pwa wrote: ... Yes.I did ask my friend why he didn't challenge it. I would have challenged it if it had been me. A properly parked vehicle, with the handbrake on, poses no hazard to anyone, whether the engine is running or not. Some people run the engine whilst parked to keep warm. Are they committing an offence by using the phone? A bit of common sense is needed here.
Having just read your tale about the MP, I suspect that had they attracted official attention, that's just the line they themselves would have taken. The cases taken to appeal are not necessarily those with most merit and even less common sense: if there's waggle room, somebody with the £££ will wriggle. I used the expression "well and truly parked" but that's hardly a legal term.
Let's agree that driving along, whether moving or stationary in traffic phone use should be banned. The issue then is at what point after stopping does the driver stop being the driver? The end of the journey is obvious, but stopping merely to take a call is more of a problem, since although they are probably safer stationary than driving, their judgment on what is OK will be influenced by things like the pressing need to answer the phone.
It's obvious to me that a lot of drivers must think that if they are not actually moving, it doesn't matter what they are doing, including texting.
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PS
Just found this on the news of a bin lorry driver on the move while on the phone after being requested to desist by a passenger, which shows how brazen some are. I'd also have said that with colleagues working round the vehicle with potentially dangerous machinery, that's not a place for a phone, even with the vehicle stationary.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-le ... e-38808255