COMPANY car managers have been warned to take measures against employees using smartwatches such as Apple’s latest.

Fleet management specialists Alphabet has joined road safety organisations including the Institute of Advanced Drivers in highlighting the risks of using smartwatches while driving.

While a dangerous issue needing to be dealt with by fleet managers, it also represents a good opportunity to remind drivers of existing rules, according to Alphabet’s fleet risk services manager Diarmuid Fahy.

Fahy said: “Using a smartwatch while driving is senseless. To operate one would pretty much require you to take both hands off the steering wheel; this makes them even more dangerous than mobile phones, which could be used one-handed.

“Drivers might think that there is no specific legislation in place prohibiting their use but the same argument was made when mobile phones first became popular. It was pointed out that laws are in place to prohibit driving without due care and attention.

Fahy said existing legislation describes the devices covered by the act as ‘A … device, other than a two-way radio, which performs an interactive communication function by transmitting and receiving data’. Fahy points out that this covers smartwatches which will come within the scope of the law.

He added: “Businesses should have clear policies prohibiting this kind of activity while employees are driving on company time. This is a great chance for fleet managers to remind all drivers about the rules and guidance the organisation has in place, with a message clarifying that smartwatches should not be used while driving.”