The problem with many is that once on the road, they come first with no regard for other road users.

Mobile phone users should be treated as severe as drink/drug offenders.

Instead of knocking down others comments or possible solutions, how about coming up with your own?

Better education has been mentioned by a few. WHY?

If one is intelligent enough to train/learn to drive & pass the test, that takes care of the educational side, the rest comes with experience (if one lives long enough)

Prison sentences are a deterrent to stop further offences? Dream on.

Grant & I & I think others has as well, made clear a possible solution, make the 1st offence very painful by hitting the wallet. Instead "death penalty" gets mentioned. Wow, what a mindset for a "qualified" driver to have.

Firstly you would have to introduce a new category of prisoner in addition to Category A, B, C & D. Secondly where would the money come from to pay for them and the staff? We used to have Approved Schools and Borstals but they were abolished in 1982. "Corrective institutions" are not 21C these days.

No need for new laws here, just actively enforce the existing ones. Present fines would result in huge amounts of money in the system.
And with a few less crashes and deaths & injuries each year, the savings on Police, Fire, Ambulance and hospital Emergency departments and general admission budgets would be huge. Not to mention all the reduction in lost productivity due to injury, affected families time off etc resulting in improved business conditions helping the economy along. Although tow truck operators & panel beaters & wrecking businesses would suffer.

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Grant
Darwin NT

If one is intelligent enough to train/learn to drive & pass the test, that takes care of the educational side, the rest comes with experience (if one lives long enough)

Afraid not.
It's one thing to have the aptitude, it's another to the have the right attitude.
There are wankers out there that think public roads are the appropriate place to have races, do burnouts & drifting & circle work. They might have great driving abilities, but they are absolutely unsuitable to hold a drivers licence.

Driving isn't just about knowing (and following) the road rules, or being able to drive the vehicle. It's about attitude.
It's not up to everyone else to be looking out for you, it's not about seeing how fast you can get from A to B.

You are in control of something that has the potential to cause great carnage and destruction, surrounded by other people in control of similar potential destruction. You need to be aware of your own abilities and limits, you need to be aware of the weather & conditions. You need to be aware of the other drivers around you & well ahead of you. And you need to be prepared.
If someone doesn't have the mindset of driving responsibly and being aware & prepared, then they have no right to drive a vehicle on a public road no matter how well they might do in the written or practical tests.

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Grant
Darwin NT

When I saw the headline I thought "Another idiot driver".
But you have to feel sorry for the bloke- the lights & gates didn't activate until after the train had gone through. And if you look at the video he wouldn't have been able to see the train coming as there was a fence or wall of some sort pretty much up to the railway itself. By the time he'd have been able to see it, there was no chance for him to pick up any sped to get off of the crossing.
Passenger train slams through truck at Utah level crossing.

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Grant
Darwin NT

As to punishment, look in the US jails. Full of druggies. No length of sentence will ever stop offenses. The human mind creates millions of reasons why they won't be the one caught. It doesn't matter if all their friends are caught, they are special. Oh and cells are as addicting as drugs to some people.

No a damn big hole in the wallet does wonders. They are out there telling others how much it hurts. They generally don't forget. Those that can be taught will get the lesson.

However there are some who a two by four to the head still will not get their attention. Same as drivers with a dozen DUI's on their record. Repeat offenses need to get stiff fast. Especially frequent repeat offenses. Unfortunately even jail won't change them. Only an application of Darwin's law.

So, first time, mandatory education and a fine. Second offense any time soon, there goes your vacation fund and put in a couple weekends on a work crew. Third offense and fork over a couple months of salary and a few weekends in jail. By the fourth offense it is obvious nothing is going to get the lesson into your head so watch your license be shredded, spend some months in lockup and be told the fifth offense will be treated as ADW/attempt murder.

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I went to use my mobile phone the other day during a power outage, but the battery was flat again.

Cheers.

In terms of mobile phone use, I would add suspension of licence. First time 3 months, second time 6 months, third time a year. Fourth or fifth permanent ban. In the UK if you are convicted of drink driving you get a years mandatory ban, and it stays on you licence for 4 years when you get it back. Many jobs require a "clean" license.

Suspension of license would only have an effect on those that would also be deterred by fines, and even so (at least here in Australia) fines have been proven to most effective as a deterrent, although demerit points have also had a fairly significant impact at reducing driving offences so I guess license suspension would act as a significant deterrent for most. For those that aren't deterred, ie repeat of offenders of all types, jail is the only option. It won't deter them, but it will get them off the roads.
The fact is many times in the local paper the report is along the lines of "The driver blew over the legal limit and was driving an unregistered vehicle and was unlicensed/ their license was suspended." And then when it finally makes the court reports it's along the lines of "it was the defendants 3rd, 4th, 7th etc offence."

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Grant
Darwin NT

The alarm on the Rigopiano avalanche was given by a man who had gone outside the hotel to smoke a cigarette. He had his cell phone with him and called a friend in a nearby town asking him to warn the authorities. The friend complied and was not not believed for two hours. The telephone lines to the hotel were not working since the morning due to heavy snowfalls. So a cigarette and a cell phone were instrumental in saving 11 lives out of 40.
Tullio

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(Don't get me started and cars and cyclists - you will regret it!!!)

mobile clampdown

& the difference between that link & your previous mobile clampdown link is?

Here's a good solution that is right up your alley - ban cars & cyclists, that'll mean more room for us truckers :-)

All the shops will then never run out of stock thereby preventing customers from moaning :-)

Sorry vehemently disagree! The fines should be the same regardless of vehicle type. NO exceptions. Saying that though, you've changed your mind! Heavier fines were brought up but you poo-poo'ed them.

Now you see that HGV fines are heavier you're smiling?

Says it all really.

Truck crashes through bus in Syracuse

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Sorry vehemently disagree! The fines should be the same regardless of vehicle type. NO exceptions.

Exactly, texting while horseback should be fined the same as texting while piloting.

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Sorry vehemently disagree! The fines should be the same regardless of vehicle type. NO exceptions.

Exactly, texting while horseback should be fined the same as texting while piloting.

And using a phone/texting while riding a pushbike when on public roads.

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Grant
Darwin NT

If I go out and not driving, I leave the mobile at home.

I always have my phone with me, never know when i might need it.
But if i'm driving or riding i'll let it ring out, and check the missed calls/messages when I get to wherever i'm going. While my present phone is a smart phone, I only ever use it as a phone. The only time I don't have it with me is when i'm in at the office because, well, i'm working. If people want to talk to me when i'm at work, they can call the work phone number.

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Grant
Darwin NT

If I go out and not driving, I leave the mobile at home.

I always have my phone with me, never know when i might need it.
But if i'm driving or riding i'll let it ring out, and check the missed calls/messages when I get to wherever i'm going. While my present phone is a smart phone, I only ever use it as a phone. The only time I don't have it with me is when i'm in at the office because, well, i'm working. If people want to talk to me when i'm at work, they can call the work phone number.

Mine is turned off unless there's an emergency (didn't I just say that?.

Cheers.

ATT has a saying.................
"It can wait."
I use my cell phone once every day.
To call the love of my life on my dinner break.
Not usually anything momentous.
But just to check in on the events of the day, should there be any.
Other than that, it is just a lifeline on standby should the car break down or God forbid I should have a medical moment that requires assistance.
That is a valid reason for carrying a cell phone.
I do not live with it in my hand, and I am not totally lost without it.
It can wait.

Meow.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Other than that, it is just a lifeline on standby should the car break down or God forbid I should have a medical moment that requires assistance.
That is a valid reason for carrying a cell phone.
I do not live with it in my hand, and I am not totally lost without it. It can wait.

Goof for you Mark, it's about time some of us fought back. Want an example?

A couple of weeks ago a 19 year old girl from my inherited family called round to see my other half. After fiddling with her phone for a bit the conversation went like this

You not got wifi mate?
Pardon?
I can't logon
I have a router but wifi is disabled as I don't use it
BIG POUT
(reconfigures router for wifi gives login codes)
Is that your phone (sees Nokia 6020)
Yes
You are joking!!!!!!!!!
Er I do have a 4S
(looks at me like I have just crawled out of a sewer)
What???????? I gotta 6 looking for a 7!
So?
But you are so... you are so.... not WITH it!!!
Continued ad infinitum ad nauseam

The thought of her reproducing sends shudders down my spine.

Well, I certainly would not wish to reproduce any of her DNA samples.
There should be a law requiring gene pool participants to pass an intelligence test first.
But that would be intelligent engineering ala Hitler would it not?
So, I guess we should not go there.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster