Digweed .. ;\) said:mouseorgan tried to scribble ...
Quoted message said:Digweed .. ;) said:mouseorgan tried to scribble ...
> .... setting off up the hill was not the best idea. Within 20 seconds while trying to answer my
> mobile phone I managed to topple over sideways,
So it's not just drivers who are [censored] with mobiles then ?
Sad to say ....but you're right. But I think it would look more twatish (is this a real word)
with a handsfree ear piece in - a bit to Lance in the TDF for me.
Doesn't matter what you use .. using a mobile phone is a distraction to any road user, whether it's
hands free or using hands .. Or so drivers keep getting told.
Depends on the driver & the circumstances. In general, it is bloody stupid and dangerous to be
chatting away on a mobile phone whilst driving - especially if the driver is holding the phone in
one hand and gesticulating with the other. Steering with the knees is unacceptable.
If the driver is using a good hands-free kit and can concentrate on the job at hand - the driving -
then a phone call is no more dangerous than a conversation in a car with any passenger. If they have
trouble with talking to the passenger, they most certainly shouldn't even take a mobile with 'em!
Before anyone jumps down my throat about that, I don't drive.
I do, however, observe the habits of drivers and, around where I live, many drivers should have
their phones taken off them and shoved somewhere - just as women doing their makeup in the rear view
or guys drinking from big mugs of coffee with both hands whilst pulling away from traffic lights
early in the morning. I've even seen someone putting a tie on whilst driving at speed. Shouldn't
even get points on their licenses - should just tear the thing up!
Quoted message said:Are you so good that it isn't a distraction .. oh no, you fell off while using it ...
I'm honestly glad you didn't get hurt, or cause anyone else to get hurt, but it does annoy me that
so many folk seem to [censored] 'cagers' off for doing exactly what you've done, yet the rest of this
thread is offering further advice on products to use phones while cycling.
I was told about a case which mounts on the bars. This means I don't have to reach to my waist and
see who is calling while I ride - I can glance down, as I would at my speedo, and not take my
concentration from riding my bike. Anything that makes my life and that of those about me a little
bit safer is a good thing. I also am in the habit of not continuing a conversation if I'm about to
hit major traffic or some such.
My gear changes are controlled from my brake levers. I'm planning to put a trigger switch above one
of these levers so I can answer calls, ignore calls (which bounce straight to my home answerphone)
or make voice dialled calls, again, without compromising my safety.
I also want to get the same kinda setup for my PMR so when I go cycling with friends, we can talk to
each other without having to shout back & forth up the line, which would sometimes mean turning in
the saddle to be heard - thereby maybe ending up as another statistic after wandering offline in the
road and getting squashed by a truck (or something).
Quoted message said:It appears some cyclists have double standards, or are of the opinion that others should do as they
say, not as they do.
Well, I never use a phone while I drive 🙂 I do take calls for people who do if I'm in a car with
them. Usually by request.
Not double standards - not always, and not by all. Sometimes sensible. Sometimes planned.
Gary
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