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Old 26th March 2014, 19:32   #31
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

If this is implemented, then we won't have any more taxis coming to pick us up.

Any form of talking including bluetooth is illegal (if it is so). Else it would be a discrimination of differently-abled people (Jeremy Clarkson's words).

Last edited by GTO : 27th March 2014 at 11:35. Reason: Typos
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Old 26th March 2014, 19:39   #32
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

I have never seen the driver in a Police Bolero ever, and I mean Ever, wearing a seat belt. And yet they have the bare faced cheek to implement this preposterous ruling on the rest of us Heights of hypocrisy
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Old 26th March 2014, 19:45   #33
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

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Originally Posted by sourabhzen View Post
Talking on phone and talking to passengers are two different things IMO. You dont have to worry about pressing/touching the right button while taking a call from the passengers; you do not need to see at the screen to see who is talking to you; you are completely aware of the context/mood of the passenger while you need to guess them while talking on phone. Above all the passengers (usually) are at the same risk while talking to the driver and will ensure that they do not distractthe driver too much to cause an accident.
My thinking is different here.
I drive a Linea equipped with Blue and Me,with the phone paired,the name of the contact flashes on the MID in front and call can be answered,without taking your eyes off the road and hands off the steering.Even while talking one simply concentrates on road.On the other hand while talking to a Co-Passenger simply due to human tendency one might look at the companion,taking eyes and concentration off the road.So in that case this should be a punishable offence as well.

Ok so what about the cars that are being sold with blue tooth?
Say if am talking using Car's OEM bluetooth with phone not in sight;how can a cop prove that i was talking on phone?,i can simply say;i was humming along with the ICE

Last edited by akshay4587 : 26th March 2014 at 19:47.
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Old 26th March 2014, 20:08   #34
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

Cancelling the license on the first offence itself . Might as well give 100 lashes in public and burn the vehicle there itself to act as a deterrent. This is a stupid move from the BTP. Overspeeding, Riding on the wrong side of the road, Jumping a light don't carry such harsh punishments. I don't see anything wrong with using technology the right way. For example in US, texting on the phone is banned as well as talking on the phone in school zones. The fact of life is that for worse or better mobile phones have changed the way we live and we cannot compare the stats or lifestyle from the pre-mobile days.

More over this rule has a lot of scope for misuse. What stops the traffic policeman from using this as a black mail opportunity for bribes. We all know what kind of bribes police collect for drunken driving.

This kind of high handedness of these 'public' officials is shocking.
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Old 26th March 2014, 22:49   #35
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Originally Posted by charanreddy View Post
Cancelling the license on the first offence itself . Might as well give 100 lashes in public and burn the vehicle there itself to act as a deterrent. This is a stupid move from the BTP. Overspeeding, Riding on the wrong side of the road, Jumping a light don't carry such harsh punishments. I don't see anything wrong with using technology the right way. For example in US, texting on the phone is banned as well as talking on the phone in school zones. The fact of life is that for worse or better mobile phones have changed the way we live and we cannot compare the stats or lifestyle from the pre-mobile days. More over this rule has a lot of scope for misuse. What stops the traffic policeman from using this as a black mail opportunity for bribes. We all know what kind of bribes police collect for drunken driving. This kind of high handedness of these 'public' officials is shocking.
I don't see any stupidity here from BTP. Have you come across a family who has lost their dear one, because of some stupid driver who ran over one of their family members, while talking on phone. I am sure, if you see the pain of losing someone because of this, you will support BTP. Certainly BTP staff would have seen this every day.

From my point of view, it is the same as drink and drive. In Canada, you will be fined even if you use hands free.

Last edited by GTO : 27th March 2014 at 11:37. Reason: Typos
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Old 26th March 2014, 23:49   #36
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

@manjubp, Understand the pain of loss of human lives to near and dear. Only the point I wish to make is that mobile has brought about a change in human lifestyle across the world which cannot be denied or ignored. Rather than draft a rule which punishes people for out rightly possessing mobile while driving (Would like to see someone successfully convince the adamant Bangalore traffic policeman that you were not talking on phone, even when you really were not. The last call received / dialed argument does not hold and is subjective to how far your living place is to the place you were stopped by the police), why not make sensible rules like

1. Driving with one hand and a handset to your ear - Punishable by a huge fine and/or counselling sessions. Repeated offence - cancellation of license.

2. Texting on Mobile - Punishable by a huge fine and/or counselling sessions. Repeated offence - cancellation of license.

3. Driving with hands free or on speaker mode - NOT punishable.

4.Talking on phone / Texting after driving to a stop at road side with hazard lights on - NOT punishable (This is currently punishable per BTP).

If the BTP staff were so sensible, then we would not have heard so many negative incidents about them. I personally had a bad experience. My car was dinged by a bus (Private - Infy bus I think). I called the police, traffic police came and started abusing the both of us and asked for Rs 5000 fine (under obstruction of traffic). It was a SI level officer and he behaved like he was lord of the road, settled for Rs 1000 bribe and we felt like we had escaped from a big problem while our original problem looked small. Are we right in giving so much power to one organisation leave alone such corrupt people through these rules ?
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Old 27th March 2014, 00:56   #37
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

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Originally Posted by manjubp View Post
*SNIP* From my point of view, it is same as drink and drive. In Canada, you will be fined even if you use hands free.
Sorry Manjubp, hands-free is permitted in Canada (at least in my province - Ontario). Click on link below for proof.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/saf...emptions.shtml

Cheers
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Old 27th March 2014, 01:42   #38
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

The intention behind this move is definitely good.I just hope it is implemented in the proper way by BTP with no misuse. Now since your license is at stake if you are caught even for the first time,they can even ask 4 digit figures to let you go free.

On a similar note, from a safety point of view, watching movies on the car monitor while driving is also equally dangerous.There should be a law to handle this issue too.
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Old 27th March 2014, 01:47   #39
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

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Originally Posted by tilt View Post
Very sensible, well thought and well explained rules. In India I see rules being handed out like threats. Why can't our BTP copy these instead of giving commandments like "Thou Shalt Not Touch Mobile Phones In Car"
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Old 27th March 2014, 08:13   #40
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

Here comes the next law enforcement which is impractical. Revoking the license in the first instance is a bit too harsh. It is going to generate public outcry and eventually, the authorities will relax it (I hope they don’t). It is high time for the laws to be updated. Check out the year the traffic laws were established - 1989, that is 25 years ago . The situation is far different now than on 1989.

Instead of revoking the license or imposing fine which anyways goes to the police official, we need to find other ways of creating awareness. For instance, cease the vehicle and make the defaulters do community service for a day or so depending on the severity of non-criminal offence. People will absolutely hate doing community service and will eventually be a deterrent. Last but not the least, everything should be strictly monitored by the higher officials, otherwise any law is only going to be manipulated in such a way that the Police officials earn more. After all this is India .
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Old 27th March 2014, 10:32   #41
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

Agreed, holding a phone to one ear and talking on the phone while driving can be real hazardous. But bluetooth?
In that case, what would they ban next? Thinking to oneself when driving?

But, I do believe licenses should be cancelled for those who're driving under the influence of alcohol. A much graver risk than using the phone.
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Old 27th March 2014, 12:28   #42
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

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Originally Posted by procrj View Post
Its not just mobile phone usage but also first instance of drinking and driving will also lead to license being revoked. BTP post on Facebook
Issued as public notice:
Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!-10007519_646815435384167_1741807889_n.jpg
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Old 27th March 2014, 12:39   #43
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

A big fine should have been levied instead.

Cancelling the license on first violation or 2nd is the same. Why do you want to do it the first time and not do it the second time ?
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Old 27th March 2014, 14:22   #44
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

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Originally Posted by msdivy View Post
Issued as public notice:
Attachment 1224038
Saw that. Interesting to see that there is additional line item in there: driving on footpath. If every police station is allowed to issue these with their own additions, then I guess we are at their mercy when it comes to defining an offense
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Old 27th March 2014, 14:48   #45
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Re: Bangalore: Talking on your phone while driving? Lose your licence!

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Originally Posted by Traveller Nayak View Post
...

4. License: It stuck me few days ago (as the word says) - it is a 'license' thereby meaning it is a permit or an approval granted by the government. In other words, we don't have a right to drive. The government has allowed us to drive and it has the right to cancel the license or take away this approval. Strange isn't it! There are so many rights, like right to vote, education, equality and others. But we don't have a right to drive.
That's correct. We do not automatically get a right to drive by being an Indian citizen. It is a permit that is provided by the Government after we are found capable of handling the responsibility. And I think that is only fair.

The problem lies with low standards of testing of applicants in most RTOs across the country. Being an optimist, I must point out though, that things are improving.

---

On the subject of this thread, I am not quite clear of whether I support the Bangalore Traffic Police's move or not. On one hand, it is not possible for a working individual to not communicate during business hours.

On the other, it is something I see more & more as a biker - how drivers become careless while using the mobile - they tend to not watch out while making turns, breaking, or stopping on a street.

Would be interesting to see how this progresses.

Sam
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