The mother of a young woman who was killed by a lorry driver as he browsed the internet on his mobile phone is backing a two-week safety campaign on the region’s roads.
Lisa Thomas, from Staffordshire, wants to raise awareness of the dangers of using a phone whilst driving and says every time she sees it happening it feels like a knife twisting in her stomach.
Her daughter Laura was standing with her fiancée on a grass verge on the A5 between Telford and Shrewsbury in July last year after their car had broken down on the way to Wales.
They were both struck by their own vehicle after an HGV crashed into it and sent it flying over the safety barrier, where it hit the pair, killing Laura and seriously injuring her partner.
Behind the wheel of the lorry was a 44-year-old delivery driver from Birmingham who’d been browsing the internet on his mobile phone at the time of the crash. He was jailed for five years.
Officers from the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) will be launching dedicated patrols from today (Friday 19 September) looking for drivers using their mobiles as part of a fortnight of enforcement activity.
They’ll not only be targeting people making phone calls − but also those who are texting and using social media or other apps whilst behind the wheel.
Both marked and unmarked patrol cars will be used to identify offenders, who, subject to meeting certain criteria, will be offered the opportunity to attend an educational course as an alternative to prosecution. An HGV tractor unit will also be used by officers to spot lorry drivers flouting the law.
Lisa Thomas is supporting the initiative and hopes it will send out a warning to other road users about the dangers of using their phones. “The one issue I would like to get across is that this could happen to anyone,” she said. “No person would go out driving with the intention of killing someone − the awareness needs to be raised of the distraction that a phone can cause.
“I would urge you to put yourself in the mind of anyone one of us; myself for losing my daughter and having to continue with life without her; her sister who equally has lost her close sibling and potentially an auntie to her future children − they will never have cousins; the rest of my family who all feel the loss.
“Until you are in this position, you cannot comprehend how it feels to lose your child. The immense loss the whole family go through, the anger that even though she had done everything right, she had safely stepped over the barrier out of the way of what you believe to be a danger and yet still she has had her life snatched from her.
“She was a beautiful caring lady and I could not have been more proud of her. To wake each morning with the sickness to the stomach and the thoughts going over and over, never ever leaving your mind is relentless, the emptiness and constantly missing her, wishing that none of this had happened. There is a huge ripple effect to everyone concerned.
“Even the person who caused the collision, who perhaps has never committed a crime in their life but ended up in prison − their mates won’t stay in touch and they won’t visit like they said they will.
Their whole life will change, all for the sake of using a mobile phone behind the wheel.
“For me, every single time I see someone on their phone it is a knife twisting in my stomach and a pounding in my chest. I can assure you every one of us has said ‘you never think it’ll happen to you’ but it could. Please, please stop yourself and ask the question, ‘Do I need to answer that? Do I need to make that call now or can it wait?’”
The campaign is running over a two week period and involves officers across the West Midlands, West Mercia and Staffordshire police areas.
Inspector Sion Hathaway from CMPG said: “It’s been 10 years since it became illegal to use your phone whist driving but the number of people being killed or injured as a result of this activity continues to increase.
“In fact, government figures suggest mobile phone use will become the biggest killer on our roads by 2015, so it’s about time the message started to get through and it’s a simple one – don’t do it.
“By using your phone behind the wheel you’re putting yourself and other road users in real danger and, ultimately, you could be responsible for causing the death of another person.
“We’re not just talking about making phone calls – texting, using social media and watching TV on your phone all dramatically increase the likelihood of being involved in a collision.
“If you’re tempted to use your phone while driving, consider if what you’re doing is worth putting someone’s life at risk and ask yourself how you would feel if it was a member of your family that was injured or killed as a result of your actions.”
Studies have found driver reaction times when using a phone are 30 per cent slower than someone who is just above the drink drive limit and 50 per cent slower than under normal driving conditions.
Research also indicates that if you drive whilst using your mobile you are four times more likely to be involved in a crash involving damage to property or serious injury.
Ann Morris, who runs Crash Course, which is offered as an alternative to drivers who would otherwise receive a fine and penalty points on their licence, said: “Out of the thousands of people I’ve seen over the years, most of them don’t see the mobile phone as the problem.
“They think they’re perfectly capable of using it whilst driving and more so when the phone is hands free but if they thought for a second they’d cause harm to somebody or, heaven forbid, kill them – they wouldn’t do it.
“It’s understanding the level of distraction it can have on your driving and what we try to do is show them the reality of what happens when it does go wrong and how in a split second a law abiding individual can find themselves looking at prison.
“For me there are no winners, it’s everyone and their families who have to live with the consequences. The feedback we get is overwhelmingly positive and people really do change not only in their behaviour but their attitude too.”
Officers will be tweeting about the campaign throughout the two week period under the CMPG Twitter handle @CMPG.
