A new video showing the dangers of hands-free mobile phone use is now available to help fleets protect their drivers.
The resource debunks the myth that hands-free mobile phone use is safer than a hand-held device and can help fleets keep their drivers safe on the road.
Developed and produced by the Kier Group, Kier Foundation and Nottingham Trent University, the video has already been rolled out by the Kier Group to its staff and is now available for wider organisations to access via the Road Safety Trust website.
Hands-free phone usage behind the wheel may be legal but many research studies have demonstrated that hands-free calls can be just as distracting as hand-held calls while driving.
As a result, an increasing number of companies are bringing in policies to ban both hand-held and hands-free calls while driving for work – but face an uphill task in convincing drivers to comply.
The project used a survey of more than 400 fleet drivers and a focus group of experts to identify current ‘myths’ that people who drive for work rely on to justify hands-free use while driving, and to then create a road safety video that debunks them.
The myths were:
- Hands-free is legal, so it must be safe
- Driving is ‘dead time’
- Hands-free is safe because your eyes are on the road and hands are on the wheel
- Hands-free is no different to talking to a passenger
- I need to use hands-free communication for work
The video, also created in collaboration with Esitu Solutions, has been demonstrated to positively change attitudes to mobile phone.
Analysis of an intervention group of drivers who watched the video and a control group who watched a road safety video unrelated to phone use showed clear improvements in safety-related attitudes regarding mobile phone use for the intervention group compared to the control group.
When asked directly whether the myth-busting video had changed their understanding of the dangers of mobile phones, 95% said that their knowledge of the dangers of mobile phone use had increased, while 80% said that they would limit or completely avoid hands-free mobile phone use while driving in the future.
Ray Webb, group senior insurance claims manager, Kier Group, said: “The safety of our people is our most important duty – whether this is on site or while travelling – and Kier has had a policy in place on hands-free phones for a number of years.
“This work with the Road Safety Trust and Nottingham Trent University will help to educate and protect everyone on the roads about the dangers of hands-free calls.”
Professor David Crundall, Nottingham Trent University, said: “We’ve known about the dangers of hands-free phones for decades, but the message has just not got through.
“Now, through our work with Kier, we have demonstrated that it is possible to present the evidence in such a way as to change drivers’ attitudes to hands-free use.
“Our next challenge is to make sure as many drivers as possible are exposed to this message.”
Ruth Purdie, chief executive of the Road Safety Trust, added: “This resource can play a key role in helping organisations to keep their drivers safe on the roads, such is their responsibility. We encourage them to make use of it.”
To access the Road Safety Trust video, please click here.
