ONE of the UK’s major fleet management companies is calling for a ban on the use of iPods and personal computers such as Blackberries behind the wheel.

Drivers using such devices are as distracted as those using mobile phones, according to Masterlease, which wants the Government to include a ban in the forthcoming Road Safety Bill.

Gavin Jones, head of Masterlease’s risk management service ProAct, said: ‘The speed of communication and the ability to receive wireless email on the move poses a potential nightmare.

‘All mobile communication devices could distract the driver and businesses could fall foul of the forthcoming corporate manslaughter laws for failing to adequately discharge their duty of care if they do not have communicated policies that forbid their use while driving.’

Fleet NewsNet research has shown how stopping distances rocket because of basic distractions such as tuning a radio (Fleet NewsNet, April 28).

Tests covering areas from mobile phone use to eating at the wheel showed that reaction times slowed in some cases by more than 90%.