10 reasons to not phone when driving.

There are a lot more than 10 reasons why not to use a mobile phone when driving, however i'll keep it short and snappy. After all i'm sure you will all agree with most of what i'm about to say, and if you only take just one point away with you. Think about it, think about why your thinking about it. Then do something about it.

Reason number One: Points on your licence.

Quite a shallow reason to start with but a valid one non the less. Nobody wants points because it ultimately results in a ban. You get points because its considered dangerous driving. Think About it.

Reason number Two: Penalty Fine.

Again a fairly shallow reason, however who enjoys getting a fine? I don't know anybody. The fine can be especially difficult to swallow as many handsfree kits cost half the amount of the fine given. It doesn't take a genius to realise what people should be doing.

Reason number Three: Suspended Licence.

You don't have to do it all the time, Its only takes one second for it to happen. If a police officer spots you it and you already have points could mean the end of your driving licence for 12 months. What does that mean for you? No transport, social life or job? Think, is it worth it?

Reason number Four: Reduced awareness.

If you text when driving its the equivalent of being three times over the alcohol limit. We don't tolerate drink drivers so why texters?

Reason number Five: Reduced ability.

If you don't have a bluetooth car kit you have to physically hold the phone to talk. If you do this you break contact with the vehicles controls reducing the ability to drive it. Even an idiot can see the potential consequences of these actions. If you are an idiot and can't work it out, Its DEATH.

Reason number Six: Concentration.

Its easy to loose concentration when talking or texting, especially if its something your passionate about. Combine it with point 4 & 5 and you have a recipe for disaster.

Reason number Seven: Prison sentence.

If your convicted of dangerous driving you could get jail time, especially if you cause a major accident. Just think 12 months in jail for one text or call that could be sent in 10 minutes time?

Reason number Eight: Your Family.

Its strange that most of us don't think about what were doing when we drive & how dangerous it actually is. I mean, we drive a 3 tonne lump of metal around at 70mph and higher relatively close to somebody in front and behind, and people coming in the opposite direction. Do you really need an excuse to not drive responsibly? Just think of your family before the inevitable happens.

Reason number Nine: Somebody else's family.

If your serial texter who doesn't use a bluetooth car kit when doing so. Think the next time you do it, it might be your last. Or the family driving towards you. Could you live with that on your conscience? I doubt it.

Reason number Ten: Time.

I seriously doubt that a text or call is so important that you have to answer it immediately. I mean, what is that important? With the possible exception of your wife going into labour i'm fresh out of ideas. You have all the time in the world to call or text back later.

There you go, ten reasons not to use your phone when driving. The other exception to all the above points is to use a bluetooth car kit. Fair enough it wont guarantee all the above will not happen, but if at least you do choose to phone and drive you will be much safer doing so with bluetooth car kits.

Does Parrots Dominance result in better quality?

When you think of bluetooth car kits you automatically think of parrot bluetooth. Parrot have a dominance over the market in terms of brand recognition and selling power, however does this mean they produce the better products?

How to install a bluetooth kit. Do things the easy way.

There are two ways bluetooth car kits can be installed, one is the difficult way, the other is easier (however can still be fairly difficult dependant on vehicle). The problem is, Bluetooth kits are made with ISO connections as standard. ISO is an older industry standard which determins the locations of various wires (which perform different functions) For example, the front left and right speakers, back left and right, power, mute and ignition. If your vehicle is ISO, then the kits will install fairly easily.

The problem is, the ISO standard is now fairly old. More modern vehicles utilise systems such as CAN bus & fibre Optic MOST systems which do not use conventional wires. If this is the case you will either need to splice into the wires (where possible) or use a mute cable, ISO2CAR, Drive&Mute or Audio2Car. They all perform the same task, however each has a slightly different compatibility. For example Audio2Car work particularly well with amplified systems.

The only other difficult task when installing the bluetooth kit is to route the microphone into position. This routes from the back of the bluetooth unit. Usually installed behind the car stereo. From here its usually best to route the opposite direction from the driver. Remove the glovebox where ever possible (Different for each vehicle, but usually fairly pain free when the screws are found).

Remove the fascia from the A pillar in the vehicle, they usually un-clip, however sometimes they are screwed in, if so you should be able to pull out the airbag clip plate (a little plastic clip showing where the air bag is) a screw is usually found beneath this. There may be a couple more hidden screws to remove before the fascia can be removed. A little pull on the rear-view mirror fascia should allow you to install and route wire through the lining of the roof. (Dont pull too hard as you may pull the mirror off, and they can be a pain to reinstall) a metal coat hanger will do nicely when pushing it through. From here wire down the A pillar, avoid the air bags at all costs and do not tangle the wire around them. And route behind the glove box to the bluetooth unit.

After this do done double check you have the Power, Ground (when required) & Ignition wires are active. The Ignition is a must to check, the kits will not work with out it. In fact thid is the number one cause for people thinking they have a faulty unit. If your harness doesn't have an ignition (not all do) the best point is either the fusebox, or the Cigarette lighter wire. A simple way of testing is by turning the ignition on when the wires are connected. The unit should power up.

Assuming the kit is working tidy up behind the stereo and re connect the dashboard & fascias and position the microphone to exactly where you want it near the mirror (make sure is doesn't obstruct it). Pair your phone using the manufacturers instructions and you will have a fully working Bluetooth car kit at your disposal. (If you choose well, you'll wonder how you ever lived with out one).

All in all the job shouldn't take longer than an hour of your time, unless you have a particulatly difficult vehicle such as a BMW X5 (Due to the location of the unit) or most Porsche's (Because of the firewall).

Bluetooth Car Kits are known to improve driver safety when using the mobile phone, if you dont have one installed in your vehicle. Don't use your phone.

Growing number of Drivers Using the Phone Illegally. Who are the morons are doing it?

If you are unsure of what Bluetooth car kits are you probably will be soon. Penalties are getting much stronger for using a mobile phone when driving, in fact the punishment has doubled in the previous few years. The point of which is to impose a greater awareness and the consequences of doing so. If you are caught using your phone or another hand held device you run the risk of incurring a 6 point penalty and £60 fine, which is more than a slap on the wrists for most people.

However this is very lenient compared to the burden weighing on thousands of people's shoulders who have to live with the knowledge they caused an accident and harmed another person or family carelessly & needlessly.

What type of person knowingly puts another persons life at risk? Well the answer is most of us. Most of the road users in the UK knowingly and openly use their mobile phone illegally when driving. In fact after reading this article, make a mental note of how many you see doing so the next time you drive. I'd be very surprised if its less than 10 every half an hour driving.

If were all honest with ourselves we'll probably admit doing it too, the fact is its too easy & tempting to to just pick it up and chat for a few seconds. What harm can that do? We all have driving experience and can multi-task right? Wrong. Its a combination of factors that make it dangerous including reducing the physical contact with the car operating controls.

The point is that the majority of accidents where a mobile phone is the cause are avoidable, simply by not answering or making the call, however if it is a necessity the use of bluetooth car kits offer a much greater and safer and more convenient option regardless of what kit you are using. The worst bluetooth kit on the market is still safer than not using one.

This is why a lot of vehicle manufacturers are adding bluetooth as an option when purchasing the vehicle, I know Ford are offering it as a free upgrade at this point in time (in the UK). Possibly more as a selling tool rather than a moral decision, however the option is still there.

So do us all a favour, either use bluetooth car kits when you drive or don't use your phone. Can you live with somebodies death on your conscience? I know I couldn't.