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Talking while driving

1K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  monokitty 
#1 ·
OK, I got a $155.00 fine today because the Officer said I was talking while driving... crazy thing is I hadn't used my phone for the last 30 +/- minutes prior to the time stamp on the ticket. I showed him my phone noting the actual time of my last com. and he suggested that I probably erased it. I also suggested that he may have seen me taking a sip of my "Timmy's"... thats when he got sarcastic and said " unless you drink with your ear, blah blah blah". So I'm not overly impressed with the way they can so easily hand out tickets for this offense. This one will be going to court...its the principle of the thing. Hey if I was actually using my phone I'd pay the fine, but in this case I didn't even have the phone in my hand.
Anyone else?
 
#2 ·
I don't understand ............. you were talking to someone in the car, or to yourself, and got a ticket???? NL has a ban on driving and using the phone in your hand, but not for talking.
 
#3 ·
It should be a relatively simple matter to provide a copy of your cell phone statement proving that you were not on your phone at the time.

Unfortunately, you will likely have to show up in court to do it. Loss of a day at work at the minimum.
 
#5 ·
Just to finish off the story; after I pulled away from the officer I found myself resting my left elbow on the window sill (steering with my right) and my head/ear somewhat resting in my hand, ( I think I do this more often) so maybe thats what he thought was me talking on a phone... Bottom line is; I'm not guilty of the offence, and with my detailed billing from Telus, I should be able to win the good fight.
 
#10 ·
Innocent until proven guilty, my friend. He assumes he saw you holding a cellphone, but he could well be mistaken. Were you driving dangerously? Were you driving without due care and attention? What tipped him off?

You may want to look at a hands-free option. I don't know that bluetooth is all that much better since you're still blocking one ear and losing the stereo spatial perception from your ears (which helps detect the location of sounds like, say, ambulances).

I use the headphone out on my iPhone and plug it into the cassette adapter for my car stereo. I then mount the iPhone to the windshield with one of those suction cup thingies. I can hear the person's voice I'm speaking to on the car stereo speakers and speak through the air to the iPhone.

In a noisier environment (highway driving, for example), I hold the iPhone upside down with one hand and talk into it like it's a CB radio. Last I checked, CB radios weren't against the law yet.
 

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#7 ·
Yep, and they must get so tired of hearing these excuses.

I used a real life example as a teaching opportunity last weekend. My Mom, daughter and I were shopping for some things my Mom needed in Red Deer (I am not familiar with Red Deer, but was using a GPS system to navigate around).

We located the store we wanted, was overjoyed to see a parking space right on the street in front and swooped in to grab the spot.

After being in the store less than 10 minutes (quickly discovering that they didn't have what was needed) I walked out to find a parking control officer writing a ticket for me. This back street has paid parking? What? Oh no...now taking a good look around, I saw the metering system. Groan.

I walked up to the officer, grinned and said, "I'm guessing you are writing a ticket for this red one" pointing to my vehicle.

"Yep," he said, "The meter is flashing; I write a ticket."

"Yeah, OK, I was only in there for 10 minutes or less - I didn't even see the meters when I went in. Sorry."

"I can't tell how long the meters have been flashing for, only that they are flashing." he tells me, still writing away.

I said, "Yeah, who knows how long mine's been flashing because I never put any money in it at all. The space was empty when I drove up and I just pulled into it and went into the store without looking around close enough..... I'm toast." and held out my hand for the ticket he just ripped off his pad.

He laughed at the "toast" part, crumpled up the ticket and said, "Ok, this time it's a warning."

(Pheww!) Thanks!

Then when in the car I asked my teen (who was watching the whole conversation wide eyed - Mom's getting BUSTED!) for her thoughts on why the Parking officer let me off with a warning.

She answered, "Because he was nice?"

I agreed, that was probably a factor, but added that I thought it might also be because I didn't give him any attitude, argument or excuses. I just told him the truth, admitted my responsibility and was prepared to accept my penalty.

Saved me $35.
 
#16 ·
Talking on a cell phone while driving should be outlawed completely - period.
I don't know how many near misses I had in Montreal lately because some idiot is on his cell phone not watching where he/she is going - or they sit in front of a green light holding up traffic because they are so busy yapping that the didn't realize the light changed.
If you need to make a call, pull over to a safe place and talk there instead of endagering everyone else on the road.
Montreal drivers are rather aggressive - talking on the phone and not paying attention to the traffic is just a lousy idea.
People should really have enough common sense not to do that.
And using a handsfree system doesn't help - it's not holding the phone with one hand that's the issue, it's the distraction of the conversation.
And before someone jumps in with the "listen to the radio" or "talking to a passenger" comment.
Those are totally different 'distractions' - that has already been studied to death.
 
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