http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/sydne...ines-in-one-month/ar-BB13TVIY?li=AAgfYrC

Coming to you soon, not sure of your local laws on mobile (sorry cell for you guys) phone use while driving a car but it is strictly illegal down under. Some smart Aussie invented a special camera to take snaps of drivers doing the bad thing while driving. this has proven to be a financial cash cow for the government. This has sparked a World wide interest in the technology.

I'd be fine with it here. Make the fines so harsh that you can't make your house payment that month and people will think twice before doing it.

Around here I see a lot of cops talking on their cell phones. The State passed a law years ago making talking on a phone illegal, hasn't seemed to make much of a difference here. Gene

Our local cops and emergency workers are allowed to use phones while driving on duty.

"It's clear many drivers haven't got the message,"

I got the message. It's all about the Benjamins.

It's all about paying attention to your driving not messing with your phone. That's why Bluetooth was invented.

They tried the same thing with red light cameras.....those went the way of the Dodo bird. Cities learned that to much of the monies where going to the camera owners and not the city coffers, and that they did not reduce accident rates.

Am I for laws for people using phones while driving? Yes, I lost a good friend to a distracted driver on a cell phone. But IMO these cameras will not reduce the use of people on cell phones while driving.

Often the same words are spoken by hermits and loners that have nobody calling them and no friends to call either.

Hey, get off my lawn!

Or by someone who suddenly becomes a Libertarian when someone tries the same approach with some activity that they participate in. I dislike "there ought to be a law" attitudes. It's why you can't walk out of your house anymore without committing some crime, knowingly or not.

If it were truly about saving lives they could simply tell the phone makers to implement a software update that will not allow anything other than a 911 call if the phone is moving faster than a walking speed. All the technology needed to implement that is already on the phone.

Wow.... tough crowd. God forbid something/someone should interfere with your right to play with your phone while driving.
I agree with Sniper. There should be some sort of technology to not allow a phone to operate unless connected to Bluetooth. And before the naysayers start in with "My old car/truck isn't Bluetooth capable"- UPGRADE your radio. Installed a new radio for a friend in his '98 Ram and we were both pleasantly surprised to find it had Bluetooth in it. And this was 4-5 yrs. ago. No more than I drive now I am constantly having to dodge vehicles crossing the center line. Part of the time I can clearly see a phone in their hand, other times they are looking down. Doing what I have no idea. Exactly why I have a dashcam in both my vehicles to protect me from the idiots who prefer to NOT pay attention to their driving.



Tim

Distracted driving is the number one cause of vehicle accidents. Who is going to argue that enforcement should not be stepped up? Bring on the cameras.

https://markets.businessinsider.com...causes-for-most-car-accidents-1027930348

And according to the research, 'hands-free' is still distracted driving and very dangerous. I have always been surprised that the powers-that-be allow it.

https://www.breitcantor.com/blog/is-it-safe-to-use-a-hands-free-device-while-driving/

"distracted driving" is bottomless hole catchall trap.

Everything when driving is a distraction, checking your rear view mirror, checking your gauges, turning your head to change lanes, taking a sip of a drink, tuning the radio, downshifting, etc.

The real problem is, was it a contributor to an accident?

If LEO/Fireman are allowed to use a cell while in motion, are they somehow gifted in their abilities while driving, lucky, or some other reason why they don't get into accidents?

The problem is as I see it, there are those that are over confident of their driving abilities, maybe have little care of any harm they bring to others, and are willing risk takers, and thier behaviors are lowest common denominator and make all the responsible drivers pay the price with more stringent rules.

So IMO, its possible t use a cell phone without greatly reducing safety, like checking your mirrors, your gauges, your radio, etc and other "distractions".

A better solution, in an accident while on a phone, double/triple/? the penalties

This. This. This.

Tree'd me: You took the words right off my keyboard.

I guess We gotta have death, mayhem, and cash involved instead.

Yup, there's enough tech already in the phones to preclude their operation at, say, walking pace.
I can't tell you how many time I see people focused on their phone while in a crosswalk, or about to walk into a post, or pushing their baby strollers on sidewalks, etc.
Couple years ago I got a ticket from a young city cop who thought I'd run a stop sign in a slow residential area:
I was actually watching him stare at the computer in the center of his dash as he approached the intersection while I was stopped.
He looked up as I started across the intersection.
When he came up to my car and saw my phone next to me, he started to lecture me about our local cellphone laws.
I just started laughing...

So my wife in the passenger seat can't use her phone while I'm driving? Kids in the back seat can't watch anything?

As with many things, because people are dumb, "this is why we can't have nice things". We know using phones are more distracting than other things, but individuals think they're fine, and other people are the problem. Then we still have crashes, and people come up with solutions like this

I agree that phones cause distractions if used while driving, but the distraction is primarily when the call is being made/accepted or handling the phone itself. Hands-free operation isn't significantly different from talking to a passenger in the car. Pretty soon we'll be reminiscing about when you were allowed to listen to the radio in your car or talk to a passenger.

So, what makes cops more capable of using phones while driving? Training? So why can't ordinary citizens get that training and get a certificate to allow use?

Makes no sense.

Calls have become the least of the problem. A lot of the idiots I see are sending/reading full blown text messages or surfing the internet or playing god-knows what game. They can drive a quarter mile down the highway and barely look up.