Hands-free phone ban for drivers ‘Should be considered’ says DfT. Yep.

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American photo of a douche on a phone whilst driving. But you’ll never see this sort of thing on British roads… erm…

How about this from the world of the ill-informed then?

According to reports on the BBC, drivers could be banned from using hands-free mobile phones in England and Wales if a group of MPs gets its way. Current laws give the “misleading impression” that hands-free options are safe, they warned.

While it has been illegal to use a handheld phone at the wheel since 2003, using a hands-free device creates “the same risks of collision”, the Commons Transport Select Committee said.

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An expert told the committee that taking a hands-free phone call caused “essentially the same” amount of distraction as being at the legal limit for alcohol blood level in England and Wales.

A public consultation on the proposal should be published by the end of 2019, the cross-party group said.

Since March 2017, motorists caught using a handheld phone have faced incurring six points on their licence and a £200 fine – up from the previous penalty of three points and £100.

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The MPs urged the government to consider whether penalties should be increased further “to better reflect the serious risks created by drivers committing this offence”.

Probably works for the Commons Transport Select Committee…

We’re very keen to see how this is going to be enforced on the roads, especially as we never ever see anyone currently using a handheld device to speak on whilst behind the wheel.

And we’ve never seen anyone driving and texting, or surfing the net on their phone, or playing a game, or taking a selfie whilst in a two tonne killing machine with comfy seats and a sunroof. Oh no. Because all that’s illegal right now and the well-resourced police forces around the country have so many officers looking out for it that they can jump on anyone who puts lives at risk by doing any of these things…

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Oh hang on a moment…

(for anyone on a Commons Transport Select Committee reading the above ending to this article, that’s sarcasm… you bunch of myopic, ill-informed, Westminster-bubble airheads. Come out with us on the road and we’ll show you the real world).

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