Why are mobile phones SO evil in cars?

[davieG]

That is different again. You would only be charged with attempted murder if your intention was to kill someone. Do you answer a mobile phone with the intention of causign a crash? Either way, the point is you know if you kill someone with a gun you will go to prison. The same is not true with a car, so that is the problem.

No but if you were waving a gun about with no intention of doing any harm and you killed someone you'd be done for manslaughter. If someone stopped you before you did the harm you'd get done for having an offensive weapon.

I'm sure many have made the excuse that they didn't mean to kill when they had a gun in their hands.

It's not always the intent that is the crime sometimes it can be behaving in a careless way that could lead to a crime. It's a case of minimising the risk, admittedly it's probably gone too far in many cases but these laws are there because some people are to arrogant and up their own arses to think common sense should be applied to them.

I'm sure the relatives of someone killed as a result of the use of a mobile phone will be well chuffed to know that the person who did it wasn't at fault until they'd actually killed someone.

[cisono]

One dark evening I drove back to Leicester from Nottingham in the snow. It was snowing hard, direction towards my windscreen, which was making it very difficult to see anything on the A46 that night. So I decided to follow this car in front of me and let them do most of the work...

To my horror, I later realised that this guy had been driving in the snow (and on icy roads) with just one hand on the wheel, the other hand at his ear, holding a mobile phone and presumably having a conversation with someone (either that or it was stuck in a very long waiting queue!)

[Number 6]

a lot of people on the roads today are idiots, they are more dangerous than a lot of people who speed or use mobile phones (or both), though i can understand not wanting people to use a mobile when driving, though this should be extended to smoking or eating or drinking too for similar reasons

[Lineker's Left Foot]

On the eve of new legislation allowing the doubling of fines and a three point addition to your licence, will someone please explain to me how talking on a hands-free in the car is any worse than talking to a passenger?

Personally, I think it should be shit drivers that are banned...not the devices that I have used in cars without managing to kill anyone or have any accidents whatsoever. How many dumb****s have I followed where the two people in the front of the car spend more time looking at each other than I have ever looked at my wife? The roads are full of morons - it isn't the mobile phone that is the problem, it's the dickhead using it.

Make driving tests harder - make people re-take driving tests more frequently...let me continue to have a sandwich, change a CD or take a hands-free call.

Grr.

Because you've got one hand on the wheel basically !!! Unless you're clever and can drive it with the handset in between your face and shoulder (which I can't). I'm all for it and IMO the price should be even more to combat the b*stards from driving like this!!

[Lineker's Left Foot]

This is just one more in a long line of pointless unenforceable legislation from a government more concerned with being SEEN to be doing something than actually doing it.

The number of people who get caught will be so insignificant to be pointless. And who cares about £60? What this needs is the same as every other activity which causes accidents. If you actually HAVE an accident when talking on your phone, you should be severely punished in line with the severity of the injury / damage you cause someone else. If you don't cause an accident, then you shouldn't. Simple. No need for numerous laws for numerous different causes, all in response to populist media campaigns. Just come down like a ton of bricks on those who actually cause damage. The law is there. Use it.

It's all about preventing before the accident takes place itself!!