Oh god... here I go... as a motorcyclist (sorry) this is something that is utterly frightening.

I'm out there on the road doing my fu-cking damndest to make sure that I'm driving defensively and predictably, kind of just trying to ensure that I see my wife and twi girls that evening.

I'm at standing height next to your window, so I can see right in there while you text and check Facebook whilst piloting a 2 ton machine at upwards of 100kph.

The mind boggles at just how common this is, I'd say one in three on some days. At highway speeds.

It ain't right peeps.

I'm not a motorcyclist, but there's no way I'd do it now. People pay so little attention to what they do. And people get in their cars and they think they're the only ones in existence (except who they're texting); not courtesy at all.

I'm curious where you live and whether it is illegal to use your phone while driving wherever you are.

Not OP. In my state, it is illegal, but we're pansies, and so a cop can't stop you for it - they can only cite you if they pull you over for something else.

You may be interested in this site that summarizes the state of the U.S. with regards to cellphone usage while driving laws: http://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/cellular-phone-u...

Summary:

Hand-held Cell Phone Use Ban: 14 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving.

All Cell Phone ban: No state bans all cell phone use for all drivers, but 37 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by novice or teen drivers, and 20 states and D.C. prohibit any cell phone use for school bus drivers.

Text Messaging ban: 46 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers.

-2 states prohibit text messaging by novice or teen drivers. -3 states restrict school bus drivers from texting.

South Africa. Totally illegal.

If caught you you can be stopped and your phone impounded for one week and released only upon payment of a fine.

There was a news report recently indicating that only a very small percentage of these phones are ever recovered from the police which ties in with the stereotype for this kind of behaviour: Porsche SUV, Chanel sunglasses, ten spare phones at home.

Is it legal in any state?

Yes, some cell phone use/distracted driving is allowed for adults in most states[0], but most states do not allow 'young drivers' to use a cell phone at all[1]; and texting is specifically banned or partially banned for all drivers in all but two states (Montana and Arizona)[2].

[0]http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/cellphonelaws/maphandhe...

[1]http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/cellphonelaws/mapyoungc...

[2]http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/cellphonelaws/maptextin...

Oh man, that feeling when you're stopped at a traffic light or an accident causes a sudden slowdown, and in your rearview mirror the car behind you is coming in way too fast but the driver isn't even looking because there's something on his or her lap that's more important. Or the people who think they have a heads-up display because they're holding the phone at the top of the steering wheel while typing on it. The thing that makes it extra scary is that you really can't do a dang thing about it once you're on the road next to these people. Like in the sudden-stop scenario, I try to leave a bit of extra space in front of me and have sometimes needed to use it to give extra stopping space to the texter behind me, but sometimes you're really packed in and all you can do is cross your fingers that the person will finish the message and look up in time.

I'll check my messages at a traffic light, or flick to the next song whilst driving. I don't see any particular danger in these things (apart from possibly angering the poor bugger behind me if I'm slow to notice the lights change). Much like ye olden days of changing a cassette or tuning the radio - there are times and place to pay less attention. People just need to be sensible.

Do that in the UK in front of a police officer, and expect several points on your licence and a fine.

You're only allowed to use a distracting device in similar circumstances as you are allowed to be drunk. Arguing with an officer that you are parked by the side of the road is not sufficient if for example you have the engine on. In some circumstances just sitting in the driver's seat while in possession of the keys and drunk is enough for a conviction.

The idea that using my iPod to play music results in a completely different response to using my iPhone despite the mechanism being functionally identical is laughable. I don't need to look at the screen to queue up the next song on shuffle, it's also no different from hitting next on the cd player...

I also use google maps on my phone as a sat nav (audio only is plenty effective to get me places). Again, this is somehow dangerous and illegal to be using but the same behaviour with an actual sat nav, which in my experience is far more labourious to set a destination on, is fine.

I am, of course, aware of the law (I'm in the UK). However in this case the law is an ass. "Driving without due care and attention" properly covers every eventuality.

I wonder if this law will sit around ad infinitum whilst we ignore the ever more complicated computers sat on the centre console just as (if not more) distracting than a phone...

It is just as illegal to drive distracted by a satnav as it is to drive distracted by an iphone in the UK. If you're holding it in your hand or looking away from the road to use it, then it is illegal.

Even if you aren't holding it in your hand of looking away from the road, but are significantly distracted, you can be prosecuted under the "Driving without due care attention" law as you state.

> It is just as illegal to drive distracted by a satnav as it is to drive distracted by an iphone in the UK.

Correct. However it is illegal to use a phone without being distracted dangerously, whilst using a satnav without being distracted dangerously is perfectly safe.

The Driving without due care and attention is a perfect catch all for dealing with bad driving behaviour. You can be done for eating crisps as easily as using a sat nav. The specific "using a mobile phone whilst behind the wheel of a car is 6 points on your license + a fine" is completely disproportionate in terms of what behaviours it implicitly approves (such as using sat nav safely whilst not moving) and the burden of proof (requiring the user to be "unsafe").

The reality is that policemen (of whom there are simply not enough) have discretion and a bit of common sense most of the time and use the tools at their disposal to punish people for driving badly whilst using their phone. This is good. I fundamentally disagree with singling out unsafe mobile phone use in law, however.

As an American who recently did some driving around the UK: things are different there! The level of attention needed to drive safely in the UK is off the charts compared to the US with all the twisty, narrow roads, one-lane bridges, and limited visibility. I knew that shit was about to get real when I saw my first "Oncoming Traffic in Middle of Road" sign. Touching my phone while driving never entered my mind—that was all outsourced to my wife in the passenger seat.

I guess I'm glad I don't live there! A parked car is a perfect place to have a phone call or queue up tunes for the ride. A stop light, not so much.

Are you not allowed to use Maps for navigation too?

I drive but rarely, and finally had a chance last month to use my phone's voice-prompted turn-by-turn navigation mode. It was great! Like any human navigator I've ever worked with, except never hesitant or uncertain and always on the ball with the next turn well in advance of reaching it.

I really have no idea why anyone would want to navigate by looking at a moving map display. If you know where you're going, you're far better off to keep your eyes on the road and use the voice prompts to get there. If you don't know where you're going - well, that's a bigger problem, and one that no navigation system will solve.

When traversing an intersection with odd angles often the voice prompt will say something like "slight right" for the road I think of as straight ahead, or vice versa. A glance at the map clears these up.

Mine did that a couple of times even in the short route on which I tried it out. I didn't have trouble understanding what was meant, because the configuration of the intersections made only one interpretation sensible. I can see how that might not be true in all cases, but I'm not sure the occasional disambiguation is worth the distraction of a visible moving map display.

There's one road the gps says "take exit 36" then at the last possible second it says "keep left" which is exit 35 (they share an exit ramp).

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people doing it are never spotted by police officers. I walk to work most days, and I can't remember the last time I didn't see at least one person (usually it's at least half a dozen on a 30 minute walk) texting while driving.

This morning, as I dropped my daughter off at school, some woman pulled off from the side of the road and drove about 30 yards before bothering to look up to see if there were any kids crossing.

Do anything in a car in the UK and you can expect several points on your licence. They don't even have to be in front of you any more: they just record it on a camera

You have to be kidding. Every week I see people crawl past while using apps, I have never seen a police officer do anything about it.

Flicking to the next song whilst driving - if you dont see any particular danger in that it may be worth having a look at this recent event in the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37823457

Family killed by a truck driver doing exactly this, including dashcam footage showing how quickly this happens if you are distracted for even a tiny amount of time. Very scary.

Timing at high speed has a lot to do with it, and lots of things can distract drivers from the road but the margin of error is slim here and so it seems very reasonable to legislate against this.

That's a hypothesis, not a conclusion. There could be numerous factors. That said, I agree that it's likely that phones are a contributing factor.

What is true? You're presenting anecdotal evidence. It doesn't give proof to the headline OP is disputing.

How many days in a row do I need to see this anecdotal evidence for it to be valid? At this point I'm up to probably a year solid of seeing folks fiddle with their phone instead of watching where they drive on my twelve minute commute.

I think you're exaggerating.