Companies impose hands-free ban

Drivers on hands-free mobile phones took 20% longer to hit the brakes, following distances increased by 30% as drivers failed to keep pace with traffic and memory performance declined by 11%, according to the study by the University of Utah.

“It’s time that our politicians took note and put an end to the ridiculous situation where using a hand-held mobile is banned, but using hands-free isn’t,” said Ellen Booth, campaigns officer for road safety charity Brake, a partner of 'Driving for Better Business'.

The Department for Transport previously ruled out a review of the law in March 2009 when TRL research found that using a hands-free phone while driving was more likely to lengthen reaction times than having 80mg of alcohol in the bloodstream – the current UK limit – and no political party has shown the appetite to introduce a ban.

Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “No phone call is worth a life. We urge employers to take the lead in making sure that staff switch off their phones when they switch on their engines.”

A Fleet News poll following the 2009 TRL research revealed a minority (45%) of fleets had banned their drivers from using hands-free phones.

Driving for Better Business champion company 3M has banned its 4,000 employees from using hands-free mobiles while driving in July 2008. The ban covers all employees such as sales representatives whether they are driving company cars or using their own vehicles on business.

The company doesn’t marry call data with employees’ driving times in order to monitor compliance. Instead, the ban is based on winning hearts and minds with the repetition and reinforcement of messages over time.

3M’s managing director Doug Mitchell explained: “Our employees’ welfare and safety is paramount to 3M. We have an outstanding record when it comes to the prevention of workplace accidents and we are fully committed to keeping that record whether our employees are on 3M premises or on the move.”

Currently, drivers caught using a handheld mobile phone face three penalty points and a £60 fine, but even without a change in the law for hands-free phones drivers could face prosecution.