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RHA warns drivers not to go hands-free behind the wheel

3rd July 2008, Page 9
3rd July 2008
Page 9
Page 9, 3rd July 2008 — RHA warns drivers not to go hands-free behind the wheel
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By David Harris TRUCK DRIVERS HAVE been warned by their own trade association to try to avoid using mobile phones when driving, even if the phones are hands-free.

The warning comes a week after truck driver Mervyn Richmond, of Speedwell Close, Oakwood, Derby, was jailed for four and a half years for causing death by dangerous driving. He was also banned from driving for five years and ordered to retake his driving test.

Lincoln Crown Court was told the incident happened in March last year, on the A631 at Corringhatn, near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Richmond had been using his hands-free mobile for 23 minutes when he ploughed into stationery traffic ahead of him. One man was killed and two others were badly hurt.

Ruth Pott, director of employment affairs at the Road Haulage Association (RHA), says truck drivers should always do their utmost to get off the road when they make or take phone calls.

t She adds: "When the regulations came in, it was always 6; made clear that, although hands-free was technically legal, a driver can still be charged with dangerous driving. Let's face it, we aren't often in a situation where a vehicle can't get off the road for a minute or two to make a call. Drivers should be asking themselves just how urgent is urgent?'.

Following the case, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) renewed its calls for a ban on all mobile calls when driving.


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