A landmark law case could have implications for businesses with company car insurance and is leading law firms to call for organisations to ban the use of mobile phones on the move.
Lynne-Marie Howden, director and head of sales at Insights, was convicted of careless driving after crashing into another vehicle while using a hands-free mobile phone.
While she was found not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving, she has been banned for 12 months and fined £2,000.
David Faithful, legal adviser to RoadSafe, claims this is the first instance where a conviction has been obtained in these circumstances, which could affect those with company car insurance.
He states: "If a road crash occurs, whether a person is using a hand-held or hands-free phone is irrelevant. The issue is whether the telephone conversation was sufficient to cause the driver to be distracted from concentrating on driving."
Earlier this month, Brake launched a Fleet Safety Forum campaign to emphasise the risk that company car insurance users are in when using their vehicle during work.
It highlights the distractions which can be caused by items such as hands-free phones, food, drinks and gadgets.
