In our 24/7 society, it’s all too tempting to look at the Blackberry while lounging on a beach somewhere exotic or answering the mobile while dining with a loved one in the evening…
Round the clock temptation
In our 24/7 society, it’s all too tempting to look at the Blackberry while lounging on a beach somewhere exotic or answering the mobile while dining with a loved one in the evening.
Neither however is recommended, as not only does it impact our work/life balance but it might ultimately end in divorce.
Anecdotal evidence from the US suggests that’s not so far-fetched with American housewives having had enough of their other halves being married to their Blackberries!
Where is this leading me to? Well, drivers may be equally tempted to answer that call, or indeed make that call with a hand-held mobile despite company policy banning such activity. That’s the problem with our fast-paced society today, we really are on call 24/7 and the temptation is to always be in touch despite the obvious dangers when driving.
You only have to look at drivers on the road today to see how many are openly flouting the law and risking a fine of £60 and three penalty points. Hopefully that may be about to change.
Drivers caught using a hand-held mobile while driving could soon face a minimum of two years in prison if their action was deemed a danger to others.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is to issue guidelines this autumn recommending that where there is evidence of use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving the starting point could be a charge of dangerous driving and if the action resulted in a fatality then the driver could face up to 14 years in prison through causing death by dangerous driving.
As far as I am concerned, the CPS guidelines could not come soon enough.
With any luck, drivers might finally sit up and take notice. It is dangerous to use a mobile phone when driving, whether it is hand-held or hands-free.