QUOTE (Turin Machine @ Dec 17 2016, 07:30 PM)
This might be part of the answer
"Mobile phones could soon be blocked from working while cars are being driven to deter people from using them at the wheel.
Almost one in three motorists admitted they have used their phone while driving and 17,500 people were taken to court last year.
The Department for Transport will have an 'exploratory meeting' with mobile phone companies and network providers early next year to discuss the new technology. "
If it's true, and if it works, great!!
However...
Many people use their mobiles as satnav these days;
Black box insurance uses the mobile telephone system I believe;
how do you restrict the 'blanking' to just the driver - or is there to be no mobile phone use by passengers - even on buses;
how do ensure retro fit - normally laws in this country are not retrospective
how will manufacturers ensure that such a device will not interfere with vehicle electronics
some high-end vehicles use the mobiles system to communicate with owners/dealers/manufacturers/SOS centres
The DoT may wish, even demand, this but the changes in the law will be a change of the Wireless Telegraphy legislation, not traffic legislation, which currently does not allow individuals to transmit on the mobile phone spectra. This is why mobiles cannot be blocked in schools or prisons, etc
Great soundbite but, as usual, impractical.
...and I believe that the lorry driver jailed for the recent fatal on the A34 was fiddling with the music side of his mobile - which wouldn't have been prevented by blocking his mobile signal
What is needed, until it can be upgraded, is a far greater Police presence on the A34. Plus the ability for the Police to confiscate a mobile, place it just in front of the rear wheel and wave the driver on his way...