Tag: driving

Driving? Don’t touch that phone!

The UK government are to firm up the law on mobile phones in cars. Next year the loopholes which allowed drivers take photos or film will be changed and it’ll be illegal for anyone to pick up and use their mobile phone while driving. You’ll still be able …

Test your skills. Park it!

I passed my driving test many years ago, but the Bill Plant Driving School still sticks in my memory and I see their cars going round on a regular basis. Available only on iOS right now, they’ve launched “Parkathon”, an app where you need to navigate various obstacles …

Watching shows on your phone whilst driving. Don’t be tempted.

Our smartphones can do lots of very cool things. Lately though, the police have found that we’re watching movies, TV shows and making video calls whilst driving. This, because you’re not looking at the road properly, is very dangerous. In recent years, there’s been a marked increase in …

Podcast 249 – Don’t text and drive people!

Another new intro, a lot of talk about MOT’s, fishing, caravans and actual smartphone-related chatter too. It’s all here folks, and it’s part of Podcast 249. Recorded in the car, in this episode I also do a manly “pap” on the horn due to the driver in front drifting in …

New mobile phone detectors deployed by police

Using your phone whilst driving? Perhaps you have a cheeky look at it when you’re stuck in traffic or in a long tail-back? Well, beware, because the police are now starting to roll out automatic systems which will attempt to spot your phone usage and then flash a …

Coolsmartphone Podcast 240 – Look at my teeth!

This week, in Podcast 240, I experiment with cross-fading. Yes, cross-fading. To be honest I had to Google it to see what it was. It’s where the audio fades nicely between two tracks. It’s because I record the podcast in various chunks, during trips to work, to the …

Yi Smart Dash Cam – First look

Ok, I will be honest with you on this one. As I’m in the middle of preparing for yet another mad cycle ride, I have run out of time to publish the review on this one. However, because this camera has impressed me so much I wanted to …

People are still using their phones at the wheel

Here in the UK you can get in a lot of trouble for having a phone in your hand whilst driving. You risk getting 6 points on your licence, which is half-way to a driving ban for most people. If you passed your driving test in the last …

A fifth of UK drivers admit to using their mobiles behind the wheel

Every now and then we get an email from a company which includes research relating to mobile phones. The company involved will want to get their name mentioned (in this case it’s Protect Your Bubble) so that they can have some free advertising. This is another one of …

Yay! Let’s film stuff in the car!

Good morning! It’s Friday at last !! Well no. Sadly it’s not. It’s still only Thursday. No matter though, because it’s Autumn now and the nights are drawing in, so you can turn the heating on and sit inside, twiddling on your smartphone more. Boom! Now, we all …

Perhaps we shouldn’t use our mobile phones while we’re mobile

In an effort to stop people fiddling where their phones whilst driving, the people from the Western Cape Government have taken a slightly different approach. A recent advert appears to have lifted a number of CCTV images showing a phone-relate accidents. There’s people falling into ponds, walking into …

SEAT Adds their very own Android Auto app to Google Play

The car company has now become the “first European industry to feature an app that is compatible with Android Auto”. The SEAT DriveApp is available only for Android at the moment and supplements the other Android apps that the company has already added to the store. It’ll let …

Nissan release a phone killer

You’re driving. The phone beeps. You know you’ve received a notification. It could be something important. It could be about those jeans you ordered, or it could be a Facebook update from someone about a burger they’ve just eaten. You’ll never know, because you’re driving…. ..but you just …

MWC – BMW demo their Personal CoPilot and more

Taking part for the first time here in Barcelona is BMW. They’re showing off their driverless car experience outside between Halls 3 and 5. Despite people walking around the demonstration area and a lot of other obstacles, the remote control parking worked brilliantly on these little electric powered …

Using your phone whilst driving? Points and fines to double

Despite it being law for a number of years, people are still continuing to use their phone whilst driving. The RAC has released some rather worrying statistics from a recently commissioned survey. There’s been an increase in drivers owning up to using a handheld mobile phone – from …

How to be an idiot

Another day and yet another driver being a complete melon with a smartphone. This time it’s a full lesson on what not to do at the wheel. Holding a phone, filming yourself, speeding at around 116mph and switching between the front and back camera for added effect. Not …

This is worth 10 minutes of your time

OK I’ll fess up. Sometimes I do get distracted by my phone when I’m in the car. It’s all too easy to take a quick glance at the traffic lights and some of us think we can compose complicated messages while we’re driving. You can’t. You just can’t. …

Android Auto now becoming a standalone app 

I’m a firm believer that drivers should have limited, if no access to mobile phones whilst driving. Having just returned from a family holiday in Florida, I saw many drivers using their phone and even texting whilst driving. It just shows how distracted drivers can be whilst fiddling …

Your social media posts could cost you dear

If you’re on Facebook and you’re a young driver, watch out. Your social media updates will soon impact the cost of your car insurance. Admiral Car Insurance will soon build a “reputational record” of new drivers by analysing your Facebook page, and will reward more conscientious and organised …

Use the phone whilst driving. This could happen to you.

It could be you that causes an accident. It could be someone else who crashes into you. Just a quick check of the email. It can’t hurt. Perhaps I should just reply to that text message or check Facebook. Yes, it’s that video from the news, and this …

Topless student crashes into police car as she tries to take a selfie

Yesterday I went to McDonald’s to sample their huge range of delicious burgers whilst using the greasy tablets. On the way someone nearly crashed into us as he tried to navigate a roundabout while texting on his phone. It’s human nature sometimes. Some people think that they can …

OK Google – Is it me or are you getting better at this?

On a drive home last week I remembered that I had to get some supplies for the regular “Dad Camp” that I take my son on twice a year. It’s a weekend away with a number of other dads where we completely ban gadgets and take the kids …

Mobile device use while driving is on the increase!

British motoring association, the RAC, has carried out a survey of motorists. It’s revealed some rather worrying results. The number of motorists illegally using mobile phones while at the wheel is rising. After surveying 1,714 UK motorists it found… 31% of motorists says they used a handheld phone …

The smartphone – A vital piece of evidence after a fatal accident

In the last few hours lorry driver Danny Warby has been given a six year sentence for crashing into an off duty police officer’s car. The collision killed Det Con Sharon Garrett, aged 48, and caused a five-vehicle crash. A police investigation revealed that Mr Warby was speeding …

Texting and driving. Try it. You’ll crash.

I’m not totally sure how this video has gone viral suddenly, because it’s around three years old now. Anyhow, this happens all around the world. Nobody is perfect and I’ve seen drivers across Europe, America, China and here in the UK doing it at the wheel. The familiar …

MINI Produce glasses that give you X-ray vision

Hey, wanna know something? If you’ve ever been in the passenger seat of a car when it’s raining heavily on the motorway, try holding your phone up and take a picture. You’ll probably find that the preview screen affords you a better view of the road than your …

Drivers now browsing social media at the wheel too

People will do things they’re not supposed to sometimes. It’s a fact. We get told not to do something but there’s always going to be a certain majority that’ll go ahead and do it anyway. Don’t drive in the centre lane of a motorway when the lane to …

Drivers fined for snapping photos whilst driving

Picture the scene. You’ve been held up in traffic for ages. You’ve got sunburn from the brake lights of the car in front. Eventually, after shuffling along on the motorway for what seems like hours, you see the cause of your misery. A truck, on it’s side and …

A Texting Aid for Drivers – What is this madness?

You can’t text and drive… Texting and Driving is Dangerous so you shouldn’t do it….ever…..so imagine our surprise when we received a press release which seems to promote an app to make texting easier whilst behind the wheel. Available in the App Store now, the “My Phrases” keyboard …

I hope this is a joke. I hope this is a joke.

I’m really not sure where to start with this Kickstarter project. To be honest I’m glad that (at the time of writing) it’s only managed to achieve $1 of the $35,000 which is supposedly needed to put it into production. Now, we know that driving and texting is …

Driving and texting. Let’s see what happens eh?

YouTube, as I’ve mentioned before, is a dangerous place. If you leave your children using it unmonitored then you really need to change your ways. As an example, there’s a channel called Fatal Accidents where you can watch just that. There’s no warnings apart from one that the …

Careful driver? Prove it. Go with the Flo

Got a sticker on the back of your company car, van or lorry that asks people to judge your driving? How about proving it to your boss? Flo, an Android app, is part game, part driving improvement. You download it, get in your car, stick your phone on …

Dangerous Drivers – Many mobile distractions found by Police

If we’re all honest with ourselves then we’ll perhaps admit to touching our phones whilst driving. Whether it be a quick press to drop a call, or even opening a text -it’s something we shouldn’t do. Just last night, as I drove home, I saw a car on …

Cars in the Cloud, Here has arrived.

Cars are becoming more clever by the day.  Head-up displays, 3G connected satellite navigation systems, Bluetooth connectivity and even self driving vehicles. As with our smartphones, we are demanding more and more from our vehicles and the onboard computers are only too happy to oblige.  From the PS3 …

Save on your car insurance as you drive with … an app!

There I was last night, watching the second-by-second Royal baby news (short version, she’s had a boy), and an advert popped up for Aviva insurance. Nothing new there. It features Paul Whitehouse being utterly unfunny, but at least he’s not Barry Scott (BANG! And the dirt is gone!) …

Help me Robin !

This is Robin, a personal driving assistant which offers help and advice. It’s free and a rather porky 23MB download which is designed to come up with answers while you concentrate on driving. It’s in Beta, so the results might not be perfect just yet, but seemed to …