Every day I witness people using their mobile phones whilst driving. What’s so important that you have to use your phone behind the wheel? If it’s an emergency, can’t you pull over? If it’s for your work, can’t you get a hand’s free set?? Just a couple of the many questions I’ll be asking this Moaning Monday. Get off your phone and stop this ridiculous, dangerous habit.
Before I begin this rant, I’d just like to say to the people I know that use their phones whilst driving, please stop. I love you all but you’re idiots and you’re going to get yourselves killed – or worse, kill somebody else. Please, stop. That Snapchat isn’t worth it. I beg of you. Stop.
Moving on…six out of ten car accidents are caused by mobile phones. And unsurprisingly, it’s not because someone has been talking on the phone, but texting, Facebook cruising or just perusing the internet. What is it with this society and their smart phones and social media? When I’m in my car, my phone stays in my handbag because you know what, nothing is that important that I’m going to need my phone. I’d also just like to point out to people who are unaware that the law clearly states that using a phone whilst the engine is on and you are in the driver’s seat, whether it is stationary or parked, it is illegal. Yes, that’s right. Here’s an easy way to remember it. If the engine is on, put that phone away!
I’ve been sat at traffic lights and looked across to see the person in the car next to me ON THEIR PHONE?! Sometimes, the person in front is doing the same and why don’t they drive off when it turns green – because they’re ON THEIR PHONE!?
What? What!? What is so crucial on Facebook or Twitter that you have to be checking it right there and then, in your car, with the engine on? Can’t you wait until you get to where you’re going? Does your friend’s video of a cat doing handstands have to be Liked at this very instance? Is driving a car soooo boring that you feel the need to play on your phone at the same time? You know what – when driverless cars become a common thing, then you can check your Instagram aaaaallll you like, mate. But until then, PUT THE PHONE AWAY!
Whilst researching statistics for this Moan, I came across a lot of articles mentioning the fact that teenagers or ‘youuuuths’ as the Telegraph would have them called, are the main culprits. In the statistics that the government shit out, maybe so. But you know who I see using their phones the most? Middle-aged men dressed in suits driving Audis. Mothers in Range Rovers wearing their yoga pants. And even hipster in Volkswagens. These people are all over the age of 25 and apparently, should know better. So don’t go blaming just the ‘youuuuths’ for this appalling behaviour. Blame the people that seem to think they’re above the law. The people that appear to think that using a phone at traffic lights is okay because the car is stationary. The people who call teenagers ‘youuuuths’. And if you are one of the many, many, idiots – I mean people – who use their phones whilst driving, why don’t you take a little look at this video put out recently by the Thames Valley Police.
If that wasn’t enough to shake you out of the habit, here are some more photos and videos of fatal crashes caused by people using their phones whilst driving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Km2AxbaxDk
All Videos sourced from youtube.com
In the past five years, 5,000 people have been killed in car crashes due to people using their mobiles. An AA poll revealed that 7,000 people admitted losing concentration whilst on their phones; 548 of which reported a near-miss and 106 crashed. Statistics sourced from Think.gov.uk and the BBC also show that 43% text and drive and over 61% check their phone whilst driving. WHAT ARE THEY CHECKING?! Apart from lorry and taxi drivers, most people only spend an average of ONE HOUR in their car a day. Is it not possible for these people to not check their phone for one hour? That text that came through while you’re driving? Check it when you get to your destination. That phone call? Let it go to voicemail. That Snapchat?? It’ll be there when you get to wherever you’re going, mate.
Using your phone whilst driving lowers your reaction time by 35%, which, by the way, is nearly three times the Legal drink drive limit in the UK. So – to put it in simple terms, it’s technically safer to drive intoxicated than to use your phone. How does that sound? Every time you check your Facebook or Instagram while you’re behind the wheel of a moving car, your reaction time is THREE TIMES worse than that of someone drunk. Congratulations! You’re a dangerous idiot.
Our old Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin wanted to raise the penalty points for driving whilst using a mobile from three points to six. Our new TS, Chris Grayling, is more interested in tearing down houses to make way for the HS2 – don’t even get me started on that.
Having listened to other people’s thoughts and ideas on this matter, I have come to the same conclusion. The penalty for using your phone behind the wheel is not enough. While some believe it should be a jailable offence, others believe your driving license should be taken away. I agree with both. You are putting yourself, your passengers and other people at risk every time you pick up and use your phone when you’re driving a car. You are no better than people who drive drunk. You are distracted and for no good reason. Is checking your Facebook worth somebody’s life? Is sending a Snapchat worth somebody’s life? Is it? Is it really worth it?
So why do we do it?…Don’t look at me, I have no idea. Asides from the fact that this society is obsessed with their phones. I’m not just talking about teenagers. I’m talking about ALL OF US. I can’t go into a restaurant without seeing at least a dozen people just sitting on their phones. Even at family get-togethers, noses are in phones. Everywhere I look, people are on their phones. So it’s no real shocker to find that they can’t even put them away to drive a car. A machine. A weapon almost as lethal as a gun in truth. It’s not a gun that kills people, it’s the person who wields it. If a car is driven badly, people can die. Most deaths caused by guns every year are accidents; ignorance of the weapon or distraction…sound familiar? If you drive distracted, you are a potential killer – and always an imbecile.
So how do we tackle this plague of mindless, phone-zombies? I mean, smartphones are practically appendages to these people. How do we stop this stupidity? How do we stop the countless, unnecessary deaths every year caused by people using their phones behind the wheel?
Some say it all starts with education. Now I’m a strong believer that everything we’re taught as children moulds us into the adults we are today. I also believe we, as children, adopt the behaviour of adults around us; that includes our parents. For starters, children today are watching their parents glued to their phones, therefore they will grow up (or have already) glued to their phones, to create the brainless, dribbling, dumb society we live in.
Secondly, children are also seeing their parents, relatives and other people using their phones whilst driving. Children are impressionable. We wouldn’t drink and drive – especially not with our children in the car – so why are you driving and texting? Driving and checking Facebook? Driving and not looking where you’re going. You’re risking your children’s lives. Not just because you might cause an accident with your reckless behaviour, but because you’re showing them that it’s okay to use your phone and drive. And is it? Is it okay?
Education is key. In schools, as a child, my friends and I were shown videos warning us against drink driving, meeting strangers on the internet, drugs, unprotected sex etc – but we weren’t shown videos warning us against texting and driving. Is that because it wasn’t a problem when I was a teenager? Maybe not. But for teenagers today, it is. It’s a huge part of our fucked up society. We need to mould this next generation into better human beings. Make them as scared to text and drive as we were to meet strangers on the internet, do drugs, drink and drive and have unprotected sex.
And if not in schools, in driving lessons. My instructor, a man who taught me not to be indecisive, to always wear a seatbelt and to never ‘pooter’ along, was very strict about never doing anything which would distract you whilst driving. He, who was a passenger in my lessons, had a simple bit of a tech in his car that allowed him to connect his phone and pick up calls through his car stereo. This man was prepared. And with such a simple set up. Hands free sets are as cheap as chips these days and from the amount of new cars Isee on the road that have built-in hands free systems for you, I still don’t understand why people are still using their phones!
In the short three years I’ve been driving, I have been in one car accident. It was never confirmed but the other motorist involved in the crash, the man who smashed into the side of me on a mini-roundabout in Cambridgeshire, when it was my right of way – when my indicators were on and I was already on the roundabout – might’ve been on the phone. He was certainly on it the second he jumped out of his car, moments after the accident. On the phone, banging on my window as I shook and cried in my car (my wonderful car), still not able to understand what had just happened on my drive to work. Using a phone whilst driving is senseless and dangerous. Don’t become a statistic.
I propose that not only should your license be taken away from you if you use your phone whilst driving, but you should face jail time if it is your second offence. You should be treated as the criminal that you are. There should be more education in schools and in driving lessons, warning people of the dangers of this ridiculous practice. The police should spend less time pulling over youngsters who may or may not have drugs, or fucking around stopping people with a headlight out, and start doing their job to protect us.
Pull over the idiots that think checking Facebook at traffic lights is a good idea. Stop the fools that take selfies on the motorway. And punish them. Not a measly fine. Not an awareness class or a point off their license. Punish them until they understand that they have broken the law and they are not to do it again. Put the phone away. JUST put it AWAY. Is that so hard?
I also believe that vehicles should now be fitted with a kit that stops phones from working in the car. You may think that’s a step too far because of people trying to run businesses on the road, but you know what, maybe you should’ve thought of that and bought a hands-free kit.
To the people who use their phones whilst driving, you are disgusting. You are potential murderers. And the next time you pick up your phone at a traffic light or are cruising along the motorway, THINK before you act. Don’t be a dick. Put away your phone.