JedUK,

I take your point. Someone who has one hand occupied holding a mobile phone is obviously not in proper control of the vehicle. The hands-free issue, I think, is slightly different and more difficult to legislate for. If anyone is distracted by holding a conversation via hands-free then they are also likely to be distracted (to a lesser or greater degree) by conversations with passengers.

If "concentration is diverted by conversation" then maybe we should ban passengers too?

I would have thought it was more important that they should ban smoking while driving. I know of a few smokers (who due to their workplace being a no smoking area) go from lunchtime until they leave work without a cigarette. Then they get in their car, pull away and the first thing they do is light up. This means they are concentrating on the cigarette and lighter and then they get a drug induced headrush. This must happen a great deal across the country.

I know people who have dropped cigarette lighters or hot ash and burnt themselves, set fire to the carpet or seat, or had ash blown into their eyes because the window was open. ALL WHILE DRIVING! I see far more people smoking while driving than using mobile phones. One of my friends wrote of his car while lighting a cigarette, not that he mentioned that little detail to the police!

I know my handsfree kit has never blown hot ash into my eyes or dropped it on my legs. Nor have I ever suffered a lapse of concentration while using it. Maybe using a handsfree kit should be part of the driving test?

I think a point is being missed here as it was in the legislation. The problem is that the driver's concentration is diverted by conversion on the phone, not by holding the phone to his/her ear. Fixed equipment is just as dangerous (but it's not illegal).. Some lobbying there? It's easier to catch the manual phone users so in a better world we would eliminate manual use and then the accident records would show that fixed kit users were a danger and they could be stopped too. Meanwhile, don't kid yourselves.

Regrettably you are probably right. Just walked down a west London high street and seen no less than 10 offenders whilst I tried to cross the road. Police are only interested in the 'quick nick' and not in road safety.

Landshark,

Whilst I totally agree with you, I very much doubt there will be any increase in enforcement by the police. I see police motorway patrol cars overtake people using a mobile phone in clear view, and I can take you to busy city centre junctions where cars mingle with pedestrians and I can guarantee you'll see at least two offenders every ten minutes during rush hour. But, I've never seen any police patrol (on foot or in a car) actually challenge offenders. I suspect few Moneysupermarket Forum members have either. And don't even bother taking the vehicle registration number and reporting the incident to the police - they'll tell you the offence has to be observed by a police officer but I suspect the truth is they can't be bothered to follow up reports.

The Government recently increased the fine and promised there would be better enforcement. I'm not holding my breath. Like most forms of anti-social behaviour, it's going to need a high-profile incident reported in the papers to galvanise some action.

Totally agree. Well said.

For some reason best known to themselves, the great British public seems to believe that it is perfectly acceptable to use a mobile 'phone whilst driving. I see it every day - people blithely driving down the motorways with one hand on the wheel and another frimly glued to their 'phone which is in turn glued to their ear.

THIS IS ILLEGAL folks and is also dangerous.

A typical hands-free kit costs between £50 and £250 to have in your car. If you cannot be bothered to buy one then you should expect to face a fine and points on your licence very quickly - and no sympathy!

There is no excuse for this and I hope that the change in the law is backed up by real action. BOTH hands should stay on the wheel of a moving vehicle except for actions that are a part of driving - speaking on the 'phone does not qualify.