| Last call for mobiles? |
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From 1 December 2003, it will be an offence to use a hand-held mobile phone while driving. Initially, offenders will be subject to a £30 fine, which can be increased to a maximum fine of £1,000 if the matter goes to court. In addition, new legislation is to be introduced to make it an endorseable offence, so that drivers will get three points on their licence each time they are caught holding a phone. Employers as well as drivers will be targets under the new legislation as the new law enables the police to take action if anyone “causes or permits” the use of a hand-held phone by a driver. That, says the Department for Transport, should make it clear to employers that they cannot expect their employees to use a hand-held phone while driving. According to the recent Godfrey Davis Company Car Report 2003 “Company Cars – the Driver Perspective” few firms provide guidance on mobile phone usage while employees are behind the wheel. The report says: “Many drivers are still equipped with potentially dangerous hand-held receivers. Drivers themselves are conscious of the dangers with an overwhelming majority believing that hand-helds adversely affect driving and that their usage should be banned. If drivers, seemingly, have got the message, is it not time for employers to reinforce it?” The government says the new regulation will apply in all circumstances other than when the vehicle is parked. Therefore, prohibition will apply if a vehicle is paused at traffic lights or in slow moving traffic. Supporters of the ban say other internal and external driver distractions are invariably only momentary, while a telephone conversation can take many minutes and can become more important than focusing on the road ahead. Chris Howell, operations director of total vehicle risk management solutions company Risk Answers, a member of The Fleetsafe Group, says: “No telephone call is so important for drivers to put themselves and other road users at risk. I support banning use of telephones while driving – both hand held and hands free. Drivers who are talking on the telephone are not concentrating fully on driving. A specific offence clarifies the law for everyone.” That view is backed by Kevin Clinton, head of Road Safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, who says: “Research shows that drivers who use a mobile phone are significantly distracted and less able to concentrate on what is happening around them. They tend to drive closer to other vehicles, veer about in their lanes and their reaction times are slower. Research indicates that they are four times more likely to crash than those who do not use mobile phones. “RoSPA, the government and the police have tried to educate people about the dangers, but this does not seem to be working. A law will make it crystal clear to everyone. This will mean that employers will know that their staff should not be expected to take, or make, calls while driving. “Police have used a variety of offences to take action against mobile phone drivers, but the evidence shows motorists are still ignoring the safety advice, or are confused by the current laws. A specific offence will clarify the law for everyone and would mean they have no excuse. The only safe way for drivers to use a mobile in a vehicle is when they have stopped in a safe place.” In announcing the ban, Road Safety Minister David Jamieson said: “Driving while using a mobile phone is dangerous. We are all too familiar with the sight of people driving while holding and talking on their mobile phones. Any drivers will be distracted by a phone call or text message. “It affects the ability to concentrate and anticipate the road ahead, putting the driver and other road users at risk. Our decision to introduce this new offence will make the roads safer for use all. Missing a call won’t kill you – an accident quite possibly well.” RoSPA says mobile phone use while driving is already banned in at least 10 EU countries, and in many others around the world. However, Mr Howell adds: “I don’t support the removal of phones from vehicles. If a telephone rings while a vehicle is on the move drivers should only retrieve the call when they have stopped the vehicle in a safe place. If necessary, they should allow the phone to ring and return the call later.” The RAC says that only a quarter of drivers admit to using a mobile phone while driving and fewer than 10% use a hand-held mobile phone. That is despite the fact that 63% of motorists say that they frequently observe others driving carelessly while using a mobile. Currently, police use a variety of offences to take action against mobile phone drivers, but company car drivers are still ignoring the safety advice and using mobile phones while on the move.
RoSPA says it is aware of at least 19 deaths on Britain’s roads that have been directly linked to mobiles, but fears that may be the tip of the iceberg. And ongoing research by the Department of Transport into attitudes to using mobile phones while driving indicates that 70% of drivers consider it unacceptable to use a mobile phone while driving. Although the ban on hand-held mobile phones while driving was only announced at the end of last month, it has been anticipated since a government consultation document, “Mobile Phones and Driving – proposal for an offence of using a hand-held mobile phone while driving” was published last year. As a result, Mr Howell says fleet decision-makers have been burying their heads in the sand over the inevitability that it will be an offence to use a hand-held mobile while driving under The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. He says: “Sales and operations directors don’t want any change of working practices as they perceive it will reduce service levels and company profitability if employees cannot use the mobile while on the move.” However, Risk Answers says that a comprehensive review of mobile phone use by businesses can see new policies agreed and implemented resulting in improved safety levels, compliance with legislation, improved staff performance and increased company profitability. Mr Howell says: “Businesses are wasting thousands of pounds a year because they do not have a comprehensive mobile phone policy for company car drivers. Too many ‘lonely’ company car drivers are using in-car mobile phones as an excuse to hold lengthy conversations with friends and colleagues. Also poor sales staff territory planning and no standard procedures for handling customer calls in offices when staff are on the move further increases mobile phone use.” Following a safety audit by Risk Answers, one of its clients will save £128,000 a year after reducing average mobile phone bills by 60% to £112 per person per month after new best practice procedures were adopted. The cost savings were highlighted after it was discovered mobile phones bills had rocketed at the company from an average of £125 per person per month to £280 over two years. Mr Howell says: “We discovered that individual employees were using mobile phones more frequently
and making longer calls partly due to work procedures which they were being asked to follow. This was due to poor in-office call-handling procedures and inefficient sales territory planning. “By proving all these factors as part of a major safety audit and demonstrating why a comprehensive mobile phone policy should be adopted by every company, we have helped our client slash its mobile phone bills by thousands of pounds. In addition the company is now promoting best practice.”
But Christopher Bullock, chief executive of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, argues that while great play has been made of the idea that hands-free phones allow drivers to safely use a mobile phone such an argument is “brainless”. He says: “This argument ignores the fact that it is not just your hands that are involved in these activities. Your brain is used both to control a car and to conduct a telephone conversation.” The RAC, in its 2003 “Report on Motoring”, also called on the government to pursue an information campaign to encourage safer behaviour by users of hands-free phones. The RAC’s mobile phone call to action demanded: • Ban hand-held mobile phones, but allow people to use hands-free equipment • Apply equivalent punishment to those for minor speeding offences • Encourage the use of good quality hands-free systems • Advise users how to use hands-free systems safely • Avoid using the phone in poor weather or hazardous driving conditions • Use the voice messaging facility while on the road; stop and park safely before returning calls • If a call is essential, keep it short, use pre-programmed numbers or speech activated dialling and let the other person know that you are driving.
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