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Underlying problem is that mobile phones were targeted initially arguably as a result of envy. That was followed by people “wanting” to show mobile phones are a safety problem – hence the comment about a 4 times crash risk.
The reality is that talking on a mobile phone is NOT unsafe. But all the other smart phone activities that take a driver’s eyes of the road ahead for 2 seconds or more ARE unsafe.
So advice should reflect these realities. Phones must be set up for voice commands; use voice commands to phone others; if traffic gets busy end calls/ don’t start new calls/ if you have to answer a call just advise you will ring back. Never enter phone numbers/ read emails or texts/ scan internet while driving.
JOHN M LAMBERT
E: lambertj235@bigpond.com
T: 61417033258Hi Cheryl
Delighted to say after many years of trying the latest update to our corporate driving for work policy includes a total ban on hands free phone use etc. If you want a .pdf of it I can send. That is after about 7 years of lobbying our insurance/HR and H&S people.We looked at insurance claims a while back, but difficult to tell – obviously as self-incriminating.
Just need to highlight this change now….. need a high profile example. From when we used to work with police doing roadside enforcement/education together I am aware that there will be a need to push this.
Keith Baldock
I’ve advised various companies on mobile phone policy – both in terms of what that policy might be, but also how to tackle problems of compliance. If you have a zero phone use policy it would be a huge step backwards in terms of safety to move to allowing hands-free use. I’m more than happy to talk further about this, if that would be useful – feel free to get in touch.
Also, I don’t know if you’ve seen the Driving for Better Business survey results on phone use at work. This ties in with several issues of policy and how policy can be interpreted at different levels. Might be worth a look:
Gemma Briggs
Managing phones is closer to real world and more realistic than a ban when driving, consider the policy to manage the office/ sales team / manager / customers not to expect a person to answer the phone as they may be driving, not to assume an immediate call back, remove the pressure from the driver of always being available to answer the phone and speak to someone.
Perhaps a bit of training on how to make best use of voicemail, set tines for differing callers.Agree with Kate, have a “code” that if the phone rings & hangs up twice in quick succession then call the office asap. Make satnav/hands-free a spec requirement for ALL company cars (all vehicles) – and reinforce it by checking the grey fleet. It removes your hassle of checking how individual drivers manage hands-free / bluetooth etc.
Not forgetting that for lone workers, as much as we may want to call them, they need suitable numbers to call at anytime they are at work – consider the out of hours contacts and check they work/ are current.
Lone workers or otherwise, make sure they are provided with appropriate route directions so they can set up the satnav correctly – consider apps like ‘What3words’ to improve finding address.
Andy Garden
I strongly support the best quality satnav, and phones offer real time traffic updates etc which can reduce journey time and stress, avoid long delays and safety problems.
Drivers need to know they must not engage with the device while driving and not use phone etc because of cognitive load reasons. If they know that a disciplinary results from any use of phone this can deter them.
you can have an arrangement eg office rings staff lets it ring then hangs up and rings back twice again the same to say they have an urgent message (meeting cancelled; family emergency etc). If someone leaves for a 1 hr drive to a meeting that is cancelled just after they leave, this arrangement saves 2 hours of driving. I do not think phones should be silent for this reason, so people can still be contacted and diverted/journey cancelled if necessary. some phones allow it to be set to only ring for specific callers eg office or family. you can also set different ringtones for different people.
this facility to alert people while driving, so they can stop in a safe place to receive/make a call, can make the difference between getting to family in time in an emergency (accident, heart attack etc) and not for example. Even if it’s to say the last goodbye, I can vouch for how important that is to all those involved.
Miss KM Carpenter
You say you are ‘being challenged’ but you are quite within your legal rights to ban handsfree phone use while driving for business. I know of several companies that do this. Just remind anyone who queries it that you are around 4 times more likely to be involved in a collision.
Martin Evans
You might also need to better define your search parameters; do you mean all people who can physically use cycles with assistance (e.g. the stoker on a tandem, or on a quadricycle, etc.) or people who are able to cycle on their own without assistance. The first category, for instance, can include people who are blind, the second probably won’t.
Andrew Russ
With regards to people with disabilities and their ability to cycle, Wheels for Wellbeing is a charity that helps disabled people into cycling and the accessibility issues that poor infrastructure design can create. They may be able to help.
https://wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/
Also, Rachel Aldred at the University of Westminster who, I believe, has done research in this area (she found that 5.1% of cycle commuters in England and Wales had a physical disability compared to 6.8% of all commuters).
Another myth busted by @RachelAldred : People with disabilities don’t cycle. From census data: 5.1% of cycle commuters in Eng/Wales have a physical disability (vs 6.8% of all commuters) #LabourCycles
— Tab (@mum_on_bike) February 3, 2018
Andrew Russ
Hello, Gerry.
I am not quite sure what you are looking for, but a place to start might be with Sustrans:
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/research/?location=null&topic=null
Andrew Fraser
Pam, we developed a resource for early secondary school pupils, covering the transition phase. Entitled “It’s You Call”, it can be accessed on the roadsafety.scot website, the direct url being:
Michael McDonnell
Hi. I would strongly recommend advising parents to look for local cycle training that they can take part in as a family (or send their children on). I would also strongly advise parents to get their own cycle training – particularly Mums. When Mum cycles, the family is much more inclined to do so.
Philippa Robb Walk And Cycle London CIC.
Hi Pam,
My main focus is on visibility, particularly as the nights start to draw in and ‘Ditch The Distraction’. We have had a fatality and many near misses due to children walking to school focused on their phones and not the traffic.
Parents could be advised to discuss the dangers of using mobile devices, and particularly using devices while wearing head phones or ear buds which block the sound of traffic and create an unsafe environment for the user. Its a hard task as most school pupils from year 6 upwards have mobile phones and sadly they have become a permanent appendage.
Stuart Mottershaw
Dear Pam,
My background is in the engineering sphere, rather than that of education.
However, the one thing that I would like to impress on all pedestrians and cyclists is that one should never, ever, assume that just because one can see the approaching driver, that he or she can see you.
I don’t know if that’s helpful, but it could be a life-saver …
Kind regards,
Andrew Fraser
This response is from our Neath Port Talbot Learner Travel Officer –
Whilst our National Guidelines are different here in Wales to England, in principle the WRA process is the same, except every child has a legal right to request a WRA under Welsh Law.
In my local authority, we have a dedicated officer within the Road Safety Team that deals with WRA, working independently of Education/Transport departments. Education make a request for Road Safety to undertake a WRA. The dedicated officer completes the WRA and responds back to Education whether route is available or not. Education contact parent/guardian and let them know the outcome. Road Safety have no involvement in correspondence with parents/guardians or the appeals process unless invited to attend by Education.
We have a 2 stage appeal system that doesn’t have any member involvement.
NPT Learner Travel Office
G Hughes
