The international mobile telephone network set up by a lorry drivers’ organisation allows drivers in Germany to call at a cheap rate of EUR 0.15. 8 July 2008 THE NETHERLANDS - A lorry drivers' organisation VERN has set up its own international mobile telephone network in cooperation with a technical partner. The organisation wants to avoid paying the high tariffs asked by mobile telecom service providers. The system has already been up and running for a couple of months for lorry drivers working in Germany. It saves them hundreds of euros every month and costs them only EUR 25 in monthly subscription costs. Calls from Germany are only EUR 0.15 a minute and calls from the Netherlands abroad are free, as are calls between network members. About 300 lorry drivers have joined the mobile network. [Radio Netherlands]                                                                                                                                                                             

surely they should have called it Clogcom?   Good for them!                                                                                                                                                                             

great!means even more nattering while driving!dont care about any arguments for it, if your caught up in a long conversation even on hands free you aint concentratin on the rd!!an bein cheaper means more long conversations!                                                                                                                                                                              

I think you're missing the point TM.... if you work mostly out of your country, but within the EU, then you shouldn't have to pay a pound per minute.... even to answer your damn fone!  It's ridiculous, and someone needed to do something about it

and i can go for hours using my bluetooth headset, with or without car.... it's just like talking to someone sat next to you, so I dont see what the problem is.  As long as you're a good driver who can multitask (No offence, but some people just can't do it without loosing concentration).

well bully for yu multitaskin at the wheel or bars!it takes concentratin away you cant be 100% thinkin of the rd dont care what yu say i know accidents can happen while changin cd's even talkin to your passenger or shoutin at the kids in the back seat!you may think youre a good rider driver whatever but its proven that talkin on hands free for long periods is as bad as holdin your phone!youre jus lucky youre gettin away with it so far!why take concentration away you need all yu can get on a bike!watchin rd crash investigation they put people with youre attitude[i'm a good driver]to  the test all failed!never think youre a good driver thats arrogant theres always room for improvement!                                                                                                                                                                             

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2201008/Driver-u...crash.html   Drivers have been given a stark warning of the dangers of hands-free mobile phone calls after a haulier was jailed for causing a fatal crash whilst talking on a Bluetooth headset. Marvyn Richmond, 49, was so engrossed in a conversation with his mother that he failed to notice traffic ahead of him had come to a standstill, and ploughed into the back of the queue, killing Michael Buston, a passenger in a van. Relatives of Mr Buston and road safety charities called for an outright ban on making phone calls whilst driving, which makes drivers four times more likely to have an accident, even if they are using a hands-free kit. Mr Buston's father-in-law, Peter Long, whose son was badly hurt in the crash in March last year, said: "The use of hands-free phones should be stopped. Whether it's hands-free or not, it's still a distraction to any driver. "What happened was totally avoidable. At the end of the day this man has ruined many lives, all because he was using his mobile while driving." Richmond was jailed for four and a half years after being convicted at Lincoln Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving. Around 30 deaths on the roads each year are linked to mobile phone use, but the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) believes this is "just the tip of the iceberg" because so few drivers admit to using mobile phones when they cause crashes. Although the use of hand-held phones while driving is illegal, talking on a hands-free set is not. Drivers can, however, be prosecuted if they drive dangerously whilst distracted by a hands-free call. Roger Vincent, a spokesman for RoSPA, urged the government to impose a blanket ban on making phone calls whilst driving, saying the current laws banning the use of hand-held mobiles failed the address the issue. "It is the conversation itself that is the problem, because people get more and more involved in that and pay less and less attention to the road," he said. "The fact is, whether you are using a hand held or a hands free phone, you are four times more likely to have a crash. Is it really worth that sort of risk just to make a phone call? "The sentence shows how seriously the courts take the issue of using a mobile while driving." Richmond, of Oakwood, Derby, an HGV driver for 25 years, caused carnage when his lorry slammed into the queue of traffic on the A631 at Corringham, near Gainsborough, Lincs. The court was told that he was "oblivious to all around him" because of the 23-minute call to his mother and did not even apply the brakes of his Scania HGV before ploughing into the traffic. Mr Buston, a 36-year-old married father-of-two, was killed outright, his brother-in-law Peter Long, who was in a Transit van with him, was badly injured, and the driver of the lorry at the front of the queue, Andrejz Matkowski, lost both arms. During his summing up to the jury, Recorder David Farrell QC said the fact that Richmond probably had both hands on the wheel did not alter the fact that he was severely distracted by talking on his Bluetooth headset. "It is not alleged that to use a hands-free mobile phone is per se illegal. It is not. "But your attention must be focused on driving, just as it should be if you have the radio on or you have a satnav or you have passengers in your vehicle." The Department of Transport's official stance making hands-free phone calls is that they are a "distraction" and should be avoided. But the government-funded Transport Research Laboratory has found that even hands-free phone calls make drivers four times more likely to have an accident, with concentration levels reduced for 10 minutes after the call has ended. The research also showed that drivers making hands-free calls had slower reaction times than those who were slightly over the drink-drive limit. Some businesses, including the FirstGroup transport company, which employs 135,000, have already imposed their own bans on employees making any sort of phone call whilst driving on company business because of the dangers of doing so. PC Gary Chance, of Lincolnshire police, said: "Driving is a skill that requires attention at all times. It has to be considered that the use of a mobile, even hands-free, was a major factor in this accident." Richmond is not the first driver to be jailed for killing someone while using a hands-free phone. In 2003 Michael Leach, 29, was jailed for four years at Exeter Crown Court for a similar offence and in 2001 Roger Murray, a 37-year-old lorry driver, was jailed for 18 months in Ayr for causing a fatal crash while on his hands-free phone. The maximum sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is 14 years.                                                                                                                                                                              

Will be interesting to see if those rates are sustainable after a year anyway...                                                                                                                                                                              

I agree with you entirely tangoman. Any form of distraction in a car with disrupt your consentration. Which is why i always shut my kids in the boot.                                                                                                                                                                             

TM - 'its proven that talkin on hands free for long periods is as bad as holdin your phone!its proven that talkin on hands free for long periods is as bad as holdin your phone!'...always being one to believe it when I see it, where do you get your info from?    To be honest, you could say that looking at your speedo detracts from your quality of driving, so why not abolish all dashboard displays etc (personally I find wipers hypnotic ), but every driver/rider I have ever met nevers fails to maintain that they are a good/great/'kin fantastic driver.  I'm learning new stuff everyday & I've been driving for 20+ Years.   I also tried driving with one of those TomTom gadgets the other day (borrowed) and found it most distracting, especially when the sucker kept failing.  I much prefer a map, a quiet layby to read it in and plenty of time to get to the destination.                                                                                                                                                                                 

good idea! nearly knocked of by a ruddy school run mum tother day!!pulled out gassin on the phone saw her well ahead on it so was ready!!!!you have to look out for so many things!!                                                                                                                                                                             

this came from the aa,guess there fibbin then!using gear stick lookin at speedos is part of driving gassin on phones fiddlinwiv cd's an eating your liunch at the wheel aint!!recognised in law as driving without due care an attention!![even hands free if you kill someone cos you were on the phone as happened to a lorry driver recently i believe! gh may clarifie!]                                                                                                                                                                             

What about checking out the Totty on Weymouth seafront till your head goes 180 degrees TM??                                                                                                                                                                              

Blueboy955i. - the information is out there but you need to look at a few different sources:   From my previous post:   But the government-funded Transport Research Laboratory has found that even hands-free phone calls make drivers four times more likely to have an accident, with concentration levels reduced for 10 minutes after the call has ended. The research also showed that drivers making hands-free calls had slower reaction times than those who were slightly over the drink-drive limit. Some businesses, including the FirstGroup transport company, which employs 135,000, have already imposed their own bans on employees making any sort of phone call whilst driving on company business because of the dangers of doing so. This also makes interesting reading:   http://www.brake.org.uk/resources/downloads/Info_Sheet_-_mobile_phones.pdf   TM - my previous post was about that exact same lorry driver.                                                                                                                                                                             

i knew yu'd mention that scary!!yes there a hazard wiv legs up to there bum should be banned!! sorry tc missed it while writing a reply!!!                                                                                                                                                                             

lol - no probs, TM!!   Just found one from the Institute of Road Safety Research in the Netherlands too (in English): www.swov.nl/uk/research/kennisbank/inhoud/40_gedrag/inhoud/using_the_mobile_phone.htm   Ok - am stopping posting now - I am sure you can find all this info yourselves...                                                                                                                                                                             

hmmm...   Matt - I might have just thought of a way to use a handsfree phone to improve road safety!   The next time Laura is taking a driving lesson, slip a bluetooth handsfree speaker in her handbag and make sure the volume is at its max. Then ring her and yell "DON'T CROSS YOUR ARMS.... USE YOUR HANDBRAKE... DON'T CROSS YOUR ARMS... USE YOUR HANDBRAKE" for the duration of the lesson...   Maybe her 'instructor 'will take the hint...                                                                                                                                                                              

I can see everybodys point here but I think hand on heart I have to come down on the side of Tango and Blues.   I have to test EVERYTHING on the vehicles we are given and increasingly this includes built in satnav and bluetooth capability through the vehicles speakers. When I test the bluetooth I am always parked up and to be honest other than to see if it works i dont really use the satnav, I find the moving image distracting.   One thing I have noticed is that more and more some of the top end cars are coming with satnavs that are more like an aircrafts multifunction display, they do everything from radio to air con and there is no info on the buttons in the dash so you HAVE to look at the screen! Case in point is an Aston Martin........and this is not a car you tend to drive like dorris and dennis fetching the pension!   Personally I find that kind of design unforgivable.                                                                                                                                                                             

lol teecee, great idea.  I'll record it and set it as her ring tone when shes not looking.  :-)   Im really sceptical about the evidence, how the hell can you say a drink-driver has more concentration than someone having a conversation?   And am i not to ride/drive until 10 minutes after having a conversation with someone in my house?   I feel more distracted by radios, passengers, cluttered streets, etc.... talking on a bluetooth headset doesnt distract me at all.   And TM - regarding my 'attitude'.  I'm not saying im the best driver in the world, but its something i take pride in.  And having been police trained and tested on the bike and in vans/cars (previous job), i think i can safely say that im a safe rider/driver.  When in the UK, i had a yearly test with the police also, on the bike, to ensure my standards were kept high.   So when are passengers going to be banned from speaking?  Or radios removed from all vehicles?  Cruise control anyone?   I can say 100% that when driving up the M1 at 3am with nobody around, I can control the car with no lack of concentration at all.  In fact, being 3am its nice to talk to people to keep you from feeling tired.                                                                                                                                                                             

A little tip for driving at night (which you may already know so apologises if I am stating the obvious).   If you are driving on a motorway, try adjusting your sunvisor to mask the hypnotic strobing effect of the overhead lights if you are driving at a regular speed - it is meant to reduce fatigue.