June 30, 2011

Hang up on distracted driving practices

Thanks to technology, our bricks-and-mortar offices now expand beyond physical walls. We call clients while driving to and from appointments, we check texts while on the road (and not always at a stoplight) and we don’t hesitate to plug in music devices and search for favorite artists while zipping down the highway.

Although distracted driving is not a new issue, thanks to smartphones — which are expected to account for more than half of the U.S. mobile phone market this year, according to Pew Research Center — it is an issue businesses of all sizes can no longer ignore.

Consider this:

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  • Cellphone distractions are associated with more than 1 million crashes, more than 500,000 injuries and nearly 6,000 fatalities every year (U.S. Department of Transportation).
  • The annual cost of crashes caused by cellphone use is estimated at $43 billion (Harvard Center for Risk Analysis).
  • A 2010 survey of more than 5,000 mobile professionals found that more than half of workers admit to checking their smartphones while driving and 21 percent check their devices every time it beeps, buzzes and rings (Career Builder).
  • In a survey of more than 1,100 organizations with a cellphone policy in place, more than 70 percent prohibit the use of all wireless communications devices (hand-held and hands-free) while driving (Nationwide Insurance).
  • In recent years, numerous plaintiffs have filed and won multimillion dollar actions against employers for injuries arising from negligent driving of an employee who was distracted by the use of a cellphone (National Safety Council).
  • In a study of 36 leading companies with a combined fleet of 350,000 passenger vehicles logging nearly 7 billion miles, companies with the best fleet safety performance were more likely to ban the use of mobile phones (hand-held and hands-free) for employees driving on company business (Network of Employers for Traffic Safety).

Companywide policies needed

According to the National Safety Council survey of its 2,000 member organizations, companies without a policy against distracted driving in place reported the following barriers: lack of employee support, competing job priorities; and lack of management commitment.

Instilling a distracted-driving policy in the workplace need not be complicated or expensive. Start by encouraging employees to turn cellphones off while driving, pulling over to a safe place if a call must be made or received, and modifying voicemail greetings to indicate they are unavailable to answer calls or return messages while driving.

If you have a large fleet, you might want to investigate software solutions that use GPS to determine when a phone is in motion and block incoming calls and texts. When a call or text is intercepted, an automated response is sent indicating the person being called is driving.

Inform clients, associates and business partners of your cellphone policy as an explanation as to why calls may not always be returned promptly.

The BBB has partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation to bring awareness of distracted driving to all employers. You can find more information and a tool kit at distraction.gov.

Pam King is president and chief executive officer of the Better Business Bureau serving Northern Colorado and Wyoming.

Thanks to technology, our bricks-and-mortar offices now expand beyond physical walls. We call clients while driving to and from appointments, we check texts while on the road (and not always at a stoplight) and we don’t hesitate to plug in music devices and search for favorite artists while zipping down the highway.

Although distracted driving is not a new issue, thanks to smartphones — which are expected to account for more than half of the U.S. mobile phone market this year, according to Pew Research Center — it is an issue businesses of all sizes can no longer ignore.

Consider this:

  • Cellphone distractions…

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