• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

UK government bans playing mobile phone games while driving

Bullet Club

Banned

UK government bans playing mobile phone games while driving​


Any handheld use of a mobile phone while driving will become illegal, the government has announced.

Details published today by the Department of Transport specifically call out mobile phone games as an activity which will become illegal while driving.

Anyone caught by police behind the wheel with their mobile phone in hand will face a £200 fixed penalty notice and six points on their driving licence.

Currently, it is only illegal to text or call using a mobile phone while driving. But the law is being strengthened and the highway code will change to make it illegal to use a handheld mobile phone in virtually any circumstance.

You will no longer be able to take photos or videos, scroll through music playlists on your phone, or quickly catch a creature in Pokémon Go.

This includes while a car is stationary at a traffic light or in a traffic jam.

I don't drive myself but have seen some terrible road etiquette from others who play Pokémon Go in cars around my local area - with various iPhones and iPads laid out across the dashboard. If you're reading this, you know who you are.

There are still exceptions for using a device attached to a cradle, such as for using your phone as a sat-nav, and for holding your device while stationary to make a contactless payment - for example at a drive-through or toll booth.

The law change follows a public consultation on the issue, with the vast majority in favour of stricter controls.

"Driver distraction can be deadly and using a handheld phone at the wheel is never worth the risk," said Mary Williams OBE, boss of road safety charity Brake. "This important road safety decision by government, coinciding with Road Safety Week, is very welcomed.

"This news is particularly welcomed by families suffering bereavement and catastrophic injury due to drivers being distracted by phones. The theme for Road Safety Week is road safety heroes - we can all be road safety heroes by giving driving our full attention."

Source: Eurogamer

People in the UK will have to go back to watching Pornhub while driving instead.
 

Bullet Club

Banned
But for this you need two hands.
ylk8GSh.jpg
 

Zenaku

Member
Time for me to get into the satnav/phone dock market. Just dock your phone and use it via satnav screen via passthrough!

They can't stop you using satnav while in the car!

Only £3000 for 4" screen, or £5000 for 7"
 

gradient

Resident Cheap Arse
Technically it's already illegal and falls under "Driving without due care and attention". A copper will have you on that charge if he sees you driving with your attention on your phone regardless of what you're doing on your phone.

This law just makes it explicit and creates publicity so people are clear that they shouldn't be on their damned phones while driving.
 
Last edited:

Black_Stride

do not tempt fate do not contrain Wonder Woman's thighs do not do not
Wait the UK didnt have a ban on using your phone while driving already?
Im from a third world country and we banned phone usage while driving eons ago.
Granted some 80% of cars are manual/stick so drivers had to do no hands on the wheel gear changes......which had obvious results.

Fact they had to ban playing videogames specifically is also quite alarming....before the ban people were playing games while driving?
 
Isn't using your phone at all not allowed? Not that most people will even get caught. So many people will use things like WhatsApp while driving. Just concentrate on driving ffs!
 

anthony2690

Member
Why do I feel like this ban came about, because some smart arse said something along the lines off.

"Don't worry officer I'm not on my phone, I'm playing on the switch"

Edit: re-read it, mobile phone games, but isn't using your phone whilst driving already illegal? :S
 
Last edited:

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Last time I was back in London I kept looking for female black cab drivers but couldn't find any.

Disappointed Kevin Sorbo GIF
Those Taxi movies are from Czech, is probably one and only cab in our country.
 
  • Thoughtful
Reactions: GHG
Wait the UK didnt have a ban on using your phone while driving already?
Im from a third world country and we banned phone usage while driving eons ago.
Granted some 80% of cars are manual/stick so drivers had to do no hands on the wheel gear changes......which had obvious results.

Fact they had to ban playing videogames specifically is also quite alarming....before the ban people were playing games while driving?
Yes, the use of a phone while driving has been banned for a long time here in the UK. Even for the likes of sat nav, you are not supposed to touch it while the car is in motion, you must pull over and park before adjusting it or answering a call etc.

Put it this way, if the police see you on your phone while driving, they WILL pull you over regardless of what you were doing on it.
 
The fact that these sort of things even need to be laws is an indictment on human intelligence.

"I'm traveling at high speeds in a large and heavy piece of machinery. I'm bored. What else can I do?" :p
 
Last edited:

Fare thee well

Neophyte
What? But I've mastered driving with my leg while eating a cheeseburger in one hand and playing raid shadow legends in the other. 😋
 

Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
Being on a bike, I am higher seated than most drivers so I can see what they're doing and it's hilarious/scary how many are toying with screens even when not stopped.
 

Fuz

Banned
The fact that these sort of things even need to be laws is an indictment on human intelligence.

"I'm traveling at high speeds in a large and heavy piece of machinery. I'm bored. What else can I do?" :p
UK is a very special kind of stupid.
I was stunned years ago when I learned they don't sell ethyl alcohol there - because they drink it.
 
I don't see a specific law against using a VR headset while driving.

Also playing mobile phone games even out of your car should be illegal.
 
Top Bottom