Tag: Distracted Driving
Talking on a hand-held cellphone while driving is banned in 10 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia.
Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
DOT reports that in 2010:
- 3092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured;
- 18% of injury crashes in 2010 were reported as distraction-affected crashes;
- Drivers who use hand-held devices are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves;
- Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted;
- Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%.
Many localities have enacted their own bans on cellphones or text messaging, too.
Where do you stand on this issue?
More importantly, do your supervisors and employees know?
Finding talented and skilled workers is already difficult. Lets help them stay alive and keep our roads safe.
Train and enforce “no distracted driving,” to your staff. On and off the job.
And be a good example- don’t drive distracted yourself.
As we said in an earlier post:
For Executives/Administrators/Managers, motor vehicle incidents had the highest total societal costs for 1999– 2001.
Photo
The DOT has just finalized a rule restricting mobile phone use by drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMV’s). The new rule goes into effect Jan 3, 2012. The rule restricts CMV drivers from reaching for or holding mobile telephones while operating their vehicles, or pushing more than one button to operate the device.
This rule, which goes into effect on January 3, 2012, was adopted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which are part of the Department of Transportation. It amends both Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations and Hazardous Materials regulations. The rule restricts CMV drivers from reaching for or holding mobile telephones while operating their vehicles, or pushing more than one button to operate the device.
The popular Push-To-Talk (PTT) feature used by many drivers is prohibited by this new rule. While, functionally, the PTT feature is similar to the use of a CB or two-way radio (neither of which is addressed by the new rule and therefore still permissible), the final rule advises that PTT is prohibited because the device used for PTT comes squarely within the definition of a mobile telephone prohibited by the rule, and it also requires the driver or user to hold it and push a button more than once. Therefore, its use while driving a CMV is the same as that of a hand-held mobile telephone and is prohibited.
Exception: Emergencies. Using a hand-held mobile telephone is permissible by drivers of a CMV when necessary to communicate with law enforcement officials or other emergency services.
Bottom line, your driver is still OK to use the CB but using the cell phone to get back to you while driving is verboten.
More information: Fisher Phillips
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/rulemakings/proposed/Mobile_phone_NPRM.pdf
This 4 minute video was produced by a British high school in cooperation with a film-maker and local police authorities.
The fact that the cars are driving on the left helps it make more of an impression on those of us who drive on the right side of the road here in North America.
This is a graphic, but essential reminder to all of us to reconsider our choices of distractions while behind the wheel. Or operating machinery and equipment.
Choices have consequences.
Do we really need to answer that cellphone, right now?
Do we really need to send that text message? Really?
Please don’t answer these questions until after you watch the video.
Then, by all means, please share your opinion.