Safe Speed Forums

Dear Members.
I am studying an MSc in Health and Safety Management at Leicester University and currently finalising a dissertation proposal, which commences in September 04. At present, the title of my research shall be:-

"The Business use of mobile phones whilst driving: Are employers demonstrating corporate social responsibility above minimum legal compliance?"

Clearly this research will require the collection of primary data, in the form of a self completion ‘social’ questionnaire, issued to members of the public (employees) and employers (at present the focus being on publicly quoted and limited employers).

If you or your organisation would be happy to take part, please email brief contact details to mikeshaw1000@aol.com and I shall be in touch.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this notice.
Kind Regards Mike Shaw

Hi Mike,

Welcome. That's an interesting subject, and far more complex than many give it credit for.

When the law was being considered, I gathered together all the basic information on the following Safe Speed page:

http://www.safespeed.org.uk/phone.html

Since that page was written I've become increasingly concerned about lack of understanding of three aspects of the issue:

1) Does the law encourage dangerous hands free telephone use?

2) Can we learn to become fully competent using the phone while driving? (and the subsiduary question: Did the research take account of experience in phoning and driving?)

3) I don't believe that all drivers are equally affected by mobile phone use. Are there groups who are totally unaffected? Are there groups who are very badly affected?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

We have a self empoyed contractor come to my place of work. He comes with one of his selection of excavators. He is on the phone constantly.

I understand (but might be wrong) that to pass your digger test you need to be able to take half an inch of dirt out of a hole with you digger. I have seen the guy take half an inch of soil out of the base of a swimming pool, which was 6 feet deep, while taking on the phone which was held between his sholder and his ear.

Thanks Paul for your comments.....for readers, I have outlined below a summary of the proposed aims of my research:-

ONE) To determine how different target groups perceive the risks associated with using phones whilst driving and whether target groups interpret this as being an acceptable or unacceptable risk. As regulators have sanctioned a level of acceptable risk, the research aims to establish, to what extent, target groups agree or disagree with the governmental current level of tolerability.

TWO) explore the social acceptability of mobile phone use in conjunction with the acceptability of the risk.

THREE) On an organizational level, determine to what degree employers are aware of the risks, current level of legal compliance and whether changes to UK law have influenced employers’ attitudes towards corporate social responsibility. This research aims to determine what policies, procedures and working practices management have established and implemented to mitigate risk and to identify the underlying causational factors of non compliant organizations.

FOUR) Demonstrate that companies complying with corporate governance have different, stricter policies than those who do not subscribe to governance.

Alot to cover I know and this may change slightly........ Should anyone else have any views, please feel free to reply.

Regards, Mike Shaw

Paul, the page with all your mobile use stuff on it mentions something else that causes a distraction and links to a CNN story, but it's no longer there. Can you just give us a run down of what that was about? Not in-car TV?

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein