Fair enough - It starts at the top
Give me the same entitlements that drivers get.
You already have them. Even better, you don't need a license, insurance or to pay VED to enjoy those entitlements
Fine, I absolutely agree cycling and texting/chatting/browsing on a mobile phone should be against the law...
There is no specific offence for a cyclist using a phone, but a minister pointed out cyclists can be prosecuted for careless or dangerous cycling.
That comes with fines of up to £2,500.
... Oh it basically already is than, just need the police willing/able/resourced to enforce, a bit like with all the mobile using drivers they currently fail to deal with.
Essentially it's a non-issue but relates to bicycles making it of critical importance...
You’re a delicate, relative little flower aren’t you? And you wonder why nothing changes?
I dunno, you're the one that seems to have taken offence.
No reason not to. If you need to take a call stop. No problem there is there? Much easier than in a car.
Copmaring with other situations is pointless. In fact it is an admission of defeat as it is just used to divert the attention from the fact that there is no reason not to ban.
Of course policing won't make it effective but we coulkd solve that with trafffic police funded by fines. Eg £1000 for every mph over the limit or say £5000 for first mobile use.
In fact it is an admission of defeat as it is just used to divert the attention from the fact that there is no reason not to ban.
But what is the reason to ban?
If people are being killed or seriously injured due to distracted cyclists on phones, then there is a good argument for it.
If that isn't happening, then doing so provides little to no benefit, whilst simultaneously taking resources away from other areas that can provide a benefit.
It should be based on tangible evidence.
I suspect in the UK it's not an actual problem, and just the act of merely putting the spotlight on it discourages cycling and would be detrimental to society as a whole.
Yes, like an opposite to the smoking ban – you can only use phones indoors! That would be awesome
Yes! And mobile phones should be tethered to the wall with some sort of 'lead' to enforce this.
I guess I must have just imagined all the traffic light cameras in my town that catch drivers who jump reds. Or maybe the Evil Toreees brainwashed me into believing they exist through their capitalist running dog lackies in the Murdoch Press
Which town is this?
For reference I drive all over the country. Don't notice many. But then I stop my vehicle at traffic lights, so don't really care about cameras or lack thereof, judging by the number of drivers jumping red lights there can't be that many.
Are you from the Daily Mail?
I very rarely see issues with cyclists or pedestrians and I spend much of my day driving around London and over towns/cities.
The local oiks in housing estates on BMXs, MTBs, Scooters, Ebikes, mopeds and in cars or on foot are exactly that irrelevant of transportation mode.
There are *so* many other road users that habitually jump red lights who all get ignored.
An example fairly recently while I was on my way home; at a roundabout I turn off and go under the local railway line, the road curves and dips under the bridge, with traffic lights either side as it’s too narrow for two cars to pass, let alone the big trucks on their way to and from the business estates around where I work, on this occasion I had a green light in my favour as I came off the roundabout, only to meet a big rigid truck coming towards me and already just under the tunnel. I sat where I was, just staring at the driver, who clearly thought I was going to reverse all the way back. I quickly disabused him of that notion, watching him reverse back to where he should have stopped, about the length of his truck.
As a thank you I gave him the finger. Jackass. 🤬
And I have been knocked off my bike by a stupid ped walking along staring at her phone, who turned an walked into me as I went to pass her after ringing my bell! Her phone smashed into pieces, she picked the bits up, turned and walked back the way she’d come from and walked off, having said not one word!
Many people would agree about the touch screen issue in modern cars, including those who work in the industry and it’s peripherals
Absolutely this, it’s a problem I’ve become increasingly aware of over the last six years, driving hundreds of different cars during that period, and it genuinely frightens me. Some cars like the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso not only have a big touchscreen, but all of the driving info is in the centre of the dash, not in front of the driver, which is madness. One particular reason I bought my Ford is that the dials are analogue, and in front of me, the radio and aircon controls are actual knobs, I can reach out and turn them, adjusting as necessary without taking my eyes off the road, although the central floating screen does display the temperature quite big, as well as volume, but neither are important.
Another issue with these big displays that the likes of Mercedes use is the possibility of failure, which has happened, with an A-Class Merc that was leaving the workshop after QC following bodywork and paint repair, the entire display failed, resulting in the car having to be trailered to the nearest dealership.
Imagine that at 1am on a motorway…
