Ban Even Hands Free?

[ToraToraTora]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49320473
what do we think?

[pixie374]

Ttt, I do wonder a bit about the stats too, how accurate they are. My friend was in an accident many years ago where she hit a driver who was 3x over the limit for drink. It was 100% my friend's fault, who was sober, and she freely admits that. But I wonder what it was recorded as.
Not in any way suggesting drink/drug driving is safe, but I would like to see how unbiased the statistics are.

[New Judge]

Indeed. In 2016 (the last year I can quickly find figures for) the percentage of deaths on the roads which were attributable to excess alcohol was 13%. So this means that sober drivers caused seven times more deaths than drunk ones. So this means the safest thing you can do before you get behind the wheel is to get drunk. Doesn't it?

It's clear that any form of distraction will affect one's ability to cope with a very complex task - driving a motor vehicle. So best to avoid lengthy telephone conversations where decisions have to be made and responses supplied. The comparison with chatting to a passenger is not valid. It is an entirely different matter chatting to somebody sitting next to you and talking to them on a phone call when they can see neither you nor any situations you are facing.

Lots of road traffic best practice relies on people using their common sense. Unfortunately some drivers seem to have less of that than they were born with. But it is pointless introducing a law to prevent hands-free calls because the current law forbidding hand-held calls is widely ignored and unenforced.

[teacake44]

After many many years of driving I cannot think of one occasion where I've needed to make a call that's been so urgent that it couldn't wait. Ok so times have changed somewhat, with hands free you can however keep your eye on the road, and both hands on the wheel so its debatable to weather its a distraction, the biggest problem are folk who are obsessed with texting. Every day I drive and especially at traffic lights you can see them doing it, and still trying even when the lights change to green, they are complete idiots. The funny thing about it is they think you can't see them, with their heads looking down, and no hands on the wheel, and their upper arms going ten to the dozen :)