Driving Standards

[Bahnhof Strasse]

It's been proven that hands free phone conversations are every bit as distracting and dangerous as holding the phone to your ear.

We have it in our car and I find it even more distracting than when I held a phone to my ear back in the bad old days, at least then you had one hand off the wheel so you did try to concentrate a bit harder, now a huge part of your concentration goes on the phone call. I have disabled it and the music player thing, Frau Bahn had a shunt whilst selecting tunes, up a copper's chuff no less, only 5mph but that could easily have been a child.

 

[Saul Goodman]

We have it in our car and I find it even more distracting than when I held a phone to my ear back in the bad old days, at least then you had one hand off the wheel so you did try to concentrate a bit harder, now a huge part of your concentration goes on the phone call. I have disabled it and the music player thing, Frau Bahn had a shunt whilst selecting tunes, up a copper's chuff no less, only 5mph but that could easily have been a child.

I turn my phone off when I get in the car. If someone wants me bad enough they'll call back.
I've been in too many near misses on my bike with people on phones, so I know how distracting they are. What makes it worse is everyone knows how dangerous it is but they still do it. I had a woman pull out from a side street directly into the path of my bike, then she panicked and stopped right in front of me. I stopped an inch from her door, just as she was throwing her phone onto the passenger seat. I got off the bike to politely explain that this is why she shouldn't be using a phone whilst driving, and she lost the plot, started screaming at me and vehemently denied being on the phone, when I'd just seen her holding it to her head before throwing it onto the passenger seat. You can't educate these people, so a hefty sentence is the only answer. It should be treated exactly the same as drink driving, with prison sentences handed out for repeat offenders.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Killer roads: Why Thailand has one of the worst death rates from driving in the world

Killer roads: Why Thailand has one of the worst death rates from driving in the world

news.sky.com

62 people die every day on Thailand's roads, similar population to the UK...

 

[hash tag]

I really don't think some people appreciate how dangerous these things are, if they did, why do they do it, Especially parents with children in the car. Still as long as they and their children are ok, they dont really need to consider others. I to think infotainment systems, the use of, is dangerous. They have so many functions these days. To find your way around some bits can require much thought and distraction. My car, the touch screen wont work above a certain speed. In the brand new VW at work, the whole range of things on the screen will work at any speed

 

[Spymaster]

Death through careless driving often doesn't lead to prison, pitiful punishment, driving a car you have a duty to be careful or else you can kill, so when you fail to take care and you kill there should be a proper punishment for those actions, would encourage others to be more careful too.

Plus this one was on the phone at the time, via one of those Bluetooth jobs that dickhead estate agents and so on wear on their ears. They are legal, as are ones inbuilt to the car, but hugely distracting and really should be made illegal, as should in car music players that lift tunes off your phone which actively encourage you to read a screen as you scroll through playlists, that can not be done safely when the car is in motion.

I disagree with this and think the sentencing is about right in this case. Tragic as it is, the driver wasn't doing anything illegal, had a completely clean record, and clearly showed utter remorse. Unfortunately accidents happen. Punishing people as if they were guilty of far greater culpability doesn't make much sense. The bloke's going to have to live with the consequences for the rest of his life and as the judge said, there's no evidence that the phone conversation contributed to the accident. These boards are hilarious sometimes. Liberal tosspots soft as fuck on all other criminal activity but when it comes to drivers it's string 'em up time!

 

[Saul Goodman]

These boards are hilarious sometimes. Liberal tosspots soft as fuck on all other criminal activity but when it comes to drivers it's string 'em up time!

It is a bit weird when people are applauding armed robbers, then suggesting motorists should be incarcerated for parking on the pavement.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I disagree with this and think the sentencing is about right in this case. Tragic as it is, the driver wasn't doing anything illegal,

He was doing something illegal and as a result of his illegal activities a man is dead. Accidents don't just happen, every single one has a cause, in this case it was the driver's careless driving.

 

[Spymaster]

He was doing something illegal ...

What?

 

[Saul Goodman]

He was doing something illegal and as a result of his illegal activities a man is dead. Accidents don't just happen, every single one has a cause, in this case it was the driver's careless driving.

Was he doing something illegal? If the use of hands free is legal, then the resulting distraction shouldn't be illegal.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

What?

He was doing something illegal. That was why the CPS prosecuted him. This is basic stuff.

 

[hash tag]

Doing anything behind the wheel that causes a distraction is technically illegal, hence people have been fined for eating biscuits while driving.

 

[Spymaster]

He was doing something illegal.

What was he doing that was illegal? He admitted careless driving, probably because he seems like a decent bloke and didn't want to put the family through more grief with a not guilty plea. But even the judge said that there's no evidence that the phonecall caused the accident.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Was he doing something illegal? If the use of hands free is legal, then the resulting distraction shouldn't be illegal.

He was driving without due care and attention, which is illegal, as a result of this illegal activity he committed the offence of causing death by careless driving.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

What was he doing that was illegal? He admitted careless driving,

Careless driving is driving without due care and attention which is a motoring offence.

 

[Saul Goodman]

He was driving without due care and attention, which is illegal, as a result of this illegal activity he committed the offence of causing death by careless driving.

Yet it was a legal activity that resulted in the illegal activity. Hence my stance on hands free phone operation.

 

[Spymaster]

Careless driving is driving without due care and attention which is a motoring offence.

I know. And he's been punished appropriately for that because he admitted it.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Yet it was a legal activity that resulted in the illegal activity. Hence my stance on hands free phone operation.

We don't know if the phone call was responsible for the careless driving, the syphilitic cunt in a tights and a wig said not.

 

[Saul Goodman]

We don't know if the phone call was responsible for the careless driving, the syphilitic cunt in a tights and a wig said not.

He said there's no evidence that it was, but how could there possibly be evidence to prove that it was? And given that the phone call was the only possible source of distraction at the time, it's the obvious cause.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I know. And he's been punished appropriately for that.

And it is my contention that the appropriate punishment proscribed by law is far to lenient when weighed up against the harm caused. If this kind of thing resulted in ten years prison perhaps more people would take more care when hurtling around in their cars. The article linked up this page about Thailand specifically states it is the lack of proper punishment there for motoring offences that is causing the carnage on their roads.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

He said there's no evidence that it was, but how could there possibly be evidence to prove that it was? And given that the phone call was the only possible source of distraction at the time, it's the obvious cause.

That maybe so, but the illegal act was being careless/driving without due care and attention, whether that was down to the phone call or him eating a biscuit is irrelevant.

 

[Winot]

CPS are notorious for pulling their punches and pleading careless driving rather than dangerous driving because it’s easier to get a conviction.

 

[Spymaster]

And it is my contention that the appropriate punishment proscribed by law is far to lenient when weighed up against the harm caused.

I know it is. I disagree. Intent and recklessness/dangerousness should be the primary factors in sentencing. If this had been a death resulting from any other accident, you and others on here would be bending over backwards to lighten the sentence. But because it's a driver the sentence is too lenient.

 

[Saul Goodman]

CPS are notorious for pulling their punches and pleading careless driving rather than dangerous driving because it’s easier to get a conviction.

They go for careless driving because it's impossible to defend. If you so much as clip a kerb whilst parking, that's careless driving. Dangerous driving is a different animal, and it's hard to prove intent where there was none.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I know it is. I disagree. Intent and recklessness/dangerousness should be the primary factors in sentencing. If this had been a death resulting from any other accident, you and others on here would be bending over backwards to lighten the sentence. But because it's a driver the sentence is too lenient.

If he had been shooting stags but was loosing off rounds willy nilly and killed someone I would expect him to face a serious charge. When you are in charge of something that can be lethal you have a duty to take care.

 

[Teaboy]

I always wonder why hitman go to such extravagant lengths to carry out their contract. Should just run the mark over. Spray a bit of water into your eyes before you walk into the court, tell everyone how terribly sorry you are. Walk out of the court with a couple of months of painting over graffiti to look forward to and 6 months free AA membership.

 

[Saul Goodman]

If he had been shooting stags but was loosing off rounds willy nilly and killed someone I would expect him to face a serious charge. When you are in charge of something that can be lethal you have a duty to take care.

If he'd been shooting stags and a bullet ricocheted and killed someone?

 

[Saul Goodman]

And it is my contention that the appropriate punishment proscribed by law is far to lenient when weighed up against the harm caused. If this kind of thing resulted in ten years prison perhaps more people would take more care when hurtling around in their cars. The article linked up this page about Thailand specifically states it is the lack of proper punishment there for motoring offences that is causing the carnage on their roads.

You said earlier that Frau Bahn ran up the back of a plod car, but it could easily have been a child. Should she have got a 10 year stretch?

 

[Spymaster]

You said earlier that Frau Bahn ran up the back of a plod car, but it could easily have been a child. Should she have got a 10 year stretch?

Or if the the accident resulted in the death of someone in the cop car?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

You said earlier that Frau Bahn ran up the back of a plod car, but it could easily have been a child. Should she have got a 10 year stretch?

If she had killed, yes she should as she knew exactly how dangerous her actions were and she made a choice to do them anyway.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Or if the the accident resulted in the death of someone in the cop car?

As she rear-ended it she could have killed a cuddly drug dealer cuffed up on the way to the pig sty