Killer driver veered across road during hands-free call
A WOMAN killed a motorcyclist after being distracted by a handsfree call on her mobile and veering on to the wrong side of the road.
Samantha Ayres was having an in-depth conversation with a friend when she crashed head- on into David Kirk, 26, on a rural road.
The 34-year-old former admin worker, who claimed she just clipped the verge, is now facing jail after being convicted of dangerous driving.
Using hands-free ‘kits’ are not illegal but, in a landmark case, prosecutors argued she was distracted by the call to her friend Marc Lunn.
Judge John Pini told her at Lincoln Crown Court yesterday: ‘ The fact that using a phone [hands-free] is lawful does not alter the fact it is an actual distraction. The guidelines make that clear. The jury are of the opinion using a hands-free in these circumstances is dangerous.
‘He [Mr Kirk] lost his life because you were so keen to talk to Mr Lunn on your phone, albeit hands-free.’
Rules state that the kits must be fully hands-free, so that motorists can answer calls without touching the device.
However, police still have the power to stop drivers if they believe they have been distracted there was mud on the road, and then changed her story saying one of her rear wheels had gone on to the verge.
But a police collision investigator concluded that Ayres’ driving had caused the crash.
PC Godfrey Barlow, who examined the road, found no ruts or potholes, and no evidence that Ayres had gone on to the verge.
He said he could not discount the possibility that the use of a hands-free phone had led to a distraction.
‘The research shows less time is spent looking at the road,’ he said. When asked how the use of a hands-free phone differed from talking to a passenger, PC Barlow added: ‘ The research mentions you visualise the person you are speaking to. It is going to lower your situational awareness.’
While the use of a hands-free phone is not illegal, in the Highway Code motorists are advised that it is always safer to stop to make a call.
Rule 149 states: ‘ Using handsfree equipment is also likely to distract your attention from the road. It is far safer not to use any phone while you are driving or riding.’
The jury was not told that just eight months before the collision, Ayres was caught speeding at 58mph in a 30mph village limit in the same area.
The trial judge ruled the conviction was inadmissible as there was no evidence speeding had been a factor in Mr Kirk’s death.
Ayres, from Horncastle, Lincolnshire, had admitted the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving. She will be sentenced on December 5.