Ooh, it’s been a while since I had a proper rant, so I reckon it’s about time I unleashed the beast again (bottling up all this pent-up fury isn’t good for me), and thankfully, a story’s popped up online today that’s like manna from heaven. Y’see, I have many, many bugbears, as people know. Mobile phones ringing in the cinema. Annoying, jewelleryed up kids in my pub, playing Jay-Z ringtones louder than the jukebox. And on the flipside, of course, people who say mobile phones are evil, and those who say you can cook an egg with a phone.
They all get on my nerves so very, very much…
But only one of my bugbears has come close to killing me, and that’s the “guy who’s using his mobile phone while driving”. Well, today’s rant is about a guy in Australia who, according to the Herald Sun, got nicked (and rightly so) for using TWO separate mobile phones while he was driving, one in each hand, but who said it was ok, because he had one finger on the wheel at all times.
Needless to say, the guy who collared him, Acting Sergeant Rob Atkinson, didn’t see it that way, and essentially nicked him twice, once for dangerous driving and once for using a mobile phone while driving.
And I say GOOD. Because there are a number of things that just boggle the mind, here. First up, is the fact the guy who got nicked was using two phones. Er, what? One of them not dangerous enough for you? Oh, and then there was the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard, when he said he needed to transfer info across from one phone to the other. Oh, but it was all ok, because he kept his little finger on the wheel at all times.
Bing! Two fixed penalty notices, amounting to six points on his licence and a $500 fine!
I mean come on. It says something about how awesome the guy with the two phones thinks he is, if he thinks he can drive perfectly with his little finger. Oh, and that’s not to mention the fact that whatever info he was transferring couldn’t wait till he wasn’t driving. Personally, if I was the officer on scene (and I think you’ll see, from the next sentence, why it’s a good idea for me not to be a copper), I’d have dragged him out of the car, and administered a fixed penalty notice by means of the first blunt instrument I could lay my hands on.
Seriously, if you’re driving, don’t use your phone. It’s bleedin’ stupid. And certainly don’t use two phones, that’s just silly, bordering on ‘wtf’ territory. I know, I know, you’re an important guy, and you can obviously drive with just one finger, your knees, and the power of your indomitable mind (because you’re beyond awesome, obviously), but seriously, pack it in, you’re impressing no-one.
If it’s really that important you make a call while you’re driving (and let’s be honest, if you think you’re that important, you’re really not… take it from me, I think I’m completely awesome, but objective views from regular commenters will tell you I’m really not), then get a Bluetooth headset. Or better yet, a proper car kit. If it really matters that much to you, all us normal people ask is that you do it safely, so you don’t drive your car through our faces…
Do you hate people using the phone when they’re driving? Leave us a comment and have your say!