[dass]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

I don't think the rules applies to cabbies really
Why I am saying so is that, only on a blue moon day I see a cabbie not talking on his phone (while driving). In fact most of the rules seem to be 'relaxed' for our sons of the soil types, the only people who the rules apply are us - the people who actually care to follow rules.

Completely agree. I have hardly seen any cab driver, wear a seat belt or not talking over the phone. Most of them plug in the headphones and they are in their own world, not that it was any better earlier.

[turbo_delight]

I think its a good initiative. Even if say only 10% people follow this, at least we have 10% people more who are driving bit more carefully than others.

I think we all should park our vehicles on the road side where we dont block others when we get any phone or we have to make any call. If we do this, we will pay 100% attention , both on road(while driving) and off-road(while talking to someone).

If there's even a small incident on the road, it might affect both the parties, poorly, not in terms of money but in some other ways.

[SlowRider]

I'm gonna go against the tide here and say that this is indeed a step in the right direction. Scientific opinion is overwhelmingly against the use of phones, with or without headsets. I just googled a bit and I'm posting some results here (don't claim they're the best results to support my stand):
http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distr...risk-free.aspx
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013...g-is-risk-free

What I gather from the published studies is that, more than the inconvenience of having to hold the gadget in your hand when you're supposed to steer, it's the act of listening to a conversation from a caller who is physically not present that is the challenge. Using a bluetooth headset does absolutely nothing to change this fact. The driver's attention to his constantly changing environment is greatly diminished. As a result, the pedestrian who decided to dart across the street or the motorist who jumped the signal takes longer to register on your brain and your reactions are delayed.

A lot of people think the phone in the hand is the big risk. It's no bigger risk than a tissue or a biscuit in your hand (although I will concede that it causes less heartburn to toss a biscuit or a tissue compared to an expensive cellphone). The conversation is the killer.

Also, I would like to draw your attention to the links to understand how talking to a co-passenger is different from a conversation on the phone. The average passenger shuts up when he sees a tight situation. He points out what you may not have noticed. That has helped me countless times when I was oblivious to the motorcyclists in my car's A-pillar blind spot. They do that because they're in the same vehicle as you are, in the interest of self-preservation. In contrast, the average caller on your mobile demands your constant, undivided attention. They will not know when you're a split-second away from collision.

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by SlowRider

I'm gonna go against the tide here and say that this is indeed a step in the right direction.

If no one goes against the tide we don't need a forum . So does it mean that car makers with blue tooth installed are actually hurting safety of drivers?

Cheers,

[SlowRider]

Originally Posted by diffsoft

If no one goes against the tide we don't need a forum . So does it mean that car makers with blue tooth installed are actually hurting safety of drivers?

Cheers,

I don't think so. The driver decides to pair his phone with the car's infotainment system. The driver decides to answer the call when it rings. He has the option to not answer the call. Or pull over and answer the call. So I don't think it's fair to blame the manufacturers.

[DCEite]

Slightly OT, but is wearing seatbelts mandatory in Bangalore?

[satan's_valet]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Slightly OT, but is wearing seatbelts mandatory in Bangalore?

Yes it is. The cops are not particular about the passenger seat belts. But it is mandatory for drivers.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Slightly OT, but is wearing seatbelts mandatory in Bangalore?

Well, over the last 2 years they have been strict on enforcing this very basic rule and I must tell you that its not easy to escape cops' eyes by not wearing a seat belt now in Bangalore. Even cabbies wear it although they merely buckle the belt first, sit on the drivers seat and then pull the diagonal belt behind their back and bring it to front as per their wish and time of the day/night.

Earlier I can recall that Bangalore had this "Zero Tolerance Zone" (MG-Brigade Roads) where they jumped to catch you if you are not buckled. No High Beams, No cutting lanes, separate Auto lane and what not.

All this died an insane death, seat belt rule was very lenient till they (cops or whoever else) realized that Bangalore was faring lower against many other cities in Seat belt rule implementation.

[MARCUS_520i]

I just don't get Indian laws and I probably never will.

If you don't want people talking on the phone while they're driving, then why do you grant auto manufacturers the permit to make cars with bluetooth and phone sync and steering mounted call receive/disconnect buttons?

The point of this technology is to allow the driver to stay in communication while on the move and not waste time pulling over and dialing numbers. Because, if you're to pull over and dial them digits, the whole purpose of blueteeth and steering mounted controls is defeated!

The people using this technology IMO are not at fault, it's the inventors and the administrators allowing these things to come into the market who are the real dumb and dumbers!

With all that said, I sure am against people driving with their heads tilted and their phones sandwiched between their cheeks and shoulders. They are the kind of humans that tick me off. Suspend their licences, I'm fine with that

[suhaas307]

In a country where phones seemingly outnumber full-square-meals, I find it hard to understand how this law will be implemented.

For one thing, the basic laws aren't applied. People drive / ride around without licences. What licence is the cop going to revoke if the clown doesn't have a valid licence in the first place?

Talking on the phone is dangerous, agreed. But try and address the larger problems like issuing of licences before getting hung up over whether licences should be cancelled for talking on the phone or not.

Getting to the root of the problem is the need of the hour.

The other thing is cops are out there just to make a quick buck under the pretext of 'reprimanding' the offender.

And personally, even though I believe talking on the phone can be distracting, so can a whole lot of other things. For example, certain billboards can be more distracting than the conversation you might have with your passenger. Or even a ground-hugging supercar. The good thing would be to use your best judgment given the situation.

[bravo6]

Phone/headset to the ear, I can understand, but what's the point of banning purpose built integrated bluetooth systems? If anything, this gives more ways for corrupt cops to extort money. What is to stop them from showing a cheap Rs.300 BT headset and claiming that you were using it? Wouldn't anyone pay up in such a scenario?

Punishment should be in proportion to the offense. Revoking license for talking on the phone, will undoubtedly reduce such acts, but it is still overkill. Why does a guy who skips a red light get to pay 100 bucks and continue on? What about the guy going in the wrong direction in a one way street?

If we really want to bring discipline to the masses, why don't we just have one penalty no matter what traffic offense you commit?

Stopped after the STOP line? Lose your license.

Not wearing seat belt? Lose your license.

Shrill horn? Lose your license.

Involved in any sort of collission? Lose your license.

Now that would bring order to all this chaos overnight!

The mythological phrase Gubbi Mele Brahmastra (Use Brahmastra on a sparrow) comes to mind.

I'm sure people will conveniently forget the license at home and pay Rs. 300 instead of risking losing the license (and thereby insurance cover)

Originally Posted by charanreddy

... I called the police, traffic police came and started abusing the both of us and asked for Rs 5000 fine (under obstruction of traffic)

The very first thing you are supposed to do after an accident is to move all the involved vehicles to the side of the road so as not to obstruct other road users, so the SI was well within his authority to fine you. Imagine if every person involved in a fender bender decided to hold up traffic till the issue was settled.

Originally Posted by one-77

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?

What about all the hoardings wtih attractive people or movie posters? Are they not distracting?

Originally Posted by SlowRider

...it's the act of listening to a conversation from a caller who is physically not present that is the challenge.

How about talking to a passenger in the rear right seat? You cannot physically see them, and they can't see the road to know when to shut up. Should they be fined from talking?

[charanreddy]

Originally Posted by bravo6

The very first thing you are supposed to do after an accident is to move all the involved vehicles to the side of the road so as not to obstruct other road users, so the SI was well within his authority to fine you. Imagine if every person involved in a fender bender decided to hold up traffic till the issue was settled.

Agree. FYI, we called 100 and talked to the bus driver to pull up and started driving to the nearest free area (Under the silk board flyover) in under 10 mins of the incident happening. A randomly passing traffic cop saw us and the result was the above. He was not willing to listen to us in the first place. In his broken english, he just started saying "Are you not educated, you blocked traffic, pay fine" again and again.

I bring this up to make a point on the maturity levels of traffic cops. They have a set of orders to carry out, a set amount of fine to be collected and very little judgement to really help solve traffic issues. No point in making draconian laws where traffic cops can be very erratic.

[TorqueyTechie]

I would say kudos to the govt for bringing in this law. This was required as I have seen many instances of people driving when they are being in their own world talking sweet nothings on the phone. If it is so urgent then they can always park on the side of the road where its safe for them as well as others.

Laws when brought into force will have its acceptors and detractors. But in our country where laws are broken always, I sincerely hope that people do accept something which is good and abide by them.

How many of us have scolded others driving while using their phones be it using it in hand or through headset or bluetooth and when we get a call from our bosses/friends/wife have immediately picked up the call and spoken while driving. How many never wore seatbelts before and once the law became mandatory how many have changed?

We tend to do things when it become mandatory rather than doing it because its good for oneself and for others.

[SlowRider]

Originally Posted by bravo6

How about talking to a passenger in the rear right seat? You cannot physically see them, and they can't see the road to know when to shut up. Should they be fined from talking?

The rear seat passengers do have a view of the road. It may not be as good as driver's view, but let's not dumb them down completely. Also we don't need to actually see these people to have a decent conversation them. The driver will be watching the road anyway. What counts is that they are with you in your vehicle. That makes it a wholly different class of conversation.

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by charanreddy

...saying "Are you not educated, you blocked traffic, pay fine" again and again.

Haha in that case I don't know what to say!

On the other hand, I saw an older traffic cop yell at a BMTC driver today for stopping in the middle of the road

BTW what did you intend to achieve by calling the cops on the bus driver? Of course it is your right, but even if you go to court, the maximum penalty for him would be a fine of couple of thousands. And claiming damage from the bus's insurance would take it's own sweet time, with you having to pay from your pocket first anyway.

Claiming own damage from your insurance, especially if they have a cashless option would be the easiest option, and it doesn't ruin your peace of mind.

You're legally expected to file FIR only if there is bodily injury to any person.

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

I would say kudos to the govt for bringing in this law...

We tend to do things when it become mandatory rather than doing it because its good for oneself and for others.

This rule has been around for quite some time mate, only now the penalty has been escalated.