20 November 2002: A law should be introduced to make it mandatory that manufacturers install hands-free systems for mobile phones, the chairman of Renault Distributors Bill Cullen said today.

Speaking on the Radio 2 Gerry Ryan Show, he also said that technology exists to prevent cars from being started if the driver has taken alcohol, or if the seatbelt isn’t fastened, and he suggested these could be better ways of making the roads safer than ‘horrific’ advertisements.

He was on the show commenting on one of the most recent AXA-sponsored advertisments which showed a clearly-identifiable Renault Megane hitting a young child after the driver had diverted his attention to a passing young woman.

Bill Cullen said the use of mobile phones was probably by far a more dangerous distraction than looking at a passer-by, and that the makers of the advertisement might have been better advised to use that theme.

He also said that it could be more effective to bring in laws aimed at manufacturers on the mobile phone issue than against the owners of such phones.

In relation to the advertisment, he said that Renault has spent millions developing the message that the Megane is the safest car in its class and it was ‘unacceptable’ that it should be depicted in the way it is in the advertisement.

The new Megane II is expected to become the first car in its class to get a full 5-star rating in the latest Euro NCAP crash tests results to be announced next Tuesday. The Laguna II was the first ever car to gain the rating.