Texting + driving = $1,800 ticket

You already know you're not supposed to be texting while driving—or watching TV and driving, or talking on the phone while driving, or pretty much anything else while driving—but in South Wales the fine for getting caught sending an SMS while on the road just jumped from £30 to £1000 (that's about $1,800). Even despite their long-range texter-finder cameras and tight road monitoring, ultimately we don't see how they can really enforce this law (what, you can't text with one hand without looking?).

[Thanks, Richard]

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Not that I'd condone the practice, but those that _can_ text one handed without looking aren't the real problem. It's the ones who clearly have to divert 95% of their mental capacity to the task of texting that are the problem. They're pretty easy to spot (assuming there are any real policeman around in this camera infested world), and hopefully they're the ones that'll be fined until they stop.

[Locarius @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Should the sign not say "NO texting..." instead of "Avoid texting..."?

[Blue Balloon @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Locarius, you're talk about different English English.

[nemi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

These signs and laws in the UK are a result of multiple fatalities a year or two ago caused by a tractor unit + trailer plowing into stationery cars (in gridlock) and it was later discovered the driver was SMS-ing at the time.

The ban on the use of mobile phones while driving was another result of this tragedy, only wireless hands free talking is allowed during driving, with NO use of the main phone during ANY aspect of making a call (activation button on the headset is the only allowable control and you have to obviously use voice commands).

These laws are very enforceable, a police man only has to see you in a car (stationery in gridlock or otherwise) using a phone and you will be pulled over, as you are not allowed to be using it for SMSing or calls while driving. Warrants for data on cell traffic from the network on the alleged cell phone would also be sought for any court case.

The UK's quick and blanket response to matters of road safety are probably partly responsible for the UK having half the automotive related deaths (per 100'000 of population) than the USA (according to the "economist" in an issue last year). So much for "unsafe" small cars and a higher (70mph) speed limit.

[nemi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Oh I forgot to add, for many years or even decades the UK has had a law for "drivign without due care and attention", this has been useable at teh Polices descresion and has been applied to people doing anything in the car that seriously distracts attention from driving. IIRC a few eyars ago a woman was prosicuted for opening and drinking a bottle of water whiel driving. (I can sympathise, those tamper seals can be real akward).

[simmons @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

nemi - good post.

But just for the record, most of the USA has at least a 70mph speed limit (outside of cities). In my state (Colorado) and many other nearby states, it's 75mph.

[Timmah!!! @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

simmons, not nearly most of the country has a 70 MPH limit. most is 65 or under, unless youre out in the middle of absolute nowhere, then its 70 or 75. on my cross country trips i run into mostly 65 MPH limits, i would say at least 70% of the time. regardless, texting (or using a phone) while driving is just dumb.

[simmons @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Timmah: I routinely make road trips across the country. Most of the USA is 70mph or higher.

Check out this web site that lists speed limits in each state:

http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/laws.html

Only 19 states have speed limits under 70. And most of those are small states. An enormous chunk of the country out west has a 75mph speed limit.

[Eagle @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

It's the difference between living in a free country and an unfree one, though. To me, the quality of life defecit created by double the auto accidents of the UK is more than made up for by the freedom of not having the cops pull me over on "driving without due care." YMMV.

[Boynamedsue @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I live in california, that website says 70, but i've yet to run into an interstate that was above 65.

I wonder how many states actively put their maximum as the standard. The last state i lived in was michigan and the 70 maximum was pretty standard.

where as when driving through places like Oklahoma, the maximum may be 75, but i only saw it posted in BFE.

so i think there may be a discrepancy between maximum and what is standard.

[simmons @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

I've noticed this discrepancy (between the maximum speed limit and what is commonly posted) about California as well. I've seen this in some other states as well, although I think most states generally post the maximum in most areas outside cities.

Of course, much of America is, indeed, BFE. Most interior western states (where "rural" means "desolate") always post the maximum outside of cities. This is also the case in most of the Deep South, where rural areas are actually quite settled. In contrast, I do seem to recall North Carolina having way too many 65mph areas for a 70mph state, but it's been a few years since I've been there.

What I'm really curious about is exactly where 70mph speed limits are posted in the UK. I've never had a car when I've been to the UK, so I don't have a good feel for where motorways are with respect to cities, or if they lower the speed limit on motorways in urban areas.

[Andy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Use your mobile OR drive. It's one at a time, else it's dangerous. Even talking on a hands free kit can talk your mind off the road.

[Pacey @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

#10. I live in MI now, and while the "posted" speed limit is 65 or 70 (depending on freeway) I don't know of one highway that doesn't regularly travel at 75-80 and sometimes certain whole sections of the freeway travel at 85-90 mph.

[nemi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

#9, you are free to go drive a car on your own land and try SMSing the UK, it is the idiots not paying attention and killing OTHER PEOPLE on PUBLIC ROADS that is objectional.

You may accept the risks and freedoms, your victims famillies proabably will not.

[Andy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

#11, You won't see a 70 sign in UK. You may see a "derestricted" sign (white sign, black circle with diagonal line through it), which tells you may drive at the maximum speed that's permitted for that road. How do you know what that speed is? It's drummed in to you when you study for your driving test in UK.

We have dual carriageways (roads with a median). 70mph unless otherwise posted.
We have motorways (you know when you're on one of these, big blue signs tell you when you areentereing one, all the road signage is in blue, and there are blue signs that make it clear when you're leaving one. 70mph unless otherwise posted.
Regular roads (no median) are 60mph unless otherwise posted.
Roads in built up areas (ie with street lights placed close together) are 30mph unless posted.

There are plenty of signs telling you the speed limit, and (it seems) almost as many speed cameras to make sure you comply.

[Trejkaz @ Dec 19th 2005 1:03AM]

Luckily, most of us don't "text"... whatever that is. We SMS instead.