r/motorcycles • u/Low-Dragonfruit9646 • 16h ago

Doing everything right and still getting taken out

You can ride perfectly and still get hit by someone staring at their phone. Watch your mirrors and always leave yourself an escape path. Stay safe out there.
Location somewhere in turkey

4.0k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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894

u/prizzle92 '19 MT-09, '09 CBR1kkRR, '13 MSX, ‘15 R3, '99 CR125R 16h ago

Phone 

149

u/sephron_tanully 16h ago

I wonder if they ever forbid access to phones at all while driving. Would be kinda neat. Only possible to directly connect it to onboard systems and hefty fines if it isnt.

124

u/snuggie44 16h ago

Texting and taking on a phone while driving is forbidden - people do it anyway. Why would banning access to phones altogether make a difference?

41

u/TheConnectionist 15h ago

It would be effective if they dramatically increased the penalties with a mandatory minimum prison sentence and increased enforcement. A fine - the predominate current penalty - is insufficient to enforce any behavior.

Nobody would be on their phones while driving if they knew it was a 1 year mandatory minimum prison sentence and it was enforced by randomly placed cameras (Not advocating for such a steep penalty or invasive enforcement mechanism, just making a point).

20

u/Virtual-Macaroon-880 10h ago

People get 4-5 dui before anybody starts panicking and if they murder somebody they only get 5 years. Because negligent murder is somehow less scary than having a specific reason to do it

9

u/[deleted] 15h ago

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10

u/sephron_tanully 14h ago

Just FyI. I got a 3 day ban few weeks ago writing something more harmless then you just did. Be aware of what you write if you care about that.

-1

u/Haeronalda 14h ago

So they can get murdered when some arsehole rear-ends them at a roundabout? Smart 🙄

6

u/Blippy_Swipey 15h ago

While I share the sentiment, one has to consider that there are cops out there that will see (ok, everyone can make a mistake I guess) AND WRITE UP (wtf?!?!?) a ticket for holding your phone in your right hand even though you don’t have a right hand.

I mean, the lady was lucky(?) for not having a right hand. Imagine if she had, how do you fight that ticket. And then, the fine I suddenly prison!?!?

11

u/zorbat5 15h ago

Here in the Netherlands the fines are very hight. Doesn't work. 70% of young drivers have their phone in hand. I always wondered why cars don't have a slid in the drivers seat door where the driver has to put their phone in otherwise they can't drive the car.

15

u/madness_of_the_order 15h ago

Because you are only allowed to own one phone shaped thing

-2

u/zorbat5 14h ago

Get a NFC chip in the slid on usb-c connector so the car knows when a phone is in there.

7

u/Ratiofarming 13h ago

So? Put some cheap phone there and it'll always recognize a phone. It won't work.

3

u/louis_xl 12h ago

This would be great, because sometimes I forget my phone at home

0

u/bkbomber 11h ago

Something that detects biometrics would be more effective. Like if two hands aren’t on the wheel or if the driver’s eyes aren’t on the road… kinda like how unlocking your phone with Face ID doesn’t work unless you look up at the camera

3

u/J0bix 10h ago

Don't know if it's ironic or not. But that camera is now mandatory in Europe for newly manufactured cars. It checks if the driver is paying attention to road. Some systems are so strict. An alarm goes of when you check over your shoulder for blind spots. And guess what most people are against this kind of system

2

u/CariAll114 5h ago

If my car tries telling me that I'm not paying attention while I'm shoulder-checking or using my mirrors, I'm driving that car into the showroom of the nearest same-brand car dealership for an immediate refund of my full price of purchase. Not all hazards are immediately in front of you.

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u/zorbat5 10h ago

Those systems are becoming mandatory in EU. They are so bad and suck so hard...

1

u/bkbomber 2h ago

What do you suggest as a middle ground? Right now the options are inconvenienced drivers, or squid pancakes.

7

u/jeryz_ 14h ago

It's because monetary fines don't work, we're generally too wealthy here. I believe a driving ban for 6 months or more would be a better deterrent. I also wouldn't mind if they'd increase the fine from €440,- to something much, much higher.

9

u/MauriceEscargot 13h ago

There are too many people who keep driving with a driving ban or their license taken entirely. Actually having to spend your own free time to do community service sounds like it might work better.

6

u/shaju- 14h ago

Driving ban would yield instant results I think, even if for 1-3 months

4

u/akryl9296 くコ:彡 . . ส็(ಠ益ಠส็ 13h ago

What if you don't have a phone at all

4

u/Luuk341 13h ago

I am in favour of immediately having an attempted manslaughter charge slapped on to whoever uses a phone whilst driving. No ifs, buts, or maybe's. Go try to convince a judge that you DIDNT risk the lives and property of everyone around you when you took out your phone.

Also enforce, by law, that car manufacturers CANNOT display any text messages, or whatsapp, or slack, or teams, or ANY other non verbal communicatiob messages on ANY screen. I was sitting next to a friend in their new car and all their text messages just popped up on the screen CONSTANTLY.

2

u/SignatureFunny7690 12h ago

no way the police would abuse that

-3

u/Luuk341 12h ago

Why would they risk that when the case is 100% guaranteed to go infront of a judge. Thats an ENORMOUS risk for a police officer to mess with

1

u/Pietz0r 14h ago

Because there is almost 0 control. The chance of being pulled over is so low. Especially during rush hours when police have accidents etc to take care of

-2

u/zorbat5 14h ago

That's why a slid with USB-C connector or NFC chip would work. Phone is, car detects phone in that slid, start the car, slid closes until car is off.

4

u/heheyo91 13h ago

Like nobody would get a cheap secondary phone to put in the slid 👀

1

u/AyeBraine 12h ago

Come on, in a week there will be devices on AliExpress to plug the detector and make it think there's a phone in it. Just like seatbelt plugs.

1

u/No-Obligation1709 10h ago

There are seatbelt plugs? Ffs just wear your seatbelt lmao

1

u/AyeBraine 6h ago

I wear seatbelts. Seatbelt plugs are extremely popular in some countries.

1

u/Paul_the_surfer 10h ago

What if someone doesn't have the phone on them?

1

u/theroadbeyond 6h ago

How would the car know u have a phone vs a passenger?

1

u/Initial-Reading-2775 6h ago

So, the mobile phone becomes mandatory in order to drive. Now I know who works in government and writes dumb laws.

1

u/realSatanAMA 2h ago

Don't you also have net worth based fines there?

•

u/andrew0256 1h ago

Same in the UK.

0

u/Acceptable-Ad-9464 6h ago

They should take you license like drinking alcohol en take a mendatory driving course

-2

u/Healthy_Turnip7352 14h ago

the rich young kids, and some poor kids, will all buy another phone.

even before phones, tons of people rear-ended other people.

it's not just phones. The common thing is Human. Humans just should not be operating these vehicles all the damn times, all day, every day, every city on the planet.

2

u/Jt07132829 8h ago

Yeah we should encourage more monitoring and control. Just put flock cameras in our houses and cars. Give them control to see our phones connected. Teaching kids to be good and building culture where people give a f about others is too much and a job for the government.

3

u/Iamonreddit V-Strom 650 10h ago

Prison is such an expensive and silly idea. There are loads of cheaper alternatives that are much less likely to create more hardened criminals.

Litter picking and similar community service is an obvious option. House arrest with ankle bracelets would also be very disruptive to normal life. Pair that with a requirement to grant access to personal devices for monitoring as is done with sex offenders and you can restrict their use of their devices at times of day or to certain services/apps/websites under penalty of greater punishment.

Filling up prisons with relatively minor offences is just foolish vindictiveness that will create greater problems than it solves.

1

u/ProjectDv2 14h ago

No, it wouldn't. There is so much evidence that increasing severity of penalties does absolutely nothing to deter the crime from happening.

1

u/Exatex 14h ago

Not really. Do you know the current penalty in your country? Exactly. Would you know if they tripled it? Also no.

1

u/theroadbeyond 6h ago

It would have to be enforced it would be impossible to stop every person.

•

u/Call801 Suzuki gsf 650 S 39m ago

Unfortunately, the problem is that if you catch a bad-tempered police patrol, in the worst case you are two against one. I don't want to say that you shouldn't stop banning phones at the wheel, but you don't want to stop

3

u/Tango_Whiskey16 15h ago

Why it surprises me I don’t know, but seeing a driver in a newer model vehicle holding the phone near their head and carrying on a conversation through the speaker, when you know the car has Bluetooth capabilities. But they believe because they’re using the speaker and not holding it to their ear, it’s “hands free”

2

u/XxNitr0xX '09 GSXR 750/'05 YZ250/'04 Raptor 660r 6h ago

Because they could and should be made inoperable by GPS speed with optional bicycling modes, etc. that only allow the functions of Spotify and emergency services.

1

u/Luuk341 13h ago

Currently theres a 440 euro fine on using ones phone while driving in the Netherlands.

Theres a 170 euro fine for doing so on your bicycle.

I am in favour of immediately getting a manslaughter charge of the driver in front of you if caught with your phone in hand in a car. No more fines, jus straight up going to court in front of a judge.

1

u/cs_cabrone Triumph Scrambler 1200 XE 10h ago

The fine isn’t enough to be a deterrent. First offenders get 300 bucks then reoffending people get a grand.

1

u/ArcFault 9h ago

Illegal but un-enforced might as well not even be illegal.

1

u/welrope 7h ago

Forbidden or illegal?

11

u/Unbelivabley_Smol 16h ago

Both in Australia and New Zealand it is illegal to have your phone in your hand at any time while driving. Still people get caught and fined everyday even when hands free tech is like as low as $19. Modern EV’s now have 26inch centre screens that you must use to control all manner of car function while taking your eyes off the road. Only saving grace there is most EV’s have radar based autonomous braking that should have seen the bike and stopped?

10

u/DazingF1 '18 Monster 1200S|'16 SMC 690|'03 Sportster 1200 15h ago

I'm pretty sure having your phone in your hand while driving is illegal in any country on earth that has plumbing

3

u/Glad_Librarian_3553 15h ago

Yeah I really don't understand why any manufacturers think a touch screen is acceptable. It is unbelievably stupid

5

u/_The_Farting_Baboon_ 15h ago

In Denmark you get a hefty fine and a clip in your driving license (you have 3 clips).

You cant deny phones at all in a car. So the passengers not allowed to be on their phones? What if you see an emergency and have to call an ambulance or police. And i could go on and on.

Its already illegal so lets leave it at that.

1

u/sephron_tanully 15h ago

I do like Denmarks fine system. You guys are the ones that have the fine a percentage of income or?

Its probably on the higher side in your country and might be fine there. Generally fines just seem to be too low otherwise.

I dont even know if its jailtime if you have an accident while being recorded on Phone.

5

u/DepartmentOk7192 '25 Z H2 14h ago

It's currently $1,295 and 4/12 demerit points in Queensland, Australia, to have your phone touching any part of your body. Still doesn't deter everyone, there's simply not enough police around to guarantee you'll be caught

4

u/andthensilencefell 12h ago

Yeah I’m sure the new cars with an iPad console are much less distracting.

3

u/PolliverPerks 12h ago

Onboard systems are just as distracting in modern cars imo. We just need heavier fines and those fines need to be enforced more strictly. I see people driving while watching stuff on their phone constantly and i get so mad about it

2

u/hazeyAnimal 12h ago

I see people scrolling Instagram and having video phone calls.

The fundamental reason here is that they are simply addicted.

They physically cannot put their phone away to focus on operating a 1000kg+ machine that can travel well over 100kph.

When I learnt to drive, my father told me that driving is like a job, and you have to focus on your job while working and nothing else, or you'll make mistakes.

1

u/PolliverPerks 12h ago

The worst one I've seen was a guy on the Motorway, hogging the middle lane. When i passed him i saw that he had his phone perched on the cowl of his dashboard and he was watching a movie while steering with his knees

1

u/nitro912gr Honda CBF 250 13h ago

People have workarounds for the seatbelt alert, ofc they will have a phone to connect to the car and one to talk freely or look at msgs when driving. You can't limit stupidity.

1

u/RohanDavidson 13h ago

In my home state it's a 925 USD fine for mobile phone use while driving.

1

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1

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1

u/Shadow_Mite 9h ago

The only thing that’ll ever make an impact is the same punishments as they do for DUIs. There’s no real punishment for texting and driving. Funny when cops ride around with radios, laptops, phones

1

u/alraydy 9h ago

Could probably argue for a sort of ignition lock for people who have been caught on their phones while driving. But good luck trying to implement something across the board.

1

u/Finnalandem ‘26 Yamaha R9 & ‘25 Ninja 650 9h ago

I always wonder how these people wake up and put their pants on in the morning

1

u/DeviantPlayeer 9h ago

I would much prefer my car to not require a phone app.

1

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1

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1

u/adorablesexypants 8h ago

Phones are able to track how fast you are moving through their GPS. I would imagine that there would be a colossal freak out if companies locked phones if they were moving above a certain speed.

Want music? It has to hook into the onboard console.

Phone? Console. The phone itself is locked.

But this also has to have the same software for all devices including those being used by kids.

The “I’m not driving” function is only there to remove company liability.

1

u/Fragrant_Major_9553 6h ago

It’s already illegal like everywhere, and apparently they only enforce it on people who don’t have arms.

1

u/DualSpiresCinnamon 5h ago

Yes just use the giant iPad that takes 17 sub menus.

1

u/Cynical-avocado 4h ago

Where i live its an $85 fine to use your phone while driving.

It is not enforced unfortunately

1

u/CageAndBale 4h ago

If your phone is low enough, cops can't see it while you're passing by.

1

u/Reasonable-Key9235 2h ago

That already exists

•

u/Jordan_1424 14m ago

Starting 2027 all vehicles will have interior cameras.

While it doesn't disable phones it will make prosecuting and sueing these idiots easy. I hope it has a wider impact once there are a few high profile news stories about it.

0

u/anya_way_girl 12h ago

A better answer is to ban cars and put funding into public transportation and cross country train lines. Demolish all highways.

Edit: just remembered what sub I am on, oh well… bring on the downvotes. Im right anyway.

2

u/sephron_tanully 11h ago

I am living in a country with excellent public transportation and cross country trainlines (austria -> Europe)

Impossible to fully ban cars. Just not feasable to have stations everywhere

But I could see banning them from cities and use car renting more extensively. I would think that could help.

1

u/[deleted] 11h ago edited 10h ago

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1

u/sephron_tanully 11h ago

I think that wins todays unpopular opinion medal.

2

u/SageGoes 13h ago

He/she must be prohibited to ever drive again.

2

u/Awfulufwa 2h ago

Phones are so problematic that even crossing a road on foot as a pedestrian is dangerous.

I lost track of how many times I see an approaching car going steadily at a rate only for them to slow down near me... but not enough to come to a halt. Then I see it. The fucking truth right through their door window. Captain jerk-o is on his/her phone.

Here I am doing all the tier 5 velocity calculations. Accounting for time variance based on vehicle model. Adjusting calculations with position of the sun. Rolling a pair of dice. Arranging the poseable arms of my He-Man action figure to align with the cloud patterns. The math is solid. Getting ready to cross and beat both ways of traffic.

It only took one moron being on their phone to upset it all.

•

u/No-Structure8753 1h ago

I was using a crosswalk properly and someone almost hit me then yelled at me. Absolute fucking morons. He yelled "it says don't cross". That's not what that symbol means. I had over 10 seconds left.

I was walking because someone had just totaled my car after they ran a red light and tried to lie about it. Lucky there was a camera.

Just going outside is dangerous at this point.

1

u/Copious-Spirit 13h ago

Incompetent operators everywhere

1

u/Prionace-Glauca-5309 BMW R1200 GS Adventure 9h ago

This is very likely the case. The car driver never saw the rider slowing down for the pedestrian.

1

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1

u/vitorml 5h ago

My dad unfortunately drives like this, but doesn't use his phone, he is just senile

1

u/gray_um '03 ZX6RR 4h ago

My last helmet was all-black and I wrote on the back in white paint pen "PUT DOWN YOUR PHONE"

0

u/Healthy_Turnip7352 14h ago

this happened before phones.

it's just humans. It's like how 100% of waiters will eventually drop a plate.

100% of humans eventually trip and fall.

1

u/-ImMoral- 2000 Yamaha YZF600R 'THUNDERCAT' 12h ago

Yeah but the biggest distraction while driving is phone, by far.