Phones

[Brett Dikeman]

At 2:57 PM +0000 12/6/03, Jim Haseltine wrote:
>December 1 2003 - new British law comes into force making it illegal to use
>a handheld phone while driving.
>
>Sounds sensible enough doesn't it? If you want to use your phone you either
>get a hand-free kit or you pull over and stop.

Actually- no.  You have to pull over to answer, period, unless you've 
got voice recognition or something.  You can talk all you want while 
driving, but you can't touch the phone- the second you do, you 
violate the law.

The Register noted with considerable consternation that wireless 
companies have been using the publicity over the law to sell 
handsfree kits which they imply are enough(or all you need to do) to 
comply with the law.  It's simply not true; hit the "answer" button 
on the phone while the car is in motion, and congratulations- you've 
just done something illegal.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/64/34001.html

(skip down to "So what does it all mean")

Frankly, all legislation everywhere thus far misses the point 
entirely- the danger is the actual conversation, because people 
develop tunnel vision of a sort when talking on the phone.  It's not 
the same as talking to someone in the car- university studies have 
shown that passengers are usually very aware of how the driver is 
acting and how busy they are...and the situation outside. Coming up 
on a rotary?  Conversation stops until you're back on open road, 
whereas the person on the other end of the phone will just keep 
yakking away.

By being all friendly and pushing hands-free kits on everyone, the 
mobile phone providers and companies have made it nearly impossible 
to get a total ban; the argument will now be "what we've done is good 
enough; we already have something, we don't need to do more".

Brett
(Not in the UK, but The Register is one of my favorite IT news sites- 
especially the BOFH series)
-- 
----
"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
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