Posted By Karen Rogers Tom, Try looking on the ROSPA web site www.rospa.co.uk, they have some useful information. Regards Karen

Posted By Merv Newman Tom, having followed the recent studies on mobile phone in-car use, I can offer only one word of advice - DONT The decrease in attention/concentration on driving and the increased probability of an accident are very significant, even with hands free. Basic rules : 1. Never make a call when driving 2. If the phone rings, ignore it or pull over and stop before answering. 2.1 explain the delay by saying "sorry, but I was driving when you called. Company safety rules insist that I stop the car before answering. Merv Newman

Posted By George Wedgwood I absolutely agree but it takes courage for a company to make this a 'policy' of conduct. Such a policy is from a company I am working with at present; "The policy on use of mobile phones whilst driving: You cannot drive safely unless you are fully aware of what is happening around you and concentrating on the environment in which you are moving. When your vehicle is in motion, stopped at traffic lights or in a traffic jam, you must not use a hand held mobile telephone for audio calls or messaging. Unless a passenger is available to answer your hand held mobile phone, you must let it switch to Voicemail while the vehicle is in motion. Even using hands-free equipment is likely to distract attention from the road and its use must be confined to receiving short duration calls and only if you can do so without compromising safety. You must not use a mobile phone for conference calls whilst driving. If you need to make a call, you must pull off the carriageway to a safe position before making it. Plan ahead. If you know you need to make telephone calls or participate in conference calls make sure that these can take place when you are not driving . It is vital for Customer Satisfaction that we keep our customers informed through the continued use of the normal processes and all travelling employees should follow the mobile phone usage policy when making contact with our customers. These calls should be made when the vehicle is safely parked e.g. at the employee's previous job, ensuring that the policy does not impact on the key requirement to keep our customers informed. Lets make sure that all of us in the company do comply with our policy on this important issue." I listened to one of our Directors today state her commitment to making this work by demonstrating that she turned her phone off whilst driving. That is 'felt leadership'! I hope this helps. Regards, George Wedgwood FIOSH