[jailbird_fynix]

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

Thankfully he didn't ask me to drop a verse in front of him.

'Hit Em Up' would've been appropriate. Good thing you weren't listening to that infamous N.W.A song about the police. Can't name it here for obvious reasons.

[Kris_risk]

It can be considered Draconian and laws need to change with time but the fact is, you can even be distracted by the MID in front of you if you want to take it that far.

But one thing I have noticed (may be it is similar for others too). Especially when listening to my favorite podcoasts while driving, I am almost on an "autopilot" mode where most of my attention is on the subject being discussed and I reach my destination with very limited memory of the other aspects of the journey. Well true that it is usually the road that I have traversed over years but still.. almost near zero situational awareness! Similar should be the case with long phone calls on bluetooth which will demand even more attention, leaving very little brain capacity to react to emergencies..

On the other hand, the plight of the "internet inside" car owners.. Trying to convince the cop that they were in conversation with their the car and not on their phone or arguing with their spouse..

By the way, does the law permit speaking with the car to be ok?

PS: I was once almost pulled over for scratching my ear while driving. Thankfully the policeman was convinced after I recreated the crime scene in front of him .

[luvDriving]

This inclusion of using hands free Bluetooth communication as an offence is a step in the wrong direction.

How many times have we encountered drivers driving slow or erratically only to discover that they are so deeply engrossed in conversation with their co-passenger that they have no inking of the nuisance caused by their driving. So then ban speaking at all while travelling.

As an extension, will playing music be also banned ? Listening to the google lady giving directions ? delivery guys / estate agents talking to their customers ? doctors giving preliminary directions for emergency cases while they drive to the hospital ? Police themselves talking on the wireless ?

Once you open the (pandora's) box, you never know what might fly out.

[rovingeye]

I wholeheartedly support this new law and pray it gets implemented across the country. I'm sick and tired of people talking on their mobiles while driving at snails pace on the right lane or just stopping on a busy road to take a call while traffic backs up for miles behind them.

I'm sure cops will use common sense to punish only the serious offenders and not randomly charge you for singing along in the cabin or while you use your car's in built hands-free phone without slowing down or otherwise causing nuisance to fellow road users.

[majumon]

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

I was caught few years back. I was signaled to stop at a junction by a cop. Upon asking the reason he said that they received a wireless message from a cop at the previous junction saying they saw me talking (I was driving alone so they assumed that I was using bluetooth). I politely said that I wasn't talking but singing to a song on the radio and showed my phone's call list. He laughed and let me off.

So they do track everything that's happening.

In exactly the same manner i was also caught while travelling through Kannur that too on a hartal day when there were hardly any vehicular movement on the highway. I was flagged down by a policeman and I took went to him cooly thinking he wants to check my documents when he told me that i was talking on the phone and his superior had sent a message from the previous junction.

[avira_tk]

Kerala is facing a financial crisis, so anything that helps with the shakedown of normal citizens who already paid tax will be promoted. Bluetooth is not the reason for the roads being unsafe, but it's a suitable villain for the government.

[prkiran]

Nothing new here. I was caught once in Chennai a couple of years ago. The cops claimed that I was speaking on bluetooth, but let me go after showing them the call history. So yeah, any traffic cop in the country can flag you down for this offense, if they feel like it.

[alpha1]

I agree that even if this rule comes into existence, it would be a nightmare to implement since we would be at the mercy of the Policewalla.

However, anyone who says that talking on phone via handsfree or bluetooth does not distract from driving is lying through his teeth. And, well, it is very different from listening to music while driving.

While talking to someone we listen, think, respond. While listening to music we hear passively - unless we work in music production industry. There is a whole world of difference between the two things and the brain power and attention demanded in both scenarios.

[anjan_c2007]

Yes it is an offence ! The Maharashtra Police got into its act and warned motorists that penal action will be taken and offenders booked during late 2018. But presently, the fines are too paltry to act as a deterrent.

Action is taken under the Section 250 (A) (1) and (2) of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules 1989. The Motor Vehicle's Act, 1988, conviction Section 177, is used where the fine to be levied is a mere Rs 200=00 to book offenders.

And despite all the hullaballo and warnings through the media, very few mobile phone users-offenders are booked as compared to the menacing proportions of them we see everyday, violating the law right before our eyes.

The music system offenders may be even harder to book as most of these are located at an invisible height from outside.

[bhp_maniac]

The intention behind is arguably good, however the common men are in for a harassment once the police officers start enforcing this, especially during month ends when they're trying to make their target. Once pulled over, it's going to be a tough ask when one has to convince the officers that they were not talking over phone. I usually converse over phone while driving only if an important person is on the other end and the topic in discussion is something which can't wait. Otherwise, I politely tell them I'll call back once I reach the destination. For some reason, even with hands-free calling, I have felt a significant level of distraction with phone calls while driving. Technically, it is similar to talking with a co-passenger, however I have felt a phone call to be much more distracting than talking to my co-passenger. Being said that, it's an increasing menace these days when people are driving on the middle of the road at snails pace and holding their cell phone with hand On the other hand, there is an alarmingly increasing number of two wheeler riders on the road these days in Kerala who don't bother wearing a helmet, which I guess is a much more dangerous case than talking over hands-free while driving a car.

[TorqueKnight]

To avoid using your mobile on driving, we are provided with the Hands-free option and it is a very useful option.

Next in the list.

1) Listening to music while driving diverts the drivers attention - Banned
2) Traveling with family or friends makes the driver to engage in conversation - Banned
3) Driving during office hours makes the driver nervous and he rushes to office - Banned
4) Driving to a holiday destination or a road trip may excite the driver and distracts him - Banned
5) Watching good movies like Rush may give adrenaline rush to a driver, whenever he thinks of it. So watching automobile related movies or shows - Banned

[GeeTee TSI]

I know of companies where as part of road safety policy, contracted drivers as well as employees driving on duty are forbidden from taking calls while driving, period (No matter the mode of taking the call). While definitely inconvenient, the risk is undeniable

[Parishrut]

Hands-free and touchscreen systems seem to be a good-to-have and safe addition to modern cars, but research actually says otherwise.



My thesis project was for the design of a Tesla-esque touch screen system for cars here, and some of the research material was interesting in this regard.



For instance, have a look at the following:
Source: https://aaafoundation.org/measuring-...on-automobile/




It is clear that using a hands-free cell phone function doesn't 'free' our abilities as a driver so much as we may have thought. It is almost as distracting as having a hand-held cell phone. In reality, it means that while our hands and eyes are still free, but we are cognitively distracted and would not be checking our mirrors or driving with complete consideration to changing road conditions.



In that regard, check the workload rating for Speech to Text systems! They are even more dangerous.


The data needs to be considered in real world context though. Talking to a passenger is also cognitively demanding, but it affords an extra pair of vigilant eyes, hence the danger is somewhat mitigated. Having a cell phone in hand while talking on it is seemingly more dangerous, but it affords the psychological consideration that the user is doing something dangerous, and that kind of 'pumps up' the abilities to compensate. In case of speech to text and hands-free, psychological belief is that they are safe, and hence such a bump in ability is not experienced. (These are the research hypothesis that were prevalent 3 years back.)

Quoting more data from a recently conducted study in 2015:

Source: https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/...-Fact-Sheet.pd

One needs to strongly consider the fact that all these new technologies are not that well tested by external agencies like NHTSA and AAA, as the rate of development and deployment is much faster than these organizations can organize and conduct a proper study. At the time of my thesis 3 years back, only visual and manual distraction had been properly studied, whereas these new technologies require a thorough understanding of cognitive distraction. And based on the data above, I strongly believe that touch and speech systems are more of a marketing gimmick than a safety feature.


So with regard to Kerala government's ban on bluetooth and related hands-free systems, I would say it's rather welcome. Of course, I am not considering whether they understood the same concerns as above, it could be just a random act from them.

[yd_gli]

Any law usually has some grey areas which are open to interpretation and in most cases common sense and logic should be used to navigate through these grey areas for better application of laws without unnecessary restrictions. Unfortunately, the wording in this law has been used to add further restrictions. More States will start using such methods to impose ridiculous laws once the precedent has been set.

Where is the science/data to prove the point made by the KL RTO? Has any study been done by a certified or qualified organization? Instead of improving road infrastructure, effective policing and working on driver training we are focusing on opening these unwanted can of worms.

[gb97ce6]

This is certainly a regressive law, and will do more harm than good. Let’s assume everyone starts following the rules strictly and now what ? You will see vehicles suddenly slowing down and parking to attend calls which is even more of a safety hazard and nuisance to all. This is no different than the sun film law which is conveniently ignored by most because it is just not practical.