They can hardly Police the the ban on using hand held devices, so how will they Police any ban on Hands Free phones?
I believe they already have the technology and have had it for some time.
LIBERTY_GUY:
albion1971:
Therefore as this will never be monitored surely for road safety it is better to ban hands free as well (as is going to happen.)
How many calls are that important that they cannot wait till the next layby etc?I would say a fully laden truck having to pull into a layby (if they can actually get into one of course) then having to pull back out onto a busy road is probably waaay more dangerous than someone answering the phone. It would just go the way it is with car drivers at the moment that don’t have hands free kits, where they just pull up anywhere to answer their call, be it on the approach to a roundabout, brow of a hill etc. Then you still have the problem if you trapped in dense traffic where you can’t pull up anywhere.
I personally think business leaders would be up in arms if they tried to ban hands free communications, as it would potentially cost them millions in lost business opportunities. It not just truck drivers that need open communications for their jobs. The world is all about money nowadays.
Tell me this as you reach down to get a pen to copy down an address some prick desk jockey is reading to you just as you roll over a woman and her kid in a fiesta.
Maybe another answer to this question would be to make the “operations” desk as responsible for any accident that happens as the driver. They know the bloke is driving yet they choose to ring him.
Lets see how many stupid phone calls you would get if they might face a manslaughter charge probably none.
Bking:
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Tell me this as you reach down to get a pen to copy down an address some prick desk jockey is reading to you just as you roll over a woman and her kid in a fiesta.
Surely the easiest solution, is to tell “some prick desk jockey” to text the information, so that you can check through it at your own convenience. This not only keeps you legal, but has the benefit of covering your back as you a have written copy, so when the reference number, address, customer name, onward destination are inevitably wrong, you can just wave the text at them and turn said major calamity by driver, back into a minor clerical error by “some prick desk jockey”.
Well that’s what I do anyway 
Bluey Circles:
For ‘hands free’ I would like to see it entered into the highway code as a “Should Not”, this would nicely place it into the same sort of grey area as “Do not reverse from a side road into a main road” this would not mean it was entirely illegal, but it would mean that if you were involved in an accident whilst doing so then you would very likely be held to blame. So as other have said above ‘hands free’ is not the greatest danger, but it still increases risk, therefore it should only be done sparingly on quiet roads whilst taking the greatest of care.
That then puts the onus on the driver and as some think they are quite safe to talk on a phone there would still be deaths etc.
Drivers prove time and time again they are not capable of sticking to laws and regs hence the responsibility has to be taken away from them.
You would still get the ones that just phone for a chat!
Bking:
Tell me this as you reach down to get a pen to copy down an address some prick desk jockey is reading to you just as you roll over a woman and her kid in a fiesta.
Anyone that reaches down for a pen and tries to write down an address whilst on the move is a complete numpty and will get no sympathy from me, but if their company is doing that rather than telling them they’ll text the address to them, then they too are guilty of creating a potentially dangerous situation.
If my agency rings me, it is just to either see if I am ok to extend my current contract, or whether I am happy to go with another contract for the next day or week. They then text the details to me within the next 30 minutes once the booking is confirmed. I’m not sure the current client would be happy for me to venture way off route using their diesel up, then park up to answer that essential call, but by the same token, I don’t want to lose money by being out of touch.
There are a few companies out there that still use two way radios, skip hire, taxis, aggregates, parcels etc, which to me are far more dangerous than using a hands free set. I speak from experience trying to locate the blasted mike back onto its holder. 
just a personal view, i can,t tell anybody and nobody can tell me how competant we are at driving whilst using hands free devices ,my gripe would be we are all treated as second class citizens as we go about our work ,being held up at delivery points etc lack of decent facilities the list is endless , but how many times have you read in the papers ,mags and so on '‘i am going to give you a large fine,punishment,ban or whatever because as a professional hgv driver you should know better’'for me the only time we are treated as professionals is when we are put before the courts ,if it’s such a dangerous thing to do then you can’t discriminate and punishment should be equal,apparently if you was holding your phone to make a 999 call that would be deemed ok ,i can live without a mobile phone but looking at people walking about texting ,not young people ,people of all ages they can’t live without them ,f*ck me they must live sad lives ,for what it’s worth i have only been in the courts in relation to divorce and have no points on licence but you get the gist
LIBERTY_GUY:
The BIGGEST distraction to drivers hasn’t even been mentioned yet.!!!Yep we talking about scantily clad members of the opposite ■■■.
You all know the scenario where it’s ‘stuff the road safety’ as drivers turn their heads through ninety degrees to get a lingering look, then stare furtively in their mirrors before the object of their desire becomes a dot in the distance. I think that as regards road safety, the Muslims have the right idea in dressing their women in burka’s so they don’t become a distraction for other road users. In that respect they are to be applauded and other faiths should be more conscious of contributing to road safety. I’m sure men should dress more conservatively too, so the ‘frilly curtain’ type of trucker is also not distracted.
Ban satnavs Winseer? You’re having a laugh aren’t you? How would myself and others ever get out of the yard?
“At the end of the yard turn left”….
Actually, I hadn’t considered returning to a yard full of mulling about drivers watching the pretty satnav lights… 
What if I’m on a flyer, and am half cut with sleep 'cos I’ve just finished a 15 hour night shift?
Last thing I want - day drivers getting on my ■■■■. 
LIBERTY_GUY:
Bking:
Tell me this as you reach down to get a pen to copy down an address some prick desk jockey is reading to you just as you roll over a woman and her kid in a fiesta.Anyone that reaches down for a pen and tries to write down an address whilst on the move is a complete numpty and will get no sympathy from me, but if their company is doing that rather than telling them they’ll text the address to them, then they too are guilty of creating a potentially dangerous situation.
If my agency rings me, it is just to either see if I am ok to extend my current contract, or whether I am happy to go with another contract for the next day or week. They then text the details to me within the next 30 minutes once the booking is confirmed. I’m not sure the current client would be happy for me to venture way off route using their diesel up, then park up to answer that essential call, but by the same token, I don’t want to lose money by being out of touch.
Got to agree Mate. Whenever I get a new planner, I just tell them, phone by all means, but I don’t write nothing down, so if it aint sent in a text it aint getting done. After a week or 2 of training they get the message
I also train them to understand that if I don’t get back to them then the job is a runner, if its a problem I will ring back, sometimes I go a few days on text messages only, its heaven 