RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

November 23, 2004
ACTION CALL TO SAVE COMPANY DRIVERS FROM PENALTY POINTS

The Government’s decision to introduce penalty points for drivers caught talking on hand-held phones needs immediate action from businesses and the car fleet industry, RoSPA warned today.

Companies that wait until the introduction of the new Road Safety Bill - announced in the Queen’s Speech today - before considering the implications for their business and drivers would be asking for trouble, Charles Davis, RoSPA Head of Driver and Fleet Solutions, said.

“Points on licences for talking on the phone take drivers one step closer to a ban,” he said. “A banned driver could be sacked and the company might lose business and face the expense of having to find a replacement.

“Fleet managers and human resources departments need to be sure they have the policies in place to deal with this issue now. This makes regular licence checks even more important, and shows how essential it is for bosses to examine the licences of new employees who will have to be on the road as part of their job.

“It should be a disciplinary offence for drivers to make or receive calls while on the move, and employers need to ensure their staff have suitable technology to pick up messages and return calls when they are parked safely.

“Office-based staff should to be trained so that they do not call people who are driving. Good journey planning can help them to know when fellow employees are likely to be off the road. This can prevent drivers from picking up the phone needlessly if they have forgotten to switch it off. ”

He said phones could be extremely useful in cars if only for personal safety reasons. But people should switch them off when they got into the vehicle and not turn them on again until they had stopped in a safe place. With human error being a factor in 95 per cent of accidents, employers needed to do all they could to stop distractions in company cars.

“Talking on the phone – whether hand-held or hands-free - while driving makes motorists four times more likely to crash,” Charles Davis said. “People taking a business call will understandably need to give it 100 per cent concentration and that means their driving is bound to suffer.

“Employers who think that their calls are more important than someone’s life will be sending out the wrong message to their staff and their customers. They are also likely to be breaking health and safety laws if they allow their employees to make calls while at the wheel.”