WA govt improves stupid mobile phone laws

Cooper69S · 02-02-2011, 10:27 PM

Just heard on the news.... from 1st March the laws regarding using a mobile phone while driving will be improved a bit. Until now it's been kind of nonsensical. It's perfectly ok to press a button on the steering wheel, or external bluetooth device to answer the phone, but not the button on the phone. Well now it will be fine to answer or dial a call on a phone as long as it's in a cradle or connected to a handsfree device.

SpoolMan · 02-02-2011, 10:28 PM

Vic has the same silly laws..

HLC · 02-02-2011, 10:46 PM

All of WA is stupid. I got a fine for driving through an Amber light the other day. I thought if it was unsafe to stop/having to slam on the anchors i thought you were ok.

Well it was when i did my test in Sydney.

**Elks** · 02-02-2011, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpoolMan

Vic has the same silly laws..

We have lots of silly laws..

bungarra · 03-02-2011, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HLC

All of WA is stupid. I got a fine for driving through an Amber light the other day. I thought if it was unsafe to stop/having to slam on the anchors i thought you were ok.

Well it was when i did my test in Sydney.

Unfortunately you can only go through if your car is fully in the zone where the solid white line is dividing the two lanes, according to the national road code. If you were in there you could argue it in court, but wont work if you have done advance driving courses, they teach you to ease of the accelorator as you get within 25 metres of lights.

flappist · 03-02-2011, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HLC

All of WA is stupid. I got a fine for driving through an Amber light the other day. I thought if it was unsafe to stop/having to slam on the anchors i thought you were ok.

Well it was when i did my test in Sydney.

I would contest that one Henri, if it was unsafe to stop then you are perfectly within your rights to proceed.

I got pulled up once in Perth for driving in a "hire car & taxi" lane.
The copper swore black and blue my car was a "rental" car and a hire car was a limo until I showed him the "car hire agreement" which described the "hire car".
He wandered off shaking his head.

sudszy · 04-02-2011, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cooper69S

Just heard on the news.... from 1st March the laws regarding using a mobile phone while driving will be improved a bit. Until now it's been kind of nonsensical. It's perfectly ok to press a button on the steering wheel, or external bluetooth device to answer the phone, but not the button on the phone. Well now it will be fine to answer or dial a call on a phone as long as it's in a cradle or connected to a handsfree device.

sounds like wa is not acting on the best advice out there. The danger is not the physical act of holding the phone in hand or pushing a button, its the distraction of maintaining a conversation with a person that is not in the vehicle, proven to be equivalent to being 0.1 bac.

3vXT · 04-02-2011, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudszy

sounds like wa is not acting on the best advice out there. The danger is not the physical act of holding the phone in hand or pushing a button, its the distraction of maintaining a conversation with a person that is not in the vehicle, proven to be equivalent to being 0.1 bac.

Don't say that here

I agree with you btw, but i'm not getting involved this time.

Yellow_Festiva · 04-02-2011, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudszy

sounds like wa is not acting on the best advice out there. The danger is not the physical act of holding the phone in hand or pushing a button, its the distraction of maintaining a conversation with a person that is not in the vehicle, proven to be equivalent to being 0.1 bac.

Having a person in the car and talking to them is legal, as is having a BAC of .01 if you are an experienced driver on a full licence.

Cam · 04-02-2011, 09:17 AM

Then there are laws on using CB radios.. Or I can touch a GPS device in a car, but cant touch my phone to use GPS.. Someone needs to develop a GPS device with a SIM...

burnz · 04-02-2011, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cam

Then there are laws on using CB radios.. Or I can touch a GPS device in a car, but cant touch my phone to use GPS.. Someone needs to develop a GPS device with a SIM...

it's cheaper and more logical to vote the goverment out..

charles_wif_xf · 04-02-2011, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudszy

sounds like wa is not acting on the best advice out there. The danger is not the physical act of holding the phone in hand or pushing a button, its the distraction of maintaining a conversation with a person that is not in the vehicle, proven to be equivalent to being 0.1 bac.

Awesome first post sudszy, pity govco doesn't use the same logic and common sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by burnz

it's cheaper and more logical to vote the goverment out..

What, vote for the other side of the same coin... nothing will change until people wake up to the fact that two party politics is really one party politics. But discussing politics on this forum is taboo so I best leave it at that.

flappist · 04-02-2011, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cam

Then there are laws on using CB radios.. Or I can touch a GPS device in a car, but cant touch my phone to use GPS.. Someone needs to develop a GPS device with a SIM...

GPS with a sim?

Why not make it a multi-function GPS/music box/face space terminal/playstation with a sim?

You could call it gmbfstpPHONE............

I suspect the major reason why CB is restricted like mobile phones is that most CB conversations are short and too the point and it is extremely uncommon to hear "well she said and then I said and then she said and oh! isn't that pretty then have you seen the new nail polish at "trendys" I am trying it on now then what colour......" with a background of car horns and muffles abusive language......

LowEL2XR8 · 04-02-2011, 11:00 AM

My cradle is an elastic band wrapped around my sun visor.

bungarra · 04-02-2011, 11:13 AM

They are only taking the ambiquity out of the law. The argument has always been about the fact that you can use GPS Devices, CB's etc but couldn't talk on a mobile. It has also been proven that it is more dangerous to talk to a person in a car as you are more likely to look away from the road. So you could ban people talking in cars, the ****** reading a road map while weaving all over throad, even listening to the radio had proven to be the equivelent of 0.01. So lets just ban driving, make it safer.

I liked NSW coppers years ago, pay the "fine" on the side of road, never got demerit points though. Wonder why?

sudszy · 04-02-2011, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Having a person in the car and talking to them is legal, as is having a BAC of .01 if you are an experienced driver on a full licence.

Yes you are correct, but what is your point?

Talking to a passenger in the car is not the same for a driver as talking to someone not in the vehicle:

http://www.dtei.sa.gov.au/roadsafety...bile_phone_use, please look up the research.

The research also tells us the likelihood of an accident increases fourfold when using a mobile, which puts it equivalent to driving at ~0.1bac, not 0.01 bac.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bungarra

It has also been proven that it is more dangerous to talk to a person in a car as you are more likely to look away from the road. ?

Certainly talking to passengers is recognised as a distraction, but the evidence shows that it pales into insignificance with the risk of conducting a conversation with someone who is not in the vehicle

Halfmo Rocks · 04-02-2011, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowEL2XR8

My cradle is an elastic band wrapped around my sun visor.

me too...makes so much sense, but so few people want to use such a low tech solution for some reason

Fled74 · 04-02-2011, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowEL2XR8

My cradle is an elastic band wrapped around my sun visor.

Ghetto mods FTW.
I also have zip ties, gaffa tape and Blu-Tac in my glove box for those impromptu repair jobs.

Streets · 04-02-2011, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LowEL2XR8

My cradle is an elastic band wrapped around my sun visor.

That's genius. I wish I hadn't accidentally snapped my sun visor off :(

JC · 04-02-2011, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cam

Then there are laws on using CB radios.. Or I can touch a GPS device in a car, but cant touch my phone to use GPS.. Someone needs to develop a GPS device with a SIM...

I have GPS on my phone, does that count as GPS with a SIM?

you're not supposed to touch the GPS while driving though.......

Halfmo Rocks · 04-02-2011, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fled74

Ghetto mods FTW.
I also have zip ties, gaffa tape and Blu-Tac in my glove box for those impromptu repair jobs.

me too, gotta love improvisation.

there i fixed it.com is a source of constant inspiration

Riksta · 04-02-2011, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

I got pulled up once in Perth for driving in a "hire car & taxi" lane.
The copper swore black and blue my car was a "rental" car and a hire car was a limo until I showed him the "car hire agreement" which described the "hire car".
He wandered off shaking his head.

I don't get it, what's the difference between a "rental car" and a "hire car"? One and the same aren't they, just different wording?

HLC · 04-02-2011, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

I would contest that one Henri, if it was unsafe to stop then you are perfectly within your rights to proceed.

I got pulled up once in Perth for driving in a "hire car & taxi" lane.
The copper swore black and blue my car was a "rental" car and a hire car was a limo until I showed him the "car hire agreement" which described the "hire car".
He wandered off shaking his head.

Not worth the time off work or the hassle. The copper said it was red and I had to argue amber. Besides apparently the points don't hit your license until you get a WA one. Mine is still NSW so who knows.

Cooper69S · 04-02-2011, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudszy

sounds like wa is not acting on the best advice out there. The danger is not the physical act of holding the phone in hand or pushing a button, its the distraction of maintaining a conversation with a person that is not in the vehicle, proven to be equivalent to being 0.1 bac.

well for starters it's not just WA, pretty sure no Aussie state has outlawed handsfree mobile conversations in cars.
It's just that we had this crazy inconsistency with being allowed to answer a call and talk handsfree, but only if the button you push to answer the call is not physically attached to the phone.
And in any case I'm ok with the law change - suits me - long highway drives are a good opportunity to catch up with people on the phone. There are plenty of other things that distract drivers and increase the risk of a crash and most of them would be impossible to police. can't just "ban everything".

Cam · 05-02-2011, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

GPS with a sim?

Why not make it a multi-function GPS/music box/face space terminal/playstation with a sim?

You could call it gmbfstpPHONE............

Heh, surely that could be marketed..

But seriously, GPS devices have a good speaker, add a good mic and a slot where u can easily insert your sim, and give it the functionality to auto answer etc. Cant see why it wouldn't work...

Quote:

Originally Posted by JC

I have GPS on my phone, does that count as GPS with a SIM?

you're not supposed to touch the GPS while driving though.......

So do I, but my understanding was that as its primary use is a phone you cannot use it? Could very well be wrong..

Anyone know if it's actually illegal to use a GPS when your driving? I'm not sure?

bungarra · 05-02-2011, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudszy

Certainly talking to passengers is recognised as a distraction, but the evidence shows that it pales into insignificance with the risk of conducting a conversation with someone who is not in the vehicle

Tell that to my mate who had his car slammed into by a guy in his new GS who was to busy talking to the passenger. He might have a different opinion.

Cooper69S · 05-02-2011, 12:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bungarra

Tell that to my mate who had his car slammed into by a guy in his new GS who was to busy talking to the passenger. He might have a different opinion.

I've been passenger in cars where the driver had that strange habit of continuously turning to face the passenger as he spoke to them

... sure it's polite to look people in the eye when you speak to them, but I'm quite happy for drivers of cars I'm in to be impolite in that case... at least drivers on the phone are probably still looking at the road

sudszy · 05-02-2011, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cooper69S

well for starters it's not just WA, pretty sure no Aussie state has outlawed handsfree mobile conversations in cars.
It's just that we had this crazy inconsistency with being allowed to answer a call and talk handsfree, but only if the button you push to answer the call is not physically attached to the phone.

Consistency at the expense of adopting the lowest common denominator in safety?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cooper69S

And in any case I'm ok with the law change - suits me - long highway drives are a good opportunity to catch up with people on the phone. There are plenty of other things that distract drivers and increase the risk of a crash and most of them would be impossible to police. can't just "ban everything

So on that logic drunk driving is okay too, the risk of incident is the same. Surely you are not suggesting that we should only have laws against activities that are easy to police?

bungarra · 05-02-2011, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudszy

Consistency at the expense of adopting the lowest common denominator in safety?

WA is just adopting what was raised by the NSW Police Minister and recommended as part of the National Road Safety and Police Ministers meeting. So the majority is now the lowest common demoninator?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudszy

So on that logic drunk driving is okay too, the risk of incident is the same. Surely you are not suggesting that we should only have laws against activities that are easy to police?

No one has suggested that drunk driving is ok in any of the posts.

Keepleft · 05-02-2011, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cam

Anyone know if it's actually illegal to use a GPS when your driving? I'm not sure?

It certainly is NOT.

PROVIDED your GPS is secured with a commercially built device. Ie; the windscreen cup holder thingy supplied as standard with the device.

See ARR.
Texting et al remains verboten.