using phone stuck in traffic

Aretnap

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

If you can be parked up in a motorhome in a layby, keys in your pocket, sat in the back getting bladdered and technically be done for being drunk and in control of a vehicle, I'd imagine being on the motorway using a phone would count too.

It's completely different. Being drunk in charge (not "in control") of a vehicle is a separate offence from drink driving. It carries a different penalty (10 points or discretionary disqualification, as opposed to mandatory disqualification) and it's specifically intended to be used in situations where the defendant was not driving, but was likely to drive in the near future.

There is no equivalent offence of using a mobile phone while in charge of a vehicle. If you're not driving (whatever that means) you're allowed to use the phone.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

The silly thing is that I would guess that the majority of mobile phone use is for pointless rambling to friends. Why bother risking a conviction over such trivial nonsense?

dannyrst

interstellaflyer wrote: »

I'm sure common sense must come into it, if you are in one of those traffic jams where no-one is going anywhere because the Police have closed the motorway due to a serious accident, I'm sure the Police will (or should) have far better things to do than walk down the rows of stationary vehicles booking people for phoning there wives to tell them not to worry, they are ok, just stuck on the motorway.

brat wrote: »

For me, if you're stationary in a large congested queue that's going nowhere for the period, and your use of the phone is placing no-one in any risk, and you complete your call with no inconvenience or risk to any other road user, then you should not be considered for the mobile phone offence.

How do you know you won't be moving? All you have to go off to make that assumption is that the flow of traffic in your line of sight is stationary.

What if an ambulance, fire engine, police car needs to get up the road to deal with an incident and you're sat with your engine off playing on your phone? In anticipation of the "They'll use the hard shoulder" answer, that isn't always an option with "smart" motorways or broken down vehicles.

What if a diversion is put in place along another route and you're sat blocking traffic? Sure, they'll beep at you...but you should be aware of what is going on.

I'm sure you could get your passenger to ring someone, or if you are alone, put the phone on the passenger seat and use hands free.

interstellaflyer

dannyrst wrote: »

What if an ambulance, fire engine, police car needs to get up the road to deal with an incident and you're sat with your engine off playing on your phone? In anticipation of the "They'll use the hard shoulder" answer, that isn't always an option with "smart" motorways or broken down vehicles.

If you're stuck, nose to tail, stationary on the motorway, just where are you going to move to, to let emergency vehicles through smart@rse? Plus, if I was on the phone, the radio would be turned down so I'd very easily hear the sirens, probably more able to react quicker (if there was anyway of making space) than those sat playing air drums on the steering wheel with the radio blasting out.

dannyrst

interstellaflyer wrote: »

If you're stuck, nose to tail, stationary on the motorway, just where are you going to move to, to let emergency vehicles through smart@rse? Plus, if I was on the phone, the radio would be turned down so I'd very easily hear the sirens, probably more able to react quicker (if there was anyway of making space) than those sat playing air drums on the steering wheel with the radio blasting out.

No need to take that sort of tone is there?!

So if you're sat in traffic on the motorway you sit so close to the person in front that you couldn't move forward and to the side? :T

My point was you have to be alert at all times and can't say for sure that you won't need to move your car.

poppasmurf_bewdley

If someone is sat in a car, in the drivers seat, in three lanes of traffic, at a standstill with the engine off, and the police ask for your driving licence, I think they would be entitled to assume you have one.

If you are in a situation where it's assumed you require a driving licence, then I think it can be assumed you are driving.

DUTR

Darth_Vader wrote: »

Not always. What about when supersivising a learner?

When you are supervising, you are still bound by the conditions as if you were driving.
EG you cannot be over the drink drive limit and be supervising, wasn't there an article where an instructor got dismissed for sleeping whilst he was supervising. Also today in the metro news, there was an article of a woman who got fined for eating a piece of fruit whilst in charge of her vehicle.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Darth_Vader wrote: »

Not always. What about when supersivising a learner?

If you were supervising a learner, you wouldn't be sat in the drivers seat (as I mentioned).

prowla

OK...

1. If you are hypothetically stationary on the motorway in a huge queue which isn't moving, where is the hypothetical policeman going to come from.
2. If you are in said hypothetical situation, with engine off and handbrake on (and the auto-start won't work with the handbrake on), then you are parked.
3. You could get a little air-vent clip (they sell a really good one in the Apple Stores, but it's not iPhone specific), so that it's not a hand-held phone.
4. You could probably safely eat a banana in that situation too.

facade

prowla wrote: »

1. If you are hypothetically stationary on the motorway in a huge queue which isn't moving, where is the hypothetical policeman going to come from.

They come later, after the busybody in the next car with a dashcam posts video of you to beasnitch dot co dot uk