At my pervious company, we implemented a hands free only policy before the ban was even on the horizon. However, as the majority of users at the time were field sales people, we also implemented certain criteria, such as not getting into in depth conversations/ dealing with irate clients, etc., whilst driving. They were told to state to the caller that they were currently driving and would call back in 'xx' minutes. Also, if the internal sales team called one of the field sales guys, the first question they were to ask was 'is it safe to talk?'. If they were driving, they were to say so, and the internal sales person would terminate the call by asking them to call back when safe/ convenient to do so. Apart from meaning they were less likely to be distracted from driving, we sold this to them on the basis that rather than having to think on their feet, in th espace of a few seconds, they would be able to gain an insight into what the call was about. The intervening time could then be spent formulating a reply/ working on a solution... In my present company, use of mobile phones whilst driving is prohibited entirely - hands free included. There is a lot of evidence out there that indicates that whether hand held or hands free, the level of distraction is similar (if not the same). I heard somewhere recently that using a phone whilst driving can lead to higher levels of impedence in concentration than drink driving. However, I can't remember the source for this.

The levels of distraction apparently come from the thought process whilst in various types of conversation, wioth a significantly higher level of concentration being directed to the phone conversation than to driving. In the main, people tend to concentrate more on the conversation than on their surroundings. The person on the other end of the phone is not aware of the drivers surroundings/ traffic levels/ speed/ etc., whereas a passenger is. As to smoking, that isn't allowed either - the Health Act which came into force in 2007 bans this in company vechicles and, I believe, private vehicles when used on company business, when non-smoking passengers are present. I take your point on radio's/ cd players/ etc., and I expect that these can prove to be a distraction at times. However, two way conversation is not part of the process of listening to these (singing excepted..), then again, a driver should be able to switch more attention to what is going on in their surroundings (i.e. traffic) when necessary. There was a survey somewhere that indicated also that different types of music was a contributory factor to different driving attitudes (rock music leadigt to drivers driving faster/ being more aggressive/ assertive and classical being the opposite), but that's a different topic completely.

Our driving policy, that I have written, 'strongly discourages' the use of hands free.

Not all employers are fully aware of the "cause or permit" clauses of Road Traffic Legislation. Further info. at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/fo...rnalops/oms/2009/002.htm

#4 - "whereas a passenger is." You must have a very select group of passengers. My 90 year old mother would not have had a clue as to the traffic situation. Nor did my children at ages 8 and 10 when arguing in the back. And if it gets critical I can always turn the phone off. How do you turn two argumentative children in the back of the car off? And being able to quickly phone my client to say I am stuck in traffic and will be late takes a lot of stress out of the situation, arguably allowing me to concentrate better on the traffic situation and my driving.

In our organisation we discourage hands free rather than an outright ban. Personally I would like an outright ban but I was out-voted on that one. I think the culture is that most senior managers and directors are the personality types who like to talk a lot and they cannot cope with the concept of driving while shutting up! I get into this situation a lot: "Hi, are you able to talk at the moment?" "Yeah fine," (I can hear traffic noise or clicking noises of indicator in the background), "Are you driving?" I say. "Yeah but its fine - how can I help you". "Don't worry - just call me back when you are not driving". "Are you sure - it's fine I can talk and drive safely at the same time." , "I'd rather not debate this now". "Speak soon -bye" - as I practically have to cut the person off! Meanwhile the person has exposed themselves and pedestrians to a whole series of unnecessary risks. If it was clear company policy - it would be much easier and more respected.

Despite what the company policy says about the use of hands-free phones whilst driving, if the company provide a phone with a hands-free kit then they either expect staff to use the hands-free or they are at least condoning its use when driving. If not, the company would not provide a hands-free kit, it is really that simple. It is of course up to the end user to decide whether they wish to take a call or not, either a short one stating they are driving and will phone back, or a full blown conversation...

Nick As I recall the original research was published by RoSPA in 2000. It was sufficiently scary to persuade our Cheif Exec to sign up to an immediate ban on all use of phones when driving.