Your technician is heading to
his next job when his phone beeps. One hand moves off the
wheel to reach for the phone; he takes a split second to
look at his screen to see who is calling. It is the office,
probably giving him some updated information on his next
job. As he moves the phone to his ear, he notices the car in
front of him stopped but he is too close to avoid the crash.
Distracted Driving is defined as driving while engaged in
other activities, be it texting, talking, eating or reading.
Distracted driving is sweeping the nation and quickly
becoming the leading cause for vehicular deaths. Sending or
receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an
average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving
the length of an entire football field, blind.1
Many contractors need to worry about their vehicles and who
they have behind the wheel. So, as a business owner, how do
you prevent your company from becoming a part of this
epidemic?
Smart contractors are fighting this problem with policies
and training aimed at teaching their employees to work
together to focus on the task at hand. “Communication,
awareness and follow-through are the most important
factors,” says Eric Knaak from Isaac Heating in Rochester,
New York. “We discuss [distracted driving] every month at
safety training and we make it part of our newsletter as
well as our video communicators.”
According to the CDC, more than 3,000 people were killed in
2011 from distracted driving accidents. An additional,
387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes
involving distracted driving. 1 To bring the issue home,
Isaac Heating makes “all of our drivers… aware of the number
of accidents so far this year. We let them know what
happened, so that they will hopefully avoid the same thing
from happening.” Knaak states.
The National Safety Council understands the reluctance to
prohibit all use of cell phones while driving, as they can
be an integral part of the business day. Jamie Watson, of
Energy PRZ in Connecticut, helps her technicians stay safe
on the road by “call[ing] the helper who is in the car with
them so they can relay the information.” It does not just
depend on the driver. The whole company must stand behind
the policy and procedure to keep every one safe on the road.Story
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What should be
done to enforce this policy depends on the company. One
policy Issac Heating has put into place is an escalated
policy depending on the offender’s frequency to violate
policies. “All accidents, property damage incident or
injuries are reviewed by the safety committee and they
determine the number of safety points assessed to the
driver.” For smaller companies it can be as easy as a
written warning, unpaid suspension and/or termination
depending on the severity of the violation.
Enacting and responding to these laws are not just being
left to individual companies. OSHA has enacted an initiative
that states when they receive a credible complaint that an
employer makes distracted driving a necessity, they will
investigate and issue citations and penalties if the
complaint is deemed true.3
There are tons of online articles and supplement guides to
help your company find out what regulations will affect you
and what you can do to support the initiative. The National
Safety Council has created a free policy kit that includes
communications to build management support as well as an
all-inclusive roll out plan.
If you don’t know your state’s driving laws, go to
Distraction.gov has a section on their website where you
can see what you state’s laws on distracted driving are.
Head here to make sure you’re educated. Protect yourself,
your employees and everyone on the road by committing to no
distracted driving.
1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Facts and
Statistics. Available from
https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/Distracted-driving-statistics
2. National Safety Council. Employer Liability and the Case
for Comprehensive Cell Phone Policies. Available from
https://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distracted_Driving/Documents/NSC_CorpLiability-WP_lr.pdf.
Accessed June 7, 2013.
3. United States Department of Labor. Occupational Safety
and Health Administration. Available from
https://www.osha.gov/distracted-driving. Accessed July
23, 2013.
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