Posted By Phil Roberts Byron, I have forwarded a copy of our policy. Let me know if you have any problems receiving it. Phil

Posted By John Murphy Byron, I have sent a copy of our risk assesment and guidance to staff on use of mobile phones to your e-mail address. John

Posted By Sarah J Shaw Hi Jim, Being married to a traffic Officer I can say that the bill is unlikely to pass as this has been raised before. The reason being that the police can already prosecute for driving without due care and attention. However if the offence became a fixed penalty fine, that would be different. More revenue for the local authorities! Byron, Our policy is the same as the others have mentioned here. However, I would like to add a word of caution. Make sure that you do not give contradictory messages ie don't use mobiles use the answer service, then tell internal staff not to leave messages for reps etc on the road, as it costs twice as much in phone bills (one call to record a message and one to listen to it). Its the usual problem of conflicting business interests and no one bothering to talk to each other or H&S. I wish you luck in enforcing it, it is very hard to police. I believe there has been one prosecution for dangerous driving (or was it manslaughter) where the police proved that the driver was on the mobile at the time of the accident, as the phone call had not diconnected. Sorry I did not keep the reference, but it could be an example to use with you staff. Good luck Sarah Shaw

Posted By Nigel Singleton BSc HI I would like to share an incident that happended to me whilst using a hands free mobile phone and driving. I believe that the problem needs to be considered from several different angles, and the companies policy should reflect receiving calls from mobiles as well as their staff using them whilst driving. I had reason to phone a company whilst driving, however I ensured that I was using hands free; the response from the company I was phoning however took me very much by surprise. Obviously hearing that I was using a mobile, the person I had contacted asked if I was using a mobile whilst driving, I replied that I was but it was a hands free. Her response was obviously based on company policy but caused a mental reaction from me that made me think. The woman was not in the least bit polite and said "I will not talk to you on the phone as it is against company policy", I agreed with the idea, however her phone manner was extremely aggressive and shocked me. Although I know it is wrong to react negatively, I am after all only human. What happened after the call, was that for the next 20 or 30 miles of my journey, my mind was completely focussed on the phone call and my driving became more aggressive, to the point that I pulled over at a service station and took 10 minutes out. If your company has a policy of not talking to people who are calling from mobiles in the car, please ensure that they understand that the way that they inform the driver that the company policy is not to talk to drivers using their phones can have a significant impact on their driving habits! P.S. The incident involving man slaughter happened in Lincolnshire, the lady driver in question was having an arguement with her boy friend whilst overtaking a lorry at 75mph in a 60 zone, she then collided head on with another car.