"car tech" may not be illegal but bluetooth devices still present a problem. Back in 2007, a lorry driver who caused a fatal accident during a hands-free mobile phone call, was jailed for four-and-a-half years, case concluded in 2008, with him being released in 2010. He had been talking for 23 minutes using the Bluetooth connection in his cab. He was also banned from driving for five years; however, in 2011 & due to considerable remorse at causing the crash, the judge returned his licence early. This was partly because that due to his inability to drive, it meant he was on the minimum wage & he was suffering considerable hardship & that additionally as a result of the case, the driver's haulage business had collapsed. I'm sure the wife & family of the person who was killed may also have an opinion on that. A web search will find all the details on this case Personally speaking, I have ensured that my mobile phone goes to voicemail if it rings when I am driving. I can hear the person whilst I am driving via speakerphone & should it be urgent I can then stop in a safe place & return the call. Since I have adopted this procedure, approx. 3 & half years, I have not had to stop to return a call once. In other words it could wait until I reached my next destination. So, in essence there is never a telephone conversation that is worth the cost of someone's life or conversely, the driver’s freedom. Hopefully, the above will help focus the mind on the use of mobile phones & a suitable policy.

Taxi drivers drive and use their mobiles and radio mikes As above for the police (but they have magic powers). People talk to drivers of buses and wives yell and poor hubby when he's driving. Conversations are held between driver and passengers all the time. BIG adds at the roadside demand our attention... Meatloaf on the radio etc etc ALL demand our attention... Talking about work problems to the foreman sitting next to you at 70+ on the M4... Kids ask 'are we there yet' when mum or dad are driving. I like motorcycles .... Focused! Lid on, phone off... dail reading 165mph... If you hear a voice on the voice mail that is a distraction in itself ;-) ops, did I say 165 mph...slip of the fingers...

The H&S issue is the impact on reaction times whilst driving not simply distractions. The IAM published a report ‘Don’t poke me, I’m driving: a simulator study on smartphone use.(March 2012)! Whilst it focused on the impact of using social media whilst driving (yes it does happen) and young drivers between 17-24 it also published some general data which I found very interesting and often use when talking about the subject. The figures are: --handheld mobile phone conversation slows reaction times by 45.9% --Using a smartphone for social networking slows reaction times by 37.6 per cent. --Texting slows reaction times by 37.4 per cent. --Hands-free mobile phone conversation slows reaction times by 26.5 per cent. --Cannabis slows reaction times by 21 per cent. --Alcohol (above UK driving limit but below 100mg per 100ml of blood) slows reaction time by between six and 15 per cent. --Alcohol at the legal limit slows reaction times by 12.5 per cent. On the other side one can find recent research http://www.lse.ac.uk/new...013/08/MobilePhones.aspx that challenges the link between use and accidents. I haven’t studied this research in detail but offer it simply as a source of differing views. Interesting isn’t it that the IAM suggest that having a hands free telecon has more impact on reaction times than driving whilst above the legal limit for alcohol? As to the legality or otherwise, the use of hand held mobile phones whilst driving in cars is an offence. Using an hands free mobile phone is not an offence but such use can be used as evidence of other motoring offences. If the police feel you are not in proper control of the vehicle then you can be prosecuted. Just the same as if you are fiddling with the satnav, doing your make up, combing your hair, drinking a hot coffee whilst balancing an almost cold double cheese burger in the other hand trying not spill the tomato sauce on your clothes and all at 75mph on the motorway ( Yes I have seen it, many times!) Hope that gives something to consider in your deliberations. My opinion is that sensible use of comms kit should be possible but it requires proper individual control. Bans just don't work as plenty of research also shows, P48

Petes advice is consistent with a presentation from RoSPA a few years ago

The use of mobile phones in vehicles is fraught with problems - for example, even hands-free equipment is not totally legal as Victor has demonstrated in his post. A company must decide whether to provide hands-free or not. The problem if you don't provide hands-free is that you may be encouraging personnel to use the phone whilst driving - an even bigger problem. No easy answers to this one. At the end of the day you have to encourage staff to act responsibly whatever process you employ. I personally would go for the hands free option only because I live in the real world. Indeed the biggest offenders in my experience are senior managers - what does that say about the setting a good example?

Within our policy we also re-enforced calling courtesy applied to all staff not only those with company mobiles and drivers. In this technological era people are assumed to always be available and as a call connects the caller invariably launches in to the gist of their conversation wrongly assuming the recipient is in an identical position to fully accept and interact. A matter not helped by conditioning to answer a ringing telephone. When ringing a mobile number staff are required to start the call by verifying that the recipient is in a position to talk....."are you free to talk?" We have found this simple courtesy gives the person with the mobile the opportunity to delay the conversation without causing the caller offence and minimises distraction from whatever activity the recipient is doing (driving, client meeting, comfort break etc.). Once again an interesting thread and certainly quite a few pointers for our upcoming policy review - I might one day get back to a policy with mobiles switched off and locked in the boot!

Just to get back to a point made by Victor: Look back on your whole lifetime and tell me how many "important" phone calls have you ever received? My guess is a hand full Get a grip on reality and concentrate on what is probably your most hazardous task of the working day

Back to Steve's OP then, and building on Victor's RT Act references above, it would be a brave man who puts his name to a policy permitting widespread use of hands free. As RoSPA and others make clear: even with hands-free, if police determine this contributed to an accident, then the employer or individual manager can be charged under the "cause or permit" sanctions within RT Act.

Not sure there are any easy or ready answers to this. If Bluetooth technology is fitted or provided will people use it? Human nature being what it is of course they will. I recall when the legislation making it an offence to use a hand held mobile ‘phone came into force. I can also recall discussions about using hands free devices (at that time many staff were actively purchasing their own). I advised that because of the evidence of distraction pointed out so ably by Pete48 the organisation make it clear that use of a ‘phone while driving was not acceptable and that managers should not make calls to staff who they knew or believed were out on calls and might be driving. Certainly no staff were expected to make or take business calls while out on the road (even though some because of their roles felt that they absolutely had to) and if caught so doing would be subject to internal disciplinary action as would any staff member making the call to them. However, as we all know this is difficult to enforce especially if the Bluetooth is as is the case in many modern cars part of the package (as is mine) and everything from making to receiving the call is through voice activation and a touch of one button on the steering wheel. Back to human nature again “It will only take a couple of minutes to answer this…” which then turns into a half hour or longer conversation. I try to ignore calls while driving and look at the display on the radio dash to see who it is –then I can prioritise whether to pull in at the nearest safe place to return the call or wait until I have reached my destination. Have I used the ‘hands free phone technology while driving, well hands up it’s a fair cop guv, yes I have, but only at slow speeds while stuck in traffic queues and oft times just to say “I am driving will call you back asap”. Or “I’m stuck in traffic will be late.” Well no one is perfect. With Bluetooth technology the way it is coming as standard in many cars not sure how you can effectively stop or limit its use other than by continuing education on the dangers. Pete48 makes the point also that you can still be prosecuted for other offences such as dangerous or careless driving if it can be shown that even by using your hands free ‘phone You are not in proper control. Our current policy says: “The use of mobile telephones while driving is actively discouraged and it is illegal if no hands free device is in use. Evidence shows that the use of hands free equipment can still lead to driver distraction, however, if individual judgement is such that it is felt that a call must be made or received while driving and a suitable stopping place is not available then mobile telephone calls must only be carried out using hands free equipment or via Blue Tooth headsets and must adhere to the current Road Traffic Law.” The sending or reading of text messages while driving is strictly prohibited”. So all in all no easy answers to this one.

Ron, not disagreeing with your sentiments - but hands up all those who have never answered a call whilst driving. You don't know a call is important or not until you have answered the phone. Of course the same argument equally applies to speeding - it's illegal, but hands up...

Sorry Ray (I've got my hand up!) In the car Phone on silent check when I next stop Which means I might be out of contact for as much as 3 hours - no big deal I'll admit to speeding however Brain surgeons might get important calls but lets face it most of us never do. Except by our own self important standards.

Interesting but how about telling your work colleagues when you will be on the road and driving and turn off speaker. Anyone wanting to contact you can be requested to text message and you can pick them up when you stop for you regular break from driving, when will that be - 2 hours or so? Any calls that are received will be silent and leave a "missed call" message - just call them back when convenient. Is it worth risking killing someone with what that all entails, jail, large fine etc. or even just £60.00 and 6 points?

Very well said - I would have thought 'best practice' is what 'we' all advocate.

The lady who hit the car when the wife was at the wheel was feeding the baby! (The child was in the rear seat). I agree with you Clairel regarding our posts and I for one see nothing wrong with what you said. Quite the opposite as it happens. Some time I go a bit too far... I made the list as a sort of 'tongue in cheek' reference to the amount of distractions drivers have to put up with. I'll admit to being influenced by music in the car etc. We are human and make mistakes (Big bad ones on times) and I'm sure that very few set out to hurt anyone. For the record, I switch my phone off. Not silent or answer phone but off.

Glitch in the matrix. We're back now ;-)

I've got my hand up Ray. There's no need (we managed perfectly well before they came along) and there's no excuse. I also cannot fathom those who rush or drop everything or (particularly rude) interrupt a conversation to answer a ringing phone. I still consider the telephone to be the rudest of inventions. I've noticed that even the cheapest of mobile phones have an "off" function..........

Thank you all for your input & honesty (writing one handed because the others raised)!

Best Practice? Probaly abit akin to self regulation. Nobody bothers!

I too am going to raise my hand… to say that I disagree, strongly. There is an air of sanctimony about the declarations on car phone use. What’s the phone ever done to the car user that radio, sat nav et al hasn’t done before it? I don’t believe for one minute that, as stated, every phone is turned off before every car journey with 100% efficiency. Not even close I’d say. Or, perhaps, I’m overstating the point. I’m a technophile and, generally, I feel that those putting forward the contrary opinion (regarding phones) are perhaps exhibiting their own technophobia. I’m aware that I may be slipping into gross generalisations here but I think you get my point. It’s hard to complain about mobile phone use when you own an iphone. It’s also a little bit rich for a company to put one into your hand, as an essential work tool, and then demand that you not use it while driving. What if you’re a travelling salesperson? What I do agree here with is that there is an awful lot of technology in modern cars. All of which can, and does, take away from the attention of the driver perform the primary task. But let’s not blame it all on the phones. Yes, some people drive with a mobile stuck to their ear which is wrong and illegal, but I don’t. Show me the difference between having a conversation on the hands free and talking to a passenger, or eating your breakfast, or coffee, or lighting up a smoke? Mobile phones didn’t invent driver distraction, ferrying the kids around did long before. If you really want to lower TRAs, make cars illegal. A ridiculous point perhaps, but are the deaths of hundreds each year really worth the pleasure of driving yourself to work each morning. Mick

I very much doubt that those who do not want mobile phones to be used for communicating whilst driving, even hands free are technophobes! It is up to the employer to consult and then decide upon policies regarding mobile phone use whilst driving for work. Yes, there can be and there are other distractions, but if research is to be believed, then the evidence is pretty much out there. What we do in our personal lives outside work is not being debated here. We are a multinational/global company and the use of mobile phones is not permitted for communication i.e. no talking, no texting, no exceptions, but one can set up a smart phone and use it as a Sat-Nav