UK to ban all in-hand mobile phone use while driving in 2022

I lost a childhood friend to a woman with a long drunk driving record, who naturally disregarded her suspended license and plowed right through us playing street hokey in broad daylight.

Since then I've thought penalties should be more punitive when licenses get suspended, like by impounding the car to ensure that the person can't just drive it anyway. But like the loopholes you mention, I haven't found a way to do it that doesn't incur further hardship, like losing employment or usurious impound lot fees accruing in the interim.

(And perhaps even poking 'next track' button which is not that different to the same on the dashboard's cassette player.)

The prose you quoted is just the paper's explanation, I assume the 'all in-hand use' from the title is closer to what will be in the actual bill.

I don't think it's quite fair to be totally harsh on the legislators not predicting modern smartphone complexity.

If you ban it completely you'd also ban using GPS/Maps/Sat Nav apps.

Can you give a specific example? There are only a few countries with safer roads (e.g. Norway, Sweden, Switzerland depending how you measure) and I know that Norway has less restrictive laws and Sweden has almost none except for egregious behaviour like texting (last time I checked.)

This was not stupidity. It's an example of specific, well-scoped lawmaking, which is exactly the sort of thing we should welcome. It's targeted specifically at the use of communication devices while driving, provides appropriate exemptions, and seems like an entirely appropriate step given the nature of the mobile device market in 2003. Now the regulations are being tightened further, again in a reasonable way, to deal with the problems that now exist.

And now they are repeating the same mistake by specifying that it's illegal to scroll through playlists or play games

This is not what is happening, and is clearly an example of the sort of thing that will be banned under a more general rule of "don't use a mobile device while driving".

Just ban phone usage nonstop already like other, sane countries. Make an exception for navigational purposes, and hopefully we can have fewer deaths because of distracted driving.

This is exactly what is happening, along with additional clarifications on what counts as driving (e.g. being stopped at traffic lights is still driving) and ensuring that commonly-used, safe features (for example, making a contactless payment at a toll booth) are not caught by the regulations.

Remember if a driver chooses to challenge a ticket, the state needs to prove proof. Texting and calls are easy to prove. Having a phone in your hand is easy to prove.

> https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/mobile-phone-laws/

> It’s illegal to hold a phone or sat nav while driving or riding a motorcycle.

> the police can charge you for driving without due care and attention or careless driving.

Everyone already thought it was illegal, inluding the governments own website and the highway code.

This seems to be a tough new law (we are tough on crime, your taxes hard at work) designed to make the current law the law.

Note: The article and other similar articles are all reguritations of the press release on the matter. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/any-use-of-hand-held-mobi...

  >Or even better, create a law that outlaws being distracted by anything while driving, requiring drivers to stop if they are distracted.

One particularly notable one near where I live spans busy 4-lane junction. Because what drivers negotiating that junction really need to aid their concentration is to have ginormous screen displaying a sexy model in his or her underwear emblazoned right across the highway.

Another one near me is close to a rugby club and plays video clips of the team in action. Again, no other purpose than to grab the attention of passing motorists. Why are these not banned also?

Every day I see people still doing it though here in London. There is no excuse. Not one.

Actually two weeks ago there was a huge Jewsons truck blocking an entire junction while driver was on his phone. The driver in front of me who was blocked confronted him and he told her to fuck off and what was she going to do about it. She used her phone to take a photo of him on his. I hope something is done. Some people are so arrogant and thoughtless.

I wholeheartedly agree that phones shouldn't be used during driving, but to drive safer and more efficiently, the country needs a change in driving culture.

The point is to sop people holding phones in their hands or on their laps and spending too more time looking at them than a spit of a second, checking social media etc.

With the rise of carplay and android auto, they present simplified, low-distraction interfaces.

Well...

https://www.iamroadsmart.com/campaign-pages/end-customer-cam...

But I think the actual handling of the device should be avoided, a fixed mount helps a lot. Looking down is really disorienting.

But I'm glad I don't have to drive anymore. I find it too stressful these days. Traffic has become too busy and there's more rules to worry about with variable speed limits depending on the hour etc.

However injuries are incredibly high, >100,000 in the UK.

I think if we consider QALYs instead of deaths then the calculus on importance becomes more obvious.