards who will start whinging about "oh, what about all the innocent people who get involved in an accident because of some silly driver!")

[Mr.Phreak]

Heh, I'm just wondering how many accidents will be caused by the same muppets who instead of talking on their phone, will suddenly swerve to the side of the road to answer it or those trying to text with their phone under the dash so they can't be seen.

[Loudtoy]

Im all for it- Remember that use of hands free kit is still allowed

Also have to remember that cb's and rt's are still legal as well. If they weren't kept legal the following scenario could well happen.
Imagine a cop decides that he is going to pull someone over, person decides to do a runner, cop has to follow proper procedure and inform coms that he is instigating a chase but because he has to do it via rt he has to stop before raioing in to say that he is starting a chase - meanwhile person being chased has dissapeared

Can't see the point in this law as the reason they are implementing it is driver distraction yet they leave all the same things they say cause the distraction, you can't tell me that there's an issue with holding a cell phone to your ear over driving one handed like most people do without thinking about it anyhow.

And muppets will still be able to get licences so long as muppets are the one's doing the driver training and testing. When was the last time you saw a driver training company car being driven by the instructor driving in a safe manner, stopping at stop signs, not running yellow, reds etc etc. When the student isn't in the car they are the worst drivers out there imho

[BlakJak]

Loudtoy: Pfft. As pointed out, Law Enforcement get an exception. Sick of people dragging that one up constantly.

I am very divided on this; I like to think of myself as a driver who gives the road priority and the phone less (anyone who has talked to me while i've been driving will know that) and wonder about the sanity of anyone who doesn't do the same.

Of course, all drivers think they're invincible, so I am probably not as capable as I think I am. Still, I seem to be more capable than most idiots I see swerving while texting behind the wheel!!

Truth is, the vast majority of people are idiots while multitasking behind the wheel; cellphones are a big (probably the biggest) contributor to distraction behind the wheel, so It should be discouraged. The heavy demerit point count for the offense is probably the best part, from that point of view.

However...
Fundamentally I do agree that distraction is the problem, and people get distracted all the time. Some handle it better than others. Better driver training would probably help more - and be seen as less of a moneygrabbing exercise.

I'm sure any of us that've actually had an accident behind the wheel are able to use the memory of that as a discouraging factor when it comes to risking a repeat occurance! (I know I do... )

Mainly I find it a pain in the arse that my life is being made more difficult by the stupidity of others. I frequently find myself on the phone behind the wheel, and it's made more complex by the fact that the in-ear style of handsfree doesn't work for me due to the shape of my ear. So now I get to convince work to supply me with a decent handsfree kit I suppose... (and it has to be wired, not bluetooth... more hassles...)

BJ.

PS: Wearing headphones behind the wheel should also be illegal. Handsfree is just going to look like headphones... headphones deafen you to the goings on around you (sirens!) and are a serious hazard, why doesn't anyone police that??