ukwa 2 cover - United Kingdom Warehousing Association

16 Legal
The use of mobile telephones while driving became an
offence in the UK in 2003. However, the use of hands-free
devices remains legal, but does the legislation go far
enough, asks Vikki Woodfine
Careless
talk
The Home Office has revealed that
nearly 3,000 motorists in England and
Wales were prosecuted in 2007 for
failing to have proper control of their vehicles
while being distracted by hands-free
telephone calls and are putting other road
users at risk unnecessarily.
Research has found that drivers are four
times more likely to have an accident while
using a mobile telephone. Further, the risk
of causing an accident can be prolonged
for up to ten minutes after a hands-free call
has ended, suggesting that a driver remains
distracted even after a call has concluded. It
has also been found that drivers are less
able to maintain constant speed whilst
making hands-free telephone calls and they
have slower reaction times than a driver
who is under the influence of alcohol! Even
a momentary lapse of concentration by a
driver can have devastating and fatal consequences,
as many recent cases in the
press have highlighted.
Lincoln Crown Court imposed a four and
a half year custodial sentence together with
a five year driving ban following the conviction
of lorry driver Mervyn Richards for
causing an accident that killed a man while
using a hands-free mobile phone device
while driving. It was considered that the use
of a mobile phone, even though it was
hands-free, distracted the driver and was a
major factor in causing the accident.
Lynne-Marie Howden, director of a business
consultancy company was found not
guilty of causing death by dangerous driving
by Warwick Crown Court on 20
February 2009, but was convicted of the
lesser charge of careless driving for using a
hands-free device while driving. This prosecution
came about following Ms Howden’s
vehicle driving onto the wrong side of the
road and causing a head-on collision with
another vehicle. The driver of that other
vehicle, Patricia Frostick died of a heart
attack at the scene of the accident.
Following her conviction, Ms Howden was
disqualified from driving for a period of 12
months and was also fined £2,000. She
had been on her mobile phone for more
than 37 minutes and the Court heard that
she had been observed swerving across the
A429 near Stratford-upon-Avon moments
before the accident. The Court also heard
that Ms Howden had been seen driving in
the wrong lane at a roundabout before the
accident, which caused her to pull out in
front of another vehicle.
The Court was told by Ms Howden that
she frequently used her mobile phone whilst
driving as she described her car as her
office and she saw nothing wrong with this.
Had this incident occurred after introduction
of Corporate Manslaughter and
Corporate Homicide Act 2007, Ms
Howden’s employers could have come
under investigation for possible charges
April 2009
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