Using a smartphone while driving is dangerous, apparently. Well, whodathunkit. The TRL has been researching something that we already knew. And Brian Milligan does a test run just to prove it.
We know this. Didn’t we always know this? Why do we need research to tell us? It won’t stop the occasional idiot from doing it, though.
I’ve seen one! Top of my road, 30mph zone, wrists balanced on top of the wheel as he operated one in ‘landscape’ mode.
The problem is that if I were to read a text while in a queue at the lights, I would be treated by the law in just the same way that the nutcase you describe despite my action being completely safe and his being completely dangerous.
Sadly, my “parrot” does not read texts, it only takes calls. Having said that, it was £215 fitted last year – not bad value.
That’s because we can no longer have judgement – there must be hard and fast, black or white rules. Binary options, yes/no.
That way, it’s ‘fair’.
The other grey area is the ability of the driver to be able to handle the vehicle and deal with distractions. Some are better than others.
Perhaps they think because we are all such dunces at maths we need the obvious repeated to us over and over again.
Come to think of it that’s how my generation learned the basics of maths.
A few years ago a similar study showed that speed bumps increased traffic pollution. Apparently, motor vehicles travelling in second gear while erratically speeding up and slowing down work less efficiently than vehicles travelling in third gear at a steady 30 MPH. Amazingly, law breakers who ignore the speed limits and travel in fourth gear cause even less pollution. I recall that, at the time I was amazed that the study had cost a six figure sum to conduct. If they had asked me I could have told them the answers for free.
And drivers who tend to travel at 15 to 20% above the posted limit are the ones who tend to have the least number of accidents. Probably a combination of their attention not being glued to the speedo and that they are travelling at a speed that demands attention to the road.
The late Paul Smith of Safespeed made a very astute observation some years ago about “arousal”. If drivers are sufficiently aroused by the experience of driving then they pay more attention to their driving. Oooooo Missis…..
Sadly, my application for a grant to fund research into the safety of sending smoke signals while driving was rejected…