Mobiles: the law gets tough
Legislation update
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Millions of drivers continue to flout the law and use a hand-held mobile phone while driving despite Government research showing these drivers are four times more likely to have a crash...
Millions of drivers continue to flout the law and use a hand-held mobile phone while driving (note: this picture was posed for RoadSafe magazine)
In fact, using any type of mobile - hands free or hands held - slows reaction times to 50% when compared to normal driving, which is worse than driving under the influence of alcohol (30%).
Although use of hands-free phones while driving remains legal, expert advice is that no call is so important that drivers should risk their life or that of their passengers. Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said: "Research shows that talking on a mobile phone while driving affects your concentration and ability to react to dangerous situations. It's quite simple - it's impossible to do two things at once and do them well."
Reaction
Data suggests that using a mobile phone lengthens a driver's reaction time:
- An average alert driver's reaction time is 0.98 of a second and at 70 mph, for example, the vehicle will travel 31 metres in that time before the driver even begins to hit the brakes
- When using a hands-free mobile that reaction time increases to 1.25 seconds and 39 metres; when using a hand-held mobile this jumps to 1.46 seconds. This is half as slow again as normal, and a total distance of 45 metres - nine car lengths, three more than had the driver been concentrating. But, although it has been illegal to use a handheld mobile phone while driving since December 2003 - when the punishment was a £30 fine - Mr Alexander said: "Worryingly, while 92% of people agree with the law, 21% of drivers admit to breaking it."
The law at
a glance
Drivers caught using a handheld
mobile phone while driving
are now fi ned £60 and receive
three penalty points on their
licence under Section 26 of the
Road Safety Act 2006.
If the case goes to court, drivers
risk a maximum fine of £1,000,
which rises to £2,500 for the driver
of a bus, coach, or heavy goods
vehicle.
A person may be regarded as
'driving' a vehicle while the engine
is running and the vehicle is
stationary. Drivers have specifically been advised that hand-held
mobiles should not be used while
a vehicle is stationary at traffic
lights or during short hold-ups
that may occur during a typical
journey.
Employers can be prosecuted if
they require employees to make or
receive mobile calls while driving.
It is an offence to cause or permit
the use of a hand-held mobile
phone when driving. It is also an
offence to cause or permit a driver
not to have proper control of a
vehicle. The penalty for companies
under the Road Vehicles (Construction
and Use Regulations)
1986 is an unlimited fine.
The Department for Transport
and road safety campaigners say
that motorists should not use
hands-free phones while driving,
although their use is exempt from
the legislation.
A driver can be prosecuted for
using a hands-free phone if they
are not in proper control of their
vehicle when using the device. The
penalties are the same - a £60 fi ne
and three points on their licence.
The holding of any electronic
device used for accessing oral,
textual or pictorial communication,
such as a PDA or Blackberry,
is banned under the legislation.
The only exception to the law is
that drivers may call 999 or 112 in
response to a genuine emergency.
As a result the tougher fixed penalty of three points on a driving licence as well as a &60 fine was introduced on February 27. Home Office figures for 2004 show that nearly 74,000 fixed penalty notices were issued for illegal use of a mobile phone while driving.
Continue
But, two surveys - by risk management consultants RealTime Risk Assessments and www. whatcar.com - reveal that millions of drivers continue to use handheld mobile phones while on the move. The survey by RealTime Risk Assessments revealed that 75% of employees took business calls while driving and almost a third of them didn't use hands-free technology.
RoadSafe board member and leading fl eet industry solicitor David Faithful said: "Employers are legally obliged to have a 'mobile telephone usage policy' in place. If one of their staff crashes while on a business call, directors could be prosecuted under health and safety laws.
"Telling an employee not to take calls isn't good enough and even supplying them with a hands-free kit doesn't provide a 'get out of jail' clause. The police will now routinely obtain mobile phone records of drivers involved in serious or fatal road accidents, use of a phone in an accident is regarded by the courts as an aggravating factor in the same way as drunk-driving and will result in a custodial sentence."
The Department for Transport's best practice advice for employers is:
- Ensure employees have time to take breaks when they can check voicemail and make calls, which will also help reduce fatigue
- Encourage employees to switch off their mobile phone or put it on silent mode while on the move to remove the temptation to answer it
- Make it company policy not to use a mobile phone while driving to demonstrate the commitment of the organisation to employee safety.
Research
Meanwhile, online research by www.whatcar.com found that millions of motorists continue to use a hand-held mobile phone at the wheel and that numbers were increasing.
In a poll, 31% of website visitors admitted to making quick calls, while 15% said they regularly chatted away. Six out of 10 of these regular users also admitted to texting as they drove.
The 46% total fi gure represents more than 15 million motorists and is more than twice as high as the latest estimate from the DfT, and 30 times its original approximation that use stood at just 1.5%.
The results also show attitudes to using a hand-held phone have worsened. In 2004, 42% of motorists visiting the website admitted using a hand-held phone as they drove, while in 2005 the figure was 43%.
Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "Far too many motorists have been ignoring the mobile phone law and risking their own lives and those of others on the roads around them.
Responsibility
"Employers have a responsibility under health and safety law to manage the risks faced by their employees on the road - and one of the biggest risks they face is using a mobile phone at the wheel. Bosses could be in trouble under health and safety laws if an investigation showed the use of a phone contributed to an accident. It is also bad publicity if a company's drivers cause accidents and if employees are injured it disrupts business as well."
He added: "We believe the threat of points on a licence and an increased fine will give this legislation new teeth, because those irresponsible people, who think their call is more important than someone's life, are likely to take the threat to their licence more seriously."
Fleet management company Masterlease says companies should use the new law as a focus to tighten health and safety policies to ensure drivers are perfectly clear about what they can and cannot do with their mobiles while they are driving. However, the company says the clearest step employers can take to ensure they avoid prosecution is to ban drivers' mobile calls outright.
Informed
Drivers should be correctly informed of their responsibilities while driving and should sign an agreement to show that they are aware of their employer's requirements, said Masterlease risk management expert Gavin Jones.
He added: "This does not mean returning to the dark ages and outlawing all contact with employees and colleagues who are out of the office. Instead, ensure people make use of messaging facilities and return calls when they are in a position to do so safely."
And Peter Rodger, the Institute of Advanced Motorists' chief examiner, said drivers who thought they could 'beat the ban' by buying hands-free kits were still putting themselves and their passengers at risk.
He said: "Drivers are potentially buying trouble. When you are hands-free research has shown that you are four times more likely to crash because your concentration is split. There are other laws you can be prosecuted under if you are involved in a crash.
"The best advice is to switch off before you drive - and if you really can't do that, be prepared to stop and find somewhere legal and convenient to return that missed call or check your messages."
Police give the option of education
Legislation update
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Thames Valley Police is giving drivers caught using a hand-held mobile phone while on the move the option of education instead of getting three points on their licence and a £60 fixed penalty fine...
The force has launched a new education workshop called 'Call Divert', which is being offered to offenders with the fi rst workshops, run by risk management experts DriveTech (UK), taking place this month (April).
The police say that the aim of the workshop is to educate drivers about the 'real dangers' of making a mobile phone call when driving and raise awareness among drivers that it is not only illegal, but is a significant cause of accidents.
Malcolm Collis, head of the Specialist Units, Thames Valley Police Roads Policing Department, said: "My advice is for drivers to switch their mobile phone off when they get into a vehicle. Any call is a distraction and we know this causes crashes. We will continue to carry out roadside checks to tackle motorists who drive while using a handheld mobile phone."
The workshop, which costs £74 (including VAT) and lasts two-and-a-half-hours, focuses on the effects of holding a mobile phone when driving. It also emphasises how incar distractions can lead to potentially fatal consequences for the driver and their passengers, as well as other road users.
Mr Collis said: "The workshop will give us the opportunity to educate drivers about why using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is so dangerous. We know that people are still doing this even though it is illegal. By offering education as an alternative to punishment, we hope to change drivers' attitudes and make the roads safer."
The new scheme complements the current Thames Valley Police diversionary schemes including the Driver Improvement, Rider Improvement, Speed Awareness and Seatbelt Awareness workshops, managed by DriveTech (UK).
Victims pay the price for illegal mobile phone calls
Legislation update
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We highlight recent court cases involving mobile phones...
- Sales executive Michael Smith, of Pontypool, was jailed for two years in February for killing another motorist minutes after sending text messages from his mobile phone while on the A472 between Pontypool and Usk. The crash happened in October 2005. Smith was found guilty of causing the death of David Brown (53) by dangerous driving.
- Lorry driver Andrew Chrisp (26), of Northumberland, was jailed in December 2006 for three years after killing a mum of two having taken his eyes off the road to read a text message on his mobile phone. He was reading the text when his 7.5 tonne lorry ploughed into the back of schoolteacher Zoe Carvin's car as she waited at traffic lights. Smith pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on the A1.
- Hit-and-run driver Tony Revell (18) killed milkman Christopher Losper (60), who had just climbed down from his milkfl oat in the early morning, seconds after reading a text message from his girlfriend telling him their relationship was over.
Revell has admitted causing death by dangerous driving, failing to report an accident and failing to stop after an accident. He was due to be sentenced for the incident, in Dorset, as RoadSafe went to press.