A ban on the use of hands-free phones while driving has been called for and in the interim drivers have been urged to make a “personal commitment” to not use devices while on the move after four people from the same family were killed by a trucker.
The lorry driver, Tomasz Kroker, who killed a mother and three children when the vehicle ploughed into stationary traffic due to him being distracted by his phone, was jailed for 10 years. Reading Crown Court heard he had been so distracted he barely looked at the road for almost a kilometre. The judge described the case as the most horrific she had ever seen.
The court heard that an hour before the pile-up, he had signed a declaration to his employer, promising he would not use his phone at the wheel.
Road safety charity Brake, which is supported by Jaama, has called for urgent changes to criminal driving laws in the wake of the court case. Brake is already calling for a full review of charging, sentencing and guidelines with its Roads to Justice Campaign and now wants to see hands-free calls banned and restrictions on the use of in-car-app enabling screens.
Gary Rae, campaigns director for Brake, said: “We need increased penalties for illegal phone use behind the wheel and hands-free calls must also be banned.”
Additionally, motoring organisation RAC said a “concerted, sustained effort was needed from government, police and motorists” to end what it called was the “phone use epidemic”.