Mobile Phone Use and Driver Safety
With lockdown restrictions beginning to lift and drivers returning to the road, it is a good opportunity for employers to remind themselves of mobile phone use and driver safety.
Drivers using hands-free or handheld mobile phones are slower at recognising and reacting to hazards. As a UK employer you have a duty of care to reduce this risk, for the employee and for the company. Here are some facts and points of law.
Facts
- You are 4 times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone
- Your reaction times are two times slower if you text and drive than if you drink drive, and this increases to 3 times if you use a handheld phone
- At 30mph, a car travels 100 feet in 2.3 seconds, a split-second lapse in concentration could easily result in a crash.
Law
- It is illegal to use a handheld mobile phone when driving, including maps, text or social media
- It is illegal to use whilst supervising a learner driver
- These elements still apply even where stopped at lights or queuing in traffic
- If caught using a mobile phone while driving, you can expect a 6-point penalty and a fine of £200
- If you are to accrue 6-points in first 2 years of passing your test, you will lose your licence.
By March 2017, more than 26,000 drivers had been issued 6 points on their licence, and 500 new drivers had lost their licence.
Laws are in place already to cover where the standards of drivers using handsfree mobiles drop below an acceptable level. If talking using hands-free causes a distraction which jeopardises the safety or standard of driving - or general control of vehicle - you may be guilty of dangerous driving or driving without due care and attention.
Using a handsfree mobile phone while driving and causing a fatal accident could also lead to a conviction for causing death by dangerous driving and up to 14 years in prison.
Recent research suggests around 90% of organisations choose to implement a policy to ban the use of handheld phones. Less than 30% of fleets restrict the use of hands-free phones by at-work drivers, despite the risk. Hands-free calls cause the similar levels of distraction to hand held calls, it is the call itself that causes distraction, not holding the phone.
Examples of those prosecuted within the UK judicial system: -
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/31/lorry-driver-distracted-phone-jailed-10-years-crash-deaths-tomasz-kroker
https://www.scotsman.com/news/crime/jail-lorry-driver-who-killed-woman-crash-while-using-his-mobile-phone-571608
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/radcliffe-schoolboy-killed-truck-driver-17728679
Still unclear on the issues and what is required from you? Email our panel of experts [email protected] for further advice