ShiteDrivers.com - Bad driving on Irish roads exposed! » Technology http://shitedrivers.com Promoting good driving by exposing bad driving in Ireland Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:45:43 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Female SUV drivers and mobiles http://shitedrivers.com/2008/06/10/female-suv-drivers-and-mobiles/ http://shitedrivers.com/2008/06/10/female-suv-drivers-and-mobiles/#comments Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:34:14 +0000 georgev http://shitedrivers.com/?p=373 Am I the only one now who is now totally pissed off with the amount of SUV women drivers who continue to use their mobile phones when driving. It’s as if the law doesn’t apply to them, only to the rest of us. I have now started blowing my horn at any I see on the phone, and wagging my finger saying No!!. These are the very people who have more to loose, as they usually have infants on board. It seems they don’t know how to pull in to use the phone, or maybe bluetooth technology has them baffled, as you never see them wearing bluetooth earpieces, it might interfere with the hairstyle or maybe clash with the colour of the shades parked on their heads. Maybe it’s time for the law to be changed, with 4 penalty points, or even 6, if you are caught using a mobile when driving.

I am also appalled at the number of truck and van drivers who still use their phones when driving, you would imaging that the Road Hauliers Association, who pontificate about everything else, might insist that their members obey the law on mobiles. I personally feel that it is more dangerous to drive while talking on a mobile then driving with one or two pints, this is purely my personal view but I, and the majority of my friends, have always felt that speed, and driving while on a mobile, are the most common causes of accidents on our roads. Escessive speeding and driving while on a hand held mobile hould be treated in the same way that drinkers are now penalised.

]]> http://shitedrivers.com/2008/06/10/female-suv-drivers-and-mobiles/feed/ 4 “You’re 4 times more likely to crash when on the phone” – RSA http://shitedrivers.com/2008/05/15/youre-4-times-more-likely-to-crash-when-on-the-phone-rsa/ http://shitedrivers.com/2008/05/15/youre-4-times-more-likely-to-crash-when-on-the-phone-rsa/#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 13:11:58 +0000 niallok http://shitedrivers.com/?p=363 People who use a mobile phone while driving are 4 TIMES more likely to have a crash, putting themselves and other road-users at an increased risk of death or serious injury, the Road Safety Authority said today.

Making no distinction between hand-held and hands-free usage of mobile phones, Noel Brett of the RSA said that “using a mobile phone while driving distracts the driver, impairs their control of the vehicle and reduces their awareness of what is happening around them.”

Motorists caught holding a mobile phone to their heads while driving face fines of up to €2,000 and 4 penalty points on their license. The organisation is now running a new campaign, including a 30 second radio advertisement, encouraging people not to use their mobile phones AT ALL (including via bluetooth headsets and speakers) while driving suggesting you “switch off before you drive off” – and if you really need to make a call, pull over and switch it back on.

The full press release can be seen via the RSA web site, here – and their leaflet “Mobile Phones & Driving” can be obtained (in PDF format) here.

Just a thought though – aren’t sat navs (GPS systems) just as distracting as phones with bluetooth – or perhaps even more so, as you actually have to LOOK away from the windscreen and the road ahead to use it?

]]> http://shitedrivers.com/2008/05/15/youre-4-times-more-likely-to-crash-when-on-the-phone-rsa/feed/ 5 Are blue-tooth systems really that expensive? http://shitedrivers.com/2007/11/05/are-blue-tooth-systems-really-that-expensive/ http://shitedrivers.com/2007/11/05/are-blue-tooth-systems-really-that-expensive/#comments Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:10:37 +0000 GalwayNutter http://shitedrivers.com/index.php/2007/11/05/are-blue-tooth-systems-really-that-expensive/ I was just wondering what everyone else’s take on this is. Personally I don’t think they’re that expensive & not that difficult to use but others on our roads don’t seem to agree. They drive around with a mobile phone pressed to their ear. Is the person really that important that they have to be contactable at all times of the day & night? If so buy a blue-tooth set! Simple.

Then there’s the other type of person who don’t want to get caught driving while on the phone so when their phone goes off they have to slam the breaks & pull over to the side of the road. Not giving a damn for the line of drivers behind them who then have to try to get around them – as happened to me today going down Taylors Hill.

This guys phone went off (he was a few cars ahead of me) so I seen what was happening & adjusted my driving accordingly. All of the drivers behind him waited to see what he would do. Eventually he just pulled in to the curb, on a bad corner, on a narrow stretch of the road & started yacking away! So what if us other drivers had to risk getting mowed down by drivers coming the other way. The call was too important to miss!

Why can’t people just get cheap blue-tooth systems? They’re not that hard to come by & as far as I know they are fitted in almost all new cars now. I know it is in my fathers & it’s quite a good 1!

What are other peoples views on this? Should blue-tooth systems be compulsory in all cars?

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