HEADS UP - Police Blitz on Eating/Drinking while driving

[ijustatecurry]

They way it's going i wouldnt be surprised

[bd-850]

i think its fair, how many times will you spill your food, then have to look down to see where it landed, or spill your drink and look down. cant find the cup holder so have to look down. the food has moved around on the seat so you have to look down to see where it went.

its not so much the taking hands of the wheel, but eyes off the road.

but i think they need to focus on the more annoying stuff rather than create new ones, DRLs, Foglights. High beams on during the day. ILLEGAL

but ahh well

[Mizta B]

But how will I survive those long trips to Temora now?????

[bd-850]

i can answer the "How do i survive the trip home?" Not Drink as much

[ijustatecurry]

They way its going i wouldnt be surprised

Oops, meant to say "the" way it's going. Geez it's hard to be on CCJ and drive

[Tillllasam]

Does it apply to those who puts make up on while driving?

[The X]

First off here's the TL;DR version if you don't like reading. "new" laws claim is bull crap, no sources cited...

Have to love the panicked word of mouth of social media ....
Settle down children.
We have no citation of what source this "new laws" claim came from. Last I checked ACT and NSW are two different jurisdictions, they can't make laws for each other. ACT's not even a proper state, it's a special administrative area with limited powers. :\

ACT/Federal Police were just "targetting" this sort of behaviour in August - nothing about new laws?
http://www.police.act.gov.au/media-cent ... source=rss

in NSW well there was this released this week no new laws just a blitz.
http://www.caradvice.com.au/191165/poli ... ety-blitz/ That would explain the heavy HWP presence out in western sydney the last few days as I was getting a lot of chatter on my twitter and FB feeds.

.... however I do see the logic of these laws (if they are "new" or even exist specifically and not already covered by existing legislation), even though they may by a bit "nanny state" this is due to your's and your fellow driver's poor behaviour and attitudes to driving. Lump it.
If you are not using both hands for driving related activities, then that's just stupid. Add to that not mentally 100% concentrating on driving but doing "the other task" or even taking your eyes off the road.

Those who moan about having a drink, I guess this will most be true when driving on long trips, on highways, at 110km/h? When you sip out of the bottle, you're looking at the roof, not the road. How many seconds does it take for you to take a decent gulp. Say 15 seconds? You've travelled 500m in that time frame.... Great, so driving with your eyes closed for 500m anywhere is pretty stupid. But okay, because it's you and your posses awesome driving skills, right?

You cannot have a government with any credibility maintain the line that "holding a mobile phone in your hand, texting, facebooking" is unsafe, but holding a burger in your hand or bottle of water is "okay". It's contradictory. You still have one hand unable to be used for steering in an emergency situation. Yes, I know some people will over look this factoid and prefer to bemoan the evil nanny state imposing it's evil doctrine us us poor little people. It's more cool to be ignorant and misinformed than get the facts.

I can't see a "public backlash" happening. The Australian electorate are for the most part, lazy and apathetic who have more in common to a herd of sheep than anything else. Calling up your local talk back radio station or bitching on a forum/twitter/FB is not being politically engaged. Perhaps call/email your local MP if you think increasing your crash risk is OK. Heck, ask them to allow everyone to drink drive too, while we are at it.

The National Traffic commission has made addressing driver behaviour/attitudes a high priority ...

Perhaps read (or skim thru) this report from Dept of Infrastructure and Transport... compiled by some academics... www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/ ... 010001.pdf
It's prety comprehensive, they've look at distractions by drivers and passengers, and all sorts of interactions, electronic devices, grooming, getting things out of bags/compartments, etc. It's a good read. I've skimmed through it, but I doubt it's going to contradict my position on this.

[RAwannabe]

Australian Government always overreacted to these small things, cops should be out there fighting crimes instead of focusing on revenue generating. Could that because Politicians need to meet their KPI for contribution to new laws every year?
eg: a kid jump out to the middle of a 100k road somewhere on the way to the blue mountains and got killed, the whole section became 50k, 50k suddenly in the middle of 100k road and has camera to catch people speeding? that's nothing about safety, that pure greed!!! shouldn't the Government spend money on educating kids not to jump out of roads and freeway instead of putting cameras in place?
just last week a drunk truck driver hit a school bus and kill one of the kids or something, now all school bus should have seat bells in every seat? who is going to pay for it? tax payers? the problem is from the drunk truck driver, not the school bus you idiot. they are keep looking for ways to suck us dry. I bet this new law of no eating and drinking will cause more accident on freeways than saving lives.

[empror]

Thanks for clarification pete. Was trying to find those type of articles but wasnt having mich luck, hence i asked on fb.

[Dirtee]

I do believe I over reacted with the new law crap haha but Don't be quick to judge Pete, because its happening in NSW too

[squala]

I think it should all depend on what food you're eating in the first place. It's gone as dumb as a girl actually having a bowl of cereal with milk on her lap while driving. This causes utmost distraction and must be apprehended. But if it's just a sandwich or chips, that should be ok as you still have the other hand for the wheel and your eyes can focus on the road just the same.

[Dirtee]

heres the story a read after i got told about it all.

A bit more extreme...

Police Fines Brisbane Driver $250 for Eating McDonald’s Hotcakes While Behind the Wheels

[Momengah]

when i meant eating its really just snacks. like lollies etc. I wouldnt expect people to have like a full on steak or something while driving. that would just be a little bit silly But as for drinking... i've never actually tilted my head full on up to drink... i find myself choking if i did that... i have mastered that art of drinking while eyes are still on the road

I can see your points though Pete. And in some ways i can agree to them. But I think it's really a fine line and in the end it all comes down to the situation. For example - what if youre having a major coughing fit or soemthing and a drink of water is the only way to stop it. I'm sure we've all been there.

[bunnishiwa]

Whilst you are entitled to your opinion Pete I do think your comments regarding driver distraction are a little harsh and more representative of scare mongering you would find in the media.

To compare using a mobile device to basic eating or drinking is like comparing apples to oranges. A mobile device demands repeat attention, which for anyone generally involves looking at it for periods longer than they realise and not focusing on the road. I do not need to pay attention to the bottle of water I sip from, or the chip that I eat and maintain road/eye contact at all times (and who on earth looks at the ceiling for 15 seconds sipping water???). Also, to comment 'Heck, ask them to allow everyone to drink drive too, while we are at it' is worthy of a Herald Sun opinion piece.

Even if we look at hands on the wheel, I strongly believe that one hand + full attention is no less safe than two hands and full attention, as long as you can return your other hand to the wheel quickly if required. This can be simply demonstrated (as already commeted on) by the fact that most peeps have to change gear and so have their hand away from the steering wheel.

The problem with drives such as this (and I appreciate that the original post was mis-informed) is that they are targetting the wrong types of behaviour and at the wrong time. Driver education is awful in this country. Getting parents to teach their kids for a 100hrs is a joke - teach all their bad habits is what is happening. Lane discipline, tailgating and general good couteous driving is what needs to be taught to dramatically improve road safety and reduce the general daily stress driving that we all take for granted in this country.

Problem for the authorities is that they can't make revenue off these things..........

My 10 cents


PS - anyone putting make up on, driving with a frosted wingscreen, shaving (seen it ), turning round to shout at kids, talking incessently and looking at person they are talking to/at need to be taken off the road and preferably shot....

[RyanMK]

Drinking out of a bottle while keeping your eyes on the road isnt really that hard to do. There isn't a need to take your eye off the road at all.