BEING driven to distraction by a mobile phone call left this Manchester driver on hold without his car.
He was so consumed by his phone conversation behind the wheel that he failed to notice the police officer who was following him.
The driver remained engrossed in his call and still failed to see the uniformed traffic cop in an unmarked car - even when the officer pulled alongside him.
It took a quick burst of Pc Mick Hambley's police siren to finally shake him out of his long phone conversation while driving through the city centre.
Film of the incident will be screened this Monday on ITV1's
Police Camera Action as a warning to others about the dangers involved.
As he follows the vehicle, Pc Hambley comments: "Now here's a man who's completely oblivious to what's happening about him."
Stopped in the city centre, the driver initially claimed to have been parked during the entire conversation.
But when told he'd been followed through the city streets for some time, he came clean and admitted the offence. A further police check then revealed he was driving without insurance.
Realising his expensive mistake, he tells the officer: "I hold a clean licence for so long and then something stupid and silly...."
Pc Hambley replies: "Most of the people that get sent to prison for killing people in accidents, aren't bad people, up until they're doing something silly."
Impounded
The car was then seized and impounded on the spot, before later being towed away.
The programme highlights research that shows using a mobile phone while driving - even hands free - seriously affects concentration and reaction time.
Prof Andrew Parkes of the Transport Research Laboratory says: "It's the act of holding the conversation which is the problem, not just holding the handset."
Nearly a thousand motorists every month are caught using a hand-held mobile phone while at the wheel in Greater Manchester.
The number has fallen dramatically since a change in the law eight months ago when the fine was increased from £30 to £60 plus penalty points.
Before the change, some 1,390 drivers were being caught every month.
An average 962 drivers a month are now being caught flouting the law, compared to 1,390 in each of the six months before the latest legislation.
Dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries have been blamed on motorists talking or texting on mobile phones across the country.
Figures obtained by the M.E.N. and published in August showed 8,343 fixed penalty notices were handed out in Greater Manchester in the six months before the change in the law, with an average of 1,390 each month.
In the first five months since the change, 4,812 on-the-spot fines were handed out, which means on average 962 motorists were being caught on their mobiles each month.
In 2005, it is believed 13 deaths and 400 injuries were blamed on drivers using hand-held mobile phones.
What do you think? Have your say.
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Mobile menace drives on...
September 27, 2007
OBLIVIOUS: Driver on the phone
Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Durns, Ashton u Lyne (28/09/2007 at 07:09)
polkyb (28/09/2007 at 08:08)
If that's really the case, then all cars should ONLY have ONE occupant. I regularly talk to my passengers when I'm driving.
I'm NOT saying that using Mobile phones while driving is ok in the slightest, it isn't, but, with a properly fitted hands free kit, it is NO different than talking to one of your passengers.
The Catcher, In The Rye (28/09/2007 at 08:41)
jacko101 (28/09/2007 at 08:50)
As for the phones, it really does annoy me that people think that this is OK.
The worse offenders, Range Rover drivers (or other expensive car). Every day I see a driver talking on his/her mobile, he/she can afford a nice car, why can't he/she afford a hands free kit?
Just this morning I saw a woman driving a very nice BMW, she came off the roundabout behind me, changed lanes without indicating and then as she passed she was holding the phone to her mouth (what is all that about!) and didn't seem to have a care in the world.
I've beeped at people in the past (when I feel it's safe to do so and won't put them off their driving even more!) and they are just either oblivious or hell bent on doing what they want.
The attitude is either, "no one tells me what to do", or "I can drive perfectly fine while I talk and drive". Yeah, I've seen people do that brilliantly. Not.
Get them banned from driving, it's just plain reckless.
Road Safety Officer (28/09/2007 at 09:20)
The effects of talking on a mobile phone
differ from those relating to having a conversation with a passenger or listening to the radio. A
passenger in the car will allow the conversation to lapse enabling the driver to negotiate
potential hazards as they arise. The passenger’s body language is also important in alerting the
driver’s attention to road hazards. Somebody who isn’t present, and is therefore unaware of
those hazards, will continue to talk. The driver is therefore more likely to be distracted at
crucial moments when accidents could occur.
Blue Chris, On The Blue Moon (28/09/2007 at 10:00)
ace, manchester (28/09/2007 at 10:01)
The Catcher, In The Rye (28/09/2007 at 10:15)
polkyb (28/09/2007 at 10:24)
I think you are wrong if you think it's any safer talking to your passengers than on your hands free phone. Especially in the case of the parent with a back seat full of children.
Also, how would the driver be even aware of the passengers body language if they were paying full attention to the task of driving.
I have had a hands free kit in my cars since I had my first mobile, because *I* decided that it was unsafe to use the phone and drive. In those 10 years, I haven't even had so much as a near miss, because DRIVING COMES FIRST.
This is just my opinion, of course, and I completely respect yours.
My solution to all road issues is to give the police the power of enforcing drivers to (re)take their theory and/or practical test depending on the offence. They should have three months to pass it, after which their license will be revoked.
It scares me that some people still do not know how to use roundabouts and motorways. My biggest concern being that at 70mph, drivers seem to think that indicators are surplus to requirement.
Dave (28/09/2007 at 11:25)
ace, manchester (28/09/2007 at 11:35)
Like ive said before i am a ex motorway mechanic and ive seen these nutters driving while on the phones and the damage they do .you cannot drive and use a phone .its been proved time and time again. but no doubt you will have something funny to say?
Rob (Manchester Against Road Tolls) www.manchestertolltax.com, Denton (28/09/2007 at 11:37)
I wonder how many people are stopped for reading a map whilst driving. It is amazing how often I see this.
ace, manchester (28/09/2007 at 11:39)
Were not talking about knock off or a snide DVD, were talking peoples lives? What the hell is wrong with people to even put this crime on the same level as buying a Snide DVD or a bit of knock off goods, peoples lives are at risk by the actions of these idiots.
marc (28/09/2007 at 11:46)
The Catcher, In The Rye (28/09/2007 at 11:58)
GARFIELD (28/09/2007 at 12:12)
1.I may be distracted and not be able to react in time if a kid ran in the road
2.points on my licence would make me loose part of my job
3.paying a fine is just to much trouble
4.the embarressment of being caught just like this idiot.
you cannot tell a police car these days anymore which is good to catch out this fools. he might as well have been driving with his eyes shut. i hope hes named and shamed properly on tv cos ill be watching for one.
adders, Withington (28/09/2007 at 12:13)
Two brothers, schoolmates of my two sons were killed some years ago and after going to their funeral I was ill. It just broke me up. And the driver got away with it because a witness, who he knew, claimed he was only doing 30. The crash split the lads` car in two, 30 m.p.h.?
It`s not being a goody goody to drive carefully Catcher.
I ain`t no saint but I would never do what this driver was doing.
adders, Withington (28/09/2007 at 12:19)
tezza, tyldesley (28/09/2007 at 12:20)
Sue, Rochdale (28/09/2007 at 13:11)
jacko101 (28/09/2007 at 13:54)
Hands free kits are much better than holding a phone, there's no doubt about that. I think that some people can still get distracted whilst on the phone though, but at least they have all hands available in case they are needed!
Road Safety Officer (28/09/2007 at 16:54)
However, due to the legistics of enforcement it was only possible to introduce a ban on hand held devices. In other words it would be impossible for an officer to spot anyone using a hands free device.
Our advice is use your voicemail whenever possible, or use a handsfree device but end the call as soon as possible.
Why not take photos of these drivers and send them in to your local authority road safety office for us to publicise on our website wall of shame!!
sallyg, Lancs (28/09/2007 at 20:45)
But, of course, she's above the law.
manufan, manchester (29/09/2007 at 12:06)
Im no "perfect driver", even been pulled for speeding, though it was just a ticking off ( worked though )!, but one thing ive never done is use my phone at the wheel.
I think it was right to report this but to state this guy will be on t.v. no doubt will give him a big head, " look, im on tv...", though I hope it has the effect to make him feel bad and embarrassed!.
ace, manchester (29/09/2007 at 15:06)
Jermain Defoe chats on his mobile while driving – a DAY after being fined for the offence.
This dosnt sound like the message is getting through? I wonder if he would use his phone if he thought that he would get a thousand pound fine and banned from driving for a month .Real ZERO TOLLERANCE is needed in britain. not this bleeding heart liberal experiment weve had for forty odd years."HOW MANY TIMES MUST PEOPLE TELL YOU IT DOSNT WORK" And it just costs our citizens lives etc.