Hand Held Mobile Phones in Cars....

[Guinney1971]

Hi all,

for those of you who havent seen this on the news today, if you are now caught by the Police using a hand held phone (I assume this also applies to CB Radios), its now no longer just a £30 fine, but its now £60 fine and 3 penalty points on your licence.

Whilst I'm sure every one on here is law abiding and uses either hands free kits or pulls over safely to make/receive a call, this info is worth knowing.

Its also worth checking your tyres, as a defective tyre can cost you 3 penalty points on your licence too - just think, 4 defective tyres = bye bye driving licence!

[Outatime]

Claire, thanks for the update on this... as I rarely watch the news.

But how is defective tyres defined as?

Too little threads?

[Dan Howarth]

Be careful with this one. I was stopped the other day by Cagney and bloody Lacey. Two of Gloucestershires finest. What a pair of prats. In the works truck talking to my mate sat next to me and plod decides to pull me. I get out and this is how the conversation goes.
Caney;- Do you know why i've stopped you sir
Dan;- sorry i aint got a clue
Cagney;- You were using a mobile phone
Dan;- No i was'nt
Lacey;- Yes you were we saw you.
Dan;- No you didn't i'll prove it.
I retrive my phone from the cab of the truck and go through the call register in front of them.
Dan;- There you go last call 20:38 last night.
Cagney;- Have you got a works phone
Dan:- Yes
I go through call register on that phone also in front of him.
Dan;- there you go last call 10:47 three days ago. So i couldn't have been using my phone then could i.
Lacey;- but we saw you.
Dan;- I was scratching my ear about 3 minutes ago if thats what you saw. Look my ears still red from the scratch.
Cagney;- oh that must have been it then. But let that be a lesson to you.
Dan;- And what sort of lesson is that , that i'm supposed to learn from. Don't scratch your ear else you might get pulled.
Cagney;- Ah well on your way then.
No appology nothing. They were just trying it on because the chances are that if they spend all day pulling people and acusing them of using their phone whilst driving then sooner or later they are bound to get someone who has and they've just struck lucky. It just makes me think that most coppers are idiots and no wonder the younger generation doesn't respect them. I certainly don't if thats the way they operate. So people be careful. DON'T use your phone whilst driving but if you fancy wasting police time. Every time you go past the old bill, scratch your ear and see if he pulls ya. Then go through your call register in front of him. Its very satisfying to see them try and think of an excuse for their incompetence. Ha

[Tourettes Tony]

maybe they were after a bit of rumpety pumpety thats why they stopped you, any excuse :lol: :lol: TT

[Jonny Jones]

The new variation of the law Claire talks is effective as of the end of next month (February if you're reading this later in the year haha). Only time ive ever used my phone whilst driving was at about 7.45am on the way to Chris Hawes's house - first time I had been to Milton Keynes and the road system is a nightmare lol! I managed to avoid any police, but then there wasn't one car on the road, apart from the odd one going in the opposite direction - it did feel dodgy and I have to admit my concentration wasn't 100%. In general I never use my phone whilst driving. If it rings I leave it.

[TheOriginalMrP]

Invest in a nice Bluetooth hands free kit guys.... A Nokia CK1W or a CK7W is absolutely perfect. Little work, radio mute to silence your head unit, no ugly holsters on your dash, and the rest can be hidden easily. An easy and useful modification to any car, especially with this law coming into force. These kits start at about £40. No more than 4 wires to connect, all to your Radio loom, the rest is just hiding thin wires.... And with a huge centre console on a D, then that wasnt a problem this way!

[NickT]

I've got the Nokia Ck7W in my main car and it is brilliant. Bluetooth connection is easy.

NickT

[Guinney1971]

but I havent got Bluetooth......... I've only got a crappy headset that comes free with a Nokia phone.

And before you all say "so buy a bluetooth phone", I dont want a new phone, I'm quite happy with the one I've got, its nice and basic and does what a phone is supposed to do - ie make and receive phonecalls

Dan - loved the story mate, had me chuckling for ages :lol:

[Guinney1971]

Outatime Wrote:But how is defective tyres defined as?

The legal limit here (to pass an MOT) is 1.6mm (yep, it really is as little as that), but they will also be looking out for bulges in tyrewalls or splits in the tyres too. These are important safety items, as a tyre like that could easily cause a blow out.

Its important to check your tyre pressures regularly, as over or under inflated tyres can cause uneven wear - or even cause the car to pull to the left or right - plus incorrect tyre pressures also have a detrimental effect on fuel consumption.

Cheers + safe motoring

Claire

[Outatime]

Claire,

I used to have the same thinking towards my phone as well.... but it's a different story when you get over it and buy the phone that you fancy at a mobile phone shop. Hence my 6230 at the moment! (It cost nothing now :oops: ) But it does have Bluetooth though!

I am currently waiting for the next gen of Nokia phones that has 5.0m pixel phone, and built in TV function. I have seen the spec, its look and size, hence I have given up changing to N70 recently and wait another year or two.

But since you are not very keen on fancy stuff on phones, get a 6230i. As it cost nothing now, and it does have camera and blue tooth functions. Most important of all, it's a basic phone that requires no reading of the instructions to start using!

P.S. There are plenty of cheap accessories for 6230 too!

[Guinney1971]

[quote="Outatime"]Claire,

But since you are not very keen on fancy stuff on phones, get a 6230i. quote]

I got a new phone about 8 months ago with T-Mobile (Flext35) on an 18 month contract.

I'm sure by the time my contract is up, there will be no such thing as a basic mobile phone anymore.

If I want to take photos, I'll use my camera - thats what I bought it for :lol:

[Outatime]

Claire Usher Wrote:If I want to take photos, I'll use my camera - thats what I bought it for :lol:

Hehe, I rarely bring my camera with me everywhere... so snap shots of unpredictable stuff is not possible. Hence I want a fancy camera phone with good photo quality

My digi cam is getting old anyway.... one fancy phone will replace it a year or so later. :?

[TheOriginalMrP]

It's all very well having a camera Claire, but how often have you actually got it with you when you want to take a photo?? I can see your point, and i must admit that "non basic" phones can be a tad difficult to use. Bluetooth will be a remedial feature on phones within the next few years, then We'll all have to get stuck with the difficult technology!
All the Best!!! xxxxxx

[Guinney1971]

TheOriginalMrP Wrote:It's all very well having a camera Claire, but how often have you actually got it with you when you want to take a photo??

actually, yes I do Its always with me in the car, as I use it for work. I've also got a Canon EOS SLR (35mm), but I will upgrade that to a digital one when funds allow (and I've also still got an APS camera too!)

Dont get me wrong, I'm not a complete technophobe, I just find these new mobile phones with stupidly small buttons that are out of date as soon as they are launched mildy irritating.

Hah, whens the next series of 'Grumpy Old Women' on? :lol:

[dmcdj]

let me know if anyone wants car kits as thats what i do for a job also fitting sat nav equipemnt to cars and trucks ckw-7 are to me about £60.00 which includes the cradle for most phones if not go for a berry thb which you can get a bracket for every phone