NEWS
Van drivers are being targeted by the government as it kicks off its campaign to stop people making phone calls while driving.
The road safety campaign will home in on the UK's three million-strong army of 'white van men' in an attempt to reduce road deaths and casualties from in-car calls.
Around 200 road deaths and serious injuries in the UK each week involve someone who is at work, according to government research.
Callers who ring drivers on their mobiles will also be urged to hang up and phone back later as part of TV ads running the slogan: 'If they're driving, kill the conversation'.
Stephen Ladyman, road safety minister, said employers must take responsibility for managing the safety of their staff when out on the road. Drivers can take their attention off the road if their bosses ring them on their mobiles.
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Separate government research revealed last week that nearly one in four UK bosses could find themselves liable for prosecution if their workers use a mobile for work-related calls while driving.
The government also launched a website offering advice and good practice for employers who want to buff up their driving policies as part of the campaign.
The national 'THINK! Driving for work' campaign will focus on removing many of the hazards van drivers face during a working day - such as answering mobile phones, stress and fatigue.
Drivers and their bosses will also be encouraged to plan journeys better in a bid to tackle speeding.
On 27 February the punishment for using a handheld mobile while driving increased to £60 and three penalty points on the driving licence. Nearly one-third of employers are not aware of the harsher penalties, according to separate research from an online YouGov survey of UK employers.
Comments
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1. Ruth
Well, another easy target, it beats having to do the original police job of chasing after muggers, rapists, thieves & drug dealers & making the streets safe for people doesn't it? And probably a lot more lucrative for the police too! However, at least they (the police) may check the documents of the people they stop, thereby catching some of the no tax, no insurance, no MOT brigade. I'm not suggesting that 'white van man' is any more likely to be one of those than any other type of motorist but I'm sure there's some.
2. Cassandra
Why not take out easy targets - if you phone when you drive you can kill and maim. It's what can happen when you don't notice, are not in control and can swerve when you turn or drift and run others off the road? Or is that not real enough for Ruth?
3. Jeremy Wickins
Cassandra, it is the lack of consistency here that puts people's backs up. There are many more likely distractions whilst driving that no-one mentions, and which don't have special laws to deal with them - talking to a passenger, changing the volume on the radio, lighting a cigarette (for now!), putting make-up on, checking the speedo more often because you are in an average-speed check area, and so on. There is a perfectly good offence in "driving without due care and attention", which can be taken to "dangerous driving" if necessary. However, that requires due process, which is something this government hates - fixed penalty fines are sooooo much easier to ensure a revenue stream.
Another point: for all the millions of miles driven, and the millions of phone calls made, the casualty figures are small, and small figures are difficult to reduce further. The enforcement to get a trivial reduction becomes intrusive - that is the point at which we are now.
4. Jerome Pearce
I used to object to the huge resources spent on policing our roads. Then I realised one day that by far the MAIN CAUSE of injury and death that can be be prevented by police is on the roads.
I stopped complaining and started following the rules more carefully.
5. Mike Perry
Like Jeremy I think that mobile phone use has to be put into perspective along with all the other distractions. I don't know what sort of restrictions there should be, but I would be very interested to find out, if anybody knows of any research data, why talking on a hand-held mobile phone is more distracting than using a speaker in the car, or a Bluetooth headset?
Is talking via a phone more distracting than talking to a passenger? If so, why?
Is listening via a phone more distracting than listening to a passenger, or Radio 4? If so, why?