Is It Unsafe To Have Your Phone On Your Dashboard ?

ontheroad1970

Ant555 said:

"I was thinking of getting a mount which fits to the air vents in the middle of the dashboard so I can use DAB and change stations if I need to."

Im willing to be corrected but I thought the law had been recently changed so that it is not permitted to even touch your mobile phone when driving (or sat in traffic) for any reason regardless of whether its in a cradle, on the seat, in your pocket.  6 points and a ban for a new young driver.

I think there was a news article that said even handling your phone to use applepay for, say, a mcdonalds at a drive through was currently not strictly permitted -although I suspect you would have to find a bobby in a really foul mood for them to pull you up on that one. 

There hasn't been any change to the current laws, just newspaper talk.  It has always been possible for you to be preceded for not being in proper control.

[Deleted User]

ontheroad1970 said:

Ant555 said:

"I was thinking of getting a mount which fits to the air vents in the middle of the dashboard so I can use DAB and change stations if I need to."

Im willing to be corrected but I thought the law had been recently changed so that it is not permitted to even touch your mobile phone when driving (or sat in traffic) for any reason regardless of whether its in a cradle, on the seat, in your pocket.  6 points and a ban for a new young driver.

I think there was a news article that said even handling your phone to use applepay for, say, a mcdonalds at a drive through was currently not strictly permitted -although I suspect you would have to find a bobby in a really foul mood for them to pull you up on that one. 

There hasn't been any change to the current laws, just newspaper talk.  It has always been possible for you to be preceded for not being in proper control.

https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/made

But same goes for slapping on some makeup or looking for the cd under the seat. (CD, today.......?)

Though in reality how many are caught.

ontheroad1970

half_empty said:

ontheroad1970 said:

Ant555 said:

"I was thinking of getting a mount which fits to the air vents in the middle of the dashboard so I can use DAB and change stations if I need to."

Im willing to be corrected but I thought the law had been recently changed so that it is not permitted to even touch your mobile phone when driving (or sat in traffic) for any reason regardless of whether its in a cradle, on the seat, in your pocket.  6 points and a ban for a new young driver.

I think there was a news article that said even handling your phone to use applepay for, say, a mcdonalds at a drive through was currently not strictly permitted -although I suspect you would have to find a bobby in a really foul mood for them to pull you up on that one. 

There hasn't been any change to the current laws, just newspaper talk.  It has always been possible for you to be preceded for not being in proper control.

https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/made

But same goes for slapping on some makeup or looking for the cd under the seat. (CD, today.......?)

Though in reality how many are caught.

Those are the same laws that have been in place for 15 years.  The only thing that has changed legally in that time is the penalty increased from 3 to 6 points.

venomx

Nobbie1967 said:

I suspect changing stations involves a bit of browsing for the new station and possibly traversing some menu options. This would make it a no no for me, takes your eyes away from the road for far too long. Same with selecting a route on a sat nav, just too complicated to do while driving. I stick with old style radios as you don’t need to look at them much to adjust.

You can set favourites so all you have to do is tap a different station.

Think I'll give it a miss and just play my mp3 files via my Bluetooth adapter which has a skip track button on it meaning I don't have to take my eyes away from the road

I do have a do not disturb feature on my phone however I'd need to remember to turn it on and off. Not convenient.

TheProfessional

I plug my phone into the USB and just use Spotify/phone through the cars system

Petriix

If your phone is mounted to the car then it is not specifically illegal to touch it. It's perfectly possible to become familiar with various functions so that you can use them safely without being distracted.

It's generally not ok to be scrolling through menus and typing stuff in, but pressing a big skip station button or similar is not really any different to turning the AC on or off.

Android auto or apple car play allow you to do most things by voice. That's generally preferable so that you can keep your eyes on the road. But it could still be deemed to be causing a distraction.

Ultimately you're responsible for being in complete control of the vehicle, even when stopped (unless safely parked). If you can use your (mounted) phone for some basic funcions without becoming distracted then it's down to your own discretion.