 | | | | Me and my mobile | | Police in Britain have been cracking down on drivers who use mobile phones. But while talking and driving is not allowed, it seems you can talk while doing anything else, anywhere, any time. | | 
 | | | SEND IN YOUR COMMENTS | Now tell us what you think. Are there occasions when you would NOT use your phone? Have you had any amusing experiences when phoning?  Send in your comments |
| It often seems that everyone in Britain has a mobile phone. We use them as alarm clocks, calculators, to help with exam revision, to pay city congestion charges, to send photos of ourselves on holiday with our new 3G phone - and even to talk with other people. And that's where the problems can start.
Firstly when do you use them? The etiquette of using mobiles is changing. Originally people turned away when speaking with someone. Now they'll just talk about anything from work to romance to when they'll be home -at the top of their voices - without anyone minding. Or not minding much. Or - OK - being too polite to say they can't stand the fact that person sitting next to them on the train is talking about last night's party while they're trying to read the paper.
Secondly, when do you not use them? In Britain, the answer to that is simple. You don't use a mobile phone - except with a fixed hands free set - while you're driving. A new law came into force at the end of 2003. Anyone caught using a hand-held mobile while driving risks a fixed penalty of £30 or a fine of up to £1,000 if convicted plus three points on their licence.
However, not everyone takes note of the law and the police have been prosecuting drivers for breaking it. The worst offenders are people living in South West Scotland. BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds says that over 800 have been caught in Strathclyde compared to just 17 in Suffolk. (It's not clear whether that means that Scots have more friends or are just worse drivers!)
Finally, do try not to lose your mobile. It's not the phone itself which matters - it's easy enough to replace a handset. But your SIM card is another matter. It has all your contacts stored on it. And without your contacts list - well, who could you phone? | | mobile phone known in America as a cellphone, and in Germany as a Handy congestion charges money to allow you to drive in the centre of London 3G third generation phones which have internet access and can take send photos etiquette rules for behaving politely minding being annoyed or bothered they can't stand it irritates them so much they can't tolerate fixed hands free set a holder, microphone and speaker that you connect your phone to so you can use it while driving came into force started being applied caught using seen by the Police actually using hand-held mobile a mobile phone you hold in your hand a fixed penalty the punishment for doing something wrong: here, if you pay of £30 at once that's the end of it fine here, if you don't pay of £30, you will go to court and if the court finds you guilty you will have to pay a large fine three points on their licence each traffic offence (speeding, not stopping at a red light) means you lose some points from your driving licence. You can't lose too many or you will be banned from driving prosecuting drivers bringing criminal charges against drivers breaking not obeying worst offenders drivers guilty of the most serious offences handset the part of the phone set you hold in your hand. The set includes the charger SIM card Subscriber Identification Module contacts list people whose phone numbers you have stored on your SIM card | |
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