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Mobile Phones and Driving
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Date: 16th December 2003
On 1st December 2003 the Road and Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 were amended making it a specific offence to use a hand held phone or similar device when driving a motor vehicle. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) estimates that at least 20 people have died on Britain's roads in crashes where mobile phones have been implicated.
The offence is subject to a £30 fixed penalty or maximum fine of £1000 for conviction in court (maximum of £2,500 for drivers of goods vehicles or buses/coaches). However, the Department for Transport plans to increase the penalty for the new offence by making it subject to 3 penalty points and a fixed £60 penalty. Employers could be found guilty if they require their employees to use a hand-held phone while driving or failed to ban the use of such phones on company business.
Hands-free equipment is allowed provided that the phone can be operated without holding it. Pushing buttons on a phone while it is still in a cradle or on the steering wheel or handlebars of a motorbike is allowed, provided the driver does not hold the phone. Cradling a phone between the ear and shoulder will be an offence.
The ban applies when driving and driving includes times when stopped at traffic lights or during other hold-ups that may occur during a typical journey. In genuine emergencies, there is an exemption for 999 calls where it is unsafe or impractical to stop.
2-Way Radios
The use of 2-way "press to talk" radio equipment when driving is
not included in the new offence and will continue to be allowed. However,
if a device is a dual or multi purpose device that can be used both as a mobile
phone and a 2-way radio, the use of the device while driving is banned. Use
is banned regardless of whether the device is being used as a 2-way radio
or as a mobile phone.
GMB Position
Under the Road Traffic Act and the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations
drivers still risk prosecution following an incident for failure to have proper
control, even where they use hands-free phones or 2-way radios. There is a
strong body of evidence to suggest that driving when using a hands-free phone
can be distracting and many hands free sets have poor reception. RoSPA state
that mobile phones should never be used when driving.
The GMB supports RoSPA's position and wants employers to provide mobile phones with an answering facility/voicemail or call diversion in vehicles used for work. Drivers should return calls when the vehicle is safely parked and the engine turned off. Driving schedules should be realistic and allow for time needed to take and receive calls. This is a very important point as more and more drivers are expected to use their vehicle as a mobile office.
Employers have duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 to protect their employees who drive as part of their work and control the risks to drivers they employ (see Helath and Safety Matters Driving at Work October 2003). The Health and Safety Executive and the Department for Transport advise that an employer's health and safety policy statement should cover work-related road safety.
Action Points for Safety Representatives
Ensure that your employer has an internal policy in place banning the use of hand held phones when driving;
Ensure that your employer makes all drivers and their managers aware of the new law and that fact that they should not use a hand held phone when driving;
Get members to report any incidents where they are being pressurised to break the law and use a hand held phone when driving;
Press for all mobile phone equipment issued by the company to have a message facility and press for a policy on mobile phone use which allows drivers to park safely and only receive calls, pick up messages and return calls when the engine is off. Ensure that driving schedules allow for this;
Where hands free phone systems are fitted ensure that they comply with the relevant standards;
Ensure that your employer carries out risk assessments on all driving activites
(see Health and Safety Matters Driving at Work October 2003).
Further Information:
Driving at work - Managing work-related road safety is available free from HSE PO Box 199, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2 WA tel. 01787 881165
[RoSPA briefing on mobile phones and driving:] http://www.rospa.com/road/pdfs/mobiles/new_law2003.pdf
[Department of Transport information sheet:]
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