Mobile Madness

If you've seen my Twitter feed or Facebook page, you'll know I'm not a fan of those who chose to use their mobile phone for either making calls or texting whilst driving.  Today whilst out and about in Harrogate I saw new levels of this behaviour and the thing is that it seems to be getting worse.  This is ironic really as the fines for those caught using their phones whilst driving have recently increased from £60 to £90 as well as landing the guilty party with 3 penalty points.  The worst offenders seem to be the drivers of large 4x4s who are willing to shell out £60,000 on a vehicle but are either to thrifty to shell out on a hands-free device, or are to stupid to understand how such a device works.




In legal terms, the illegality of using your phone is spelled out in Rule 149 of that long-forgotten publication, The Highway Code.  It states "you MUST exercise proper control of your vehicle at all times. You MUST NOT use a hand-held mobile phone, or similar device, when driving or when supervising a learner driver, except to call 999 in a genuine emergency when it is unsafe or impractical to stop. Never use a hand-held microphone when driving. Using hands-free equipment is also likely to distract your attention from the road. It is far safer not to use any telephone while you are driving or riding - find a safe place to stop first or use the voicemail facility and listen to messages later".   Now I didn't make this up and in fact it forms part of the Road Traffic Act of 1988 which is what you'd be prosecuted against if caught.




The first mystery for me is why so many people think this law doesn't apply to them.  The worst offenders are probably nice respectable people who would never drop litter or piss in the street yet somehow for them, using their phones whilst driving is acceptable.  It makes perfect sense to me - if you are in charge of a ton of metal, i.e. a car, surely you'd want to be in full control of that without any distractions?  There are now an increasing number of collisions and injuries to pedestrians caused by the use of mobiles being used when driving yet the usage continues unabated.




The second thing that I find odd is what are these people talking/texting about?  How important must these conversations and messages be that they are prepared to risk a £90 fine and 3 points on their licences?  Are these life and death conversations? Or are they just trivial bollocks?  Have we become so immersed in the use of phones that we can't leave them alone for any length of time, including whilst driving?  Is it a sense of self-importance? Whatever the reason it genuinely concerns me that people are prepared to risk prosecution and potentially injure themselves and others just for the sake of some call or message which could probably wait.  Thankfully NY Police are now fairly proactive in prosecuting drivers and long may this continue until the message gets through.  The odd thing is that everyone knows it's wrong and on the several occasions where I've challenged people they've looked very sheepish and guilty and stopped using the device at once.  However, I've also been told to fuck off and mind my own business but as you probably know I love a good debate.




This is not one of my usual light-hearted rants - it is something which I feel really strongly about.  I have been unfortunate enough to witness a fatal road collision and had to give evidence at the ensuing coroner's inquest - I can tell you that the impact road-related deaths have on families is beyond devastating.  Everyone thinks, it's only a few seconds but those few seconds are time enough for a child to run into the road, for the car in front to stop suddenly or the cyclist to pull out in front of you at a junction.  So, next time you feel tempted to pick up that mobile phone whilst behind the wheel or your car/van/truck/mobility scooter or cycle, ask yourself.....is my reason for making this call or sending this text a genuine emergency?  If not, put it down and sing along to the radio instead, take some deep breaths, and ask yourself, what did I do before I had an iphone?  Don't do it people, you know it makes sense.

My Leg has gone blue and dropped off. Am I ill?

Don't people have friends any more?  The popularity of social media, and in particular community-type pages on Facebook has lead to people apparently becoming reliant on asking complete strangers for advice.  Whether they actually take this advice remains to be seen but one Facebook group I was added to recently is monumentally cringeworthy in terms of what is being shared.

I think if I had a problem which was personal or health-related, I would speak to a family member, friend or a doctor.  However, it seems any topic is fair game for open discussion and in the past week or so the questions asked have included abortion, domestic violence, contraception and some specific health issues which in some cases were of a very personal nature.  Some of the questions are beyond shocking and show the sharp decrease in the levels of common sense people appear to have these days.  Do the contributors have no one to turn to in their lives to discuss this stuff with?  Or do they think they will get more balanced views from strangers or Facebook "friends"?

So, once the questions have been asked, the fun starts and the answers flood in by the dozen.  Some are genuine and well-reasoned, others are downright bizarre and then there are others which are either rude, wrong or hilariously sarcastic and facetious.  In some ways, I get the piece about sharing experiences - if someone has been through something and learned from it then this tends to be a positive of such groups.  However, what scares the shit out of me is the propensity to ask health-related questions as happened this week when someone posted a picture of some form of skin rash.  Suddenly everyone on Facebook became a doctor and chipped in with not only a diagnosis, but a suggested cure, and prognosis.  Now, bear in mind the type of questions being asked, and the level of intellect of some of those asking questions, my fear is that these same people are now giving out advice. Medical advice.  And suggesting drugs and medication.  Call me old-fashioned, but don't we have the NHS for this sort of thing?  And there are NHS resources online which can be accessed using the same computer or smartphone the questioners are using to access Facebook.  This being the case, why on earth would people turn to random strangers for medical advice?  There was even a women this week wanting to "borrow" a certain brand of contraceptive pill as she had run out.  I thought everyone knew that taking any form of medication prescribed for anyone other than the intended user was fraught with danger.  Clearly not.

I've almost clicked on the button to leave this particular group but the sad thing is I find it a little addictive and mildly amusing and there are some positives to it in terms of recommendations for local businesses.  At the same time, it is also absolutely terrifying that grown men and women are now so feckless and apparently reliant on social media to get through day-to-day life.  Used properly, I think there is a place for such groups but they have a very dark underbelly which shows that society in 2014 is a bit of a sick puppy.  Does anyone know what's wrong with my puppy? Answers via Facebook please!