The landmark court case has a significant impact for all businesses, as well as public sector fleets, says the British Government-backed ‘Driving for Better Business’ campaign.
Although, only the use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving is against the law in England, best practice advice says that using a hands-free mobile phone is equally dangerous. Department for Transport research reveals that using a mobile behind the wheel makes drivers four times more likely to have a crash.
Lynne-Marie Howden, a director and head of sales at business consultancy company Insights, was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after crashing into another car on the A429 in Warwickshire in November 2007. The offence carries a possible jail sentence.
However, she was convicted on the lesser charge of careless driving and was banned from driving for 12 months and fined £2,000.
Warwick Crown Court had been told that the businesswoman, from Northamptonshire, had been involved in conversations on her hands-free mobile phone with her boyfriend and then a work colleague when driving her Mercedes CLK 220 at around 40 mph in a 60 mph speed limit she ploughed into an oncoming car on the opposte side of the road. The driver died at the scene of the crash.
Although it is legal to use a hands-free mobile phone, the prosecution claimed that the telephone calls distracted her enough to justify a death by dangerous driving charge.
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