The director of a business consultancy has been convicted of careless driving.
Lynne-Marie Howden (43) has been banned for a year and fined £2000.
It follows her conviction for careless driving. The more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving was dropped.
The conviction follows an accident involving Lynne-Marie Howden, a director and head of sales at business consultancy company Insights.
She was driving her Mercedes CLK 220 at around 40mph in a 60mph speed limit when she ploughed into an oncoming car on the opposite side of the road. The driver died at the scene of the crash.
The incident occurred on the A429 in Warwickshire in November 2007.
Warwick Crown Court had been told that the businesswoman, from Northamptonshire, had been involved in conversations on her hands-free mobile: with her boyfriend; and then a work colleague.
Although, only the use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving is against the law, best practice advice says that using a hands-free mobile phone is equally dangerous. Department for Transport research reveals that using a mobile behind the wheel makes drivers four times more likely to have a crash.
As a result, says the government-backed ‘Driving for Better Business’ campaign, safety-focused businesses should ban employees from using all mobile phones while driving.
In passing sentence, Judge Richard Griffiths-Jones told Howden: “What happened to you in this case is a lesson to us all about the dangers of talking on the phone while we drive.”
David Faithful, legal adviser to RoadSafe, said: “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.
“I believe this is the first case where a conviction has been obtained as a result of a hands-free mobile phone conversation. The verdict sets a clear precedent and has a significant impact for the entire fleet industry and business community.”
Further information
‘Driving for Better Business’ is a campaign to alert the private and public sectors that managing at-work drivers saves money and is a legal requirement. It is delivered by RoadSafe on the Department for Transport’s behalf. For more visit www.roadsafe.com
More on the ‘Driving for Better Business’ campaign is available at www.drivingforbetterbusiness.com
See the Editor’s Blog Mobile phones and driving
Careless driving charge for company director
