Our friend, Nate Miller, has sent this great infographic regarding which side of the road we should drive on. We think you will enjoy the information he has shared with us.
Tag Archives: distracted driving
APRIL IS NATIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING MONTH
Think about this: according to the new Safety in Numbers newsletter from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, at any given daylight moment across the United States, about 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices behind the wheel. With that many persons texting or talking while driving, 3,300 people were killed in distraction-related crashes in 2011, and another 387,000 were injured. Our nation’s roadways are the center of a deadly epidemic – distracted driving.
Is there any message or conversation worth taking the chance of having a serious accident, or causing injury to others? Drivers who use hand-held devices are four 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. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds – the equivalent of driving 55 mph the length of an entire football field, blind.
Here are other risks of using mobile communication devices while driving.
- Driving while using a mobile phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 per cent.
- Headset mobile phone or hands-free use is actually no safer than hand-held use. (Your mind is on the conversation, rather than driving.)
- Of American teens surveyed, 40 per cent say they have been in a car when the driver put others in danger by using a cell phone.
- Using a cell phone while driving, hand-held or hands-free delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of 0.08 per cent.
- Teen drivers are more likely than other age groups to be involved in a fatal crash where distraction is reported.
Other distractions happen, as well. One could be so absorbed in conversation with their passenger(s), they forget to pay attention to the road. New cars that have all the bells and whistles, computer screens, also cause distractions. Our minds are running 24/7, and when we are behind the wheel, they need to be totally focused on the rules of the road.
Just this week, while driving through town, a young lady crossed the street in front of me, unaware that I had the green light. I stopped and waited, but she was so engrossed in her cell phone, probably texting, that she never saw me. She continued her walk, and never noticed that she could have been run over. Had I been distracted by something, I might not have seen her at all until it was too late!
Please make up your mind every time you get behind the wheel that you plan to drive safely and will wait to retrieve your phone messages when you reach your destination. Try it, just turn off your phone while driving.
Statistics source: NHTSA
NATIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH – PART II
Yesterday we talked about the efforts to end distracted driving, especially the use of cell phones, both talking and texting, which adds to the distractions that drivers already face. New cars have such technological screens that drivers can access just about anything. This would compound the problem of focusing on the road, not social media, or other diversions. Commercial and public transportation vehicles are at risk, as well as personal and recreational drivers. In 2007, 413,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes in the U.S. and 4,584 were involved in crashes that were fatal, killing a total of 4,808 people. Of those killed in crashes involving commercial motor vehicles, 75 per cent were occupants of other vehicles.
Although a company may not be directly liable for its employees’ actions, employers may be held vicariously liable for dangerous behavior and negligent actions of their employees while conducting company business. Today’s Employers’ Vicarious Liability litigation is often aimed at employers who fail to prohibit their employees from using distracting devices for business purposes, such as cell phones, while driving. Juries usually react unfavorably to employers whose employee drivers were found guilty of causing an accident while using a cellular device. The most viable measure that we as a society can explore is an attempt to educate new drivers on the dangers of driving while distracted.
Mitigating driving distractions in this country is very difficult, but mitigating a company’s exposure to vicarious liability is often manageable under the guidance and knowledge of the right insurance professionals. They are able to work with the company to develop an appropriate policy regarding cell phones. This policy won’t necessarily absolve an employer from any and all liability, but there’s no doubt that the employer with a policy in place will be in a better position legally than an employer who does not. This helps the court recognize that the employer discussed with employees the importance of this issue.
Twenty-one states in the U.S. have passed laws that ban texting and emailing while driving. Others have banned talking on a cell phone altogether unless a hands-free device is used. (This has been proved to be no safer than hand-held ones.) Federal employees are banned from typing on a mobile phone while driving. It is interesting that other countries around the world have long prohibited the use of cell phones while driving, such as Great Britain, who made it a criminal offense to use a cell phone while driving in 2003, and Japan outlawed use of a cell phone while driving in 2002. Japan even made it punishable by up to three months imprisonment.) Statewide, there have been proposed over 200 new bills to combat distracted driving in the U.S.
Under the legal theory of respondeat superior, referred to as vicarious responsibility, an employer is liable for the actions of an employee if the employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment at the time of the accident. Thus, if an employee causes injury through negligent conduct, during employment, the victim is entitled to sue the employer directly for damages. If an employee operates a vehicle negligently as a result of using a cell phone and injures another motorist or pedestrian, that victim may sue the employer directly. Because detailed cell phone records are accessible, evidence of cell phone use at the time of the accident is fodder for plaintiffs’ attorneys.
There are many things that companies can do to avoid litigation, such as the use of software that helps manage their risk of their employees’ negligent driving. One such maker of software, ZoomSafer, has designed software that is easily installed on an employee’s smart phone to help prevent distracted driving. It is activated manually by the employee at the time he/she begins to drive. It can also activate itself by using GPS signals to automatically detect when the employee is driving. It also manages inbound calls, texts and emails according to preference and can automatically notify others when the owner of the cell phone is driving. (It’s like having your own personal secretary!)
Also, this product allows each employer to manage the controls on an individual device level. Rather than depending on individual employee’s compliance with the company’s cell phone policy, this enables the employer to directly manage an employee’s ability to access a cell phone while driving. Software such as this helps companies’ safety and risk management by providing a cost-effective tool that enforces their paper-based safe driving policies. In the event of an employee-caused car accident, this extra layer of control can be critical in insulating an employer from vicarious liability.
Any manner that can protect drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and even animals from being injured or killed by distracted drivers is worth pursuing. Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, recently declared, “distracted driving has gone from a dangerous practice to a deadly epidemic.”
Source: ZoomSafer
NATIONAL DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH – PART I
Letting oneself become distracted while driving is one of the most dangerous things our highways are facing. First, food and drink were the contributors to distracted driving. Now, with cell phones being the main culprit, we are seeing more and more accidents being caused by not only talking on the phone while driving, but texting while behind the wheel. New cars are being designed with technological advancements that require looking at the screen rather than the road, so it is easy to see why so many drivers today are guilty of driving distracted, often as a result of multi-tasking.
According to studies on driving distractions, focus is placed on three major forms of distractions: physical, visual, and cognitive. Using a cell phone while driving places cognitive demands on the user. Talking on the phone requires concentration to listen, process and respond as opposed to just listening. An even higher, more dangerous level of driving distraction is text messaging. This affects all three major forms of driving distraction simultaneously. It has been shown that hands-free phones are no safer than handheld ones.
Almost every day we hear a story about a child or innocent person who has been killed by someone talking on his/her cell phone, who ran a red light, or failed to see the other car. Go to Focus Driven – Advocates for Cell-Free Driving and read some of the stories of how the use of cell phones while driving have impacted the lives of others, those who lost a child or family member. There is no conversation that is so important that is worth taking the chance of hurting or killing someone. It’s a simple thing to turn that cell phone off. Your messages will be there when you arrive safely at your destination. Just think how convenient it is to have your very own answering machine with you, taking your messages. If you will get into the habit of turning your phone off, you will learn to appreciate a nice, quiet drive without disruption. The experience of reading those stories has convinced me to turn my phone off while I am driving. I have said it before, and then slipped back into the habit of setting it close by, but I don’t want to be guilty of hurting an innocent person because of some conversation with a friend, that could wait until I am out of my car.
In the words of one of the guest bloggers on the Original Blog of Focus Driven-Advocates for Cell-Free phones: “Should connectivity be prioritized over safety? Refraining from using a cell phone while driving may seem impossible to some. Drivers using cell phones are four times as likely to crash. Sending or receiving text messages increases crash risk by at least eight times. No text, no conversation, no status update of email is worth putting your life, or another person’s life, in danger.” This man was describing the devastation of losing his 12-year old son, who was riding with his mother when her SUV was hit on his side of the car by a woman ran a red light, talking on her cell-phone. His son would now be 21, and, sadly, his parents can only imagine what he would have been like at that age.
If we are ever to change this problem, it is going to involve everyone. If you receive a call from someone while they are driving, ask them to hang up, because you don’t want them to have an accident, and then ask them to call you when they get home. Speak up if you are a passenger, and tell your driver to please stop texting while you are in the car. It will take courage to tell your friends, family members and co-workers, who use their cell phones while driving, to ask them to take the pledge to drive cell-free. Help change the social acceptance about cell phone distracted driving. This should begin with new drivers, who need to get into the habit of not using their phones as soon as they begin driving, and of course, parents, who should have set the example for them.
Tomorrow, we will continue with how distracted driving affects companies’ liability when their drivers use cell phones while operating company vehicles, and how they are correcting the problem.
DRIVING SAFELY IS LIVING SAFELY
The mission of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is to reduce the following statistics by getting drivers and motorcyclists to change their behaviors once they get behind the wheel or on the streets: approximately 1,700 fatalities and 840,000 injuries annually occur due to vehicle crashes off public highways in the United States.
Their theme for the period of December 16th through January 2nd is “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” Distracted driving accounts for many injuries and deaths each year. If persons have parties to attend, they should always have a designated driver or know how they are going to get home and not get behind the wheel. There are many causes of distracted driving, such as not paying attention to driving safely, cell phone use, driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, or letting the mind wander about other things, rather than driving.
The National Safety Council estimates that there will be approximately 287 traffic fatalities and 28,700 medically consulted injuries that will occur during the Christmas holiday. Their estimates for the New Year’s holiday are approximately 297 traffic fatalities and 29,700 medically consulted injuries. The total of the two holidays add up to far too many accidents. The NSC also states that seat belts are 45 per cent effective in preventing injuries. So, please buckle up, drive sober and safely, and get to your holiday destination and back home safe and secure, and don’t become a statistic.
Not only during the holidays, but during the winter, please think about following these tips:
- Keep your vehicles clear of ice and snow. The key to good driving is good vision.
- Plan your stops and keep more distance between cars.
- Be extra alert.
- Always match your speed to the road and weather conditions.
- If you are not accustomed to driving in icy conditions, use extreme caution.
What if you were trapped on the road because of weather conditions? Here are tips to follow:
- Keep your cell phone charged so you can call for help.
- Stay in your car and wait for help.
- Run the engine for short periods of time to stay warm.
- Make sure your exhaust is clear of snow.
- Turn on the dome light at night when running the engine to signal rescuers.
- Hang a brightly colored piece of cloth or piece of clothing from your car.
- Exercise from time to time by moving arms, legs, fingers and toes to keep blood circulating and to keep warm.
- Always carry blankets and a supply of water and snacks, just in case.
Please use care when driving during this season, as traffic will be heavier than usual; allow plenty of time to travel and take frequent stops. We at Blog4Safety and Texas America Safety Company wish everyone a safe and Happy Holiday season.
GETTING THERE SAFELY IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS!
Monday, October 3, Drive Safely Work Week began, sponsored by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety. Many employers that are members of NETS are owners of large fleets that travel our roads day and night. The “driving” factor of the message they want to get out is that safety relies on drivers, as well as passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians, who all play an important part in preventing distracted driving. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, NETS wishes to address the safety of all employees, not just those who drive as part of their job. It is hoped to reach one-half of our nation’s population with this important message.
Of the almost 5,000 organizations that participated in the 2010 campaign, it has been reported that 88 per cent of the businesses already had or will have a mobile device policy in place this year. This shows the desire of businesses to not only reach their employees, but families and the communities they serve. October 1st, Nevada became the 9th state to ban handheld cell phones while driving.
NETS Drive Safely Work Week has a Toolkit that can educate employees on how to prevent distracted driving – how it affects both those in a vehicle and those sharing the road. You may download it from their website. This Toolkit will benefit:
- Those who have a workplace policy by getting tips and activities to reinforce and sustain their policies.
- Those who have yet to establish a policy will find plenty of resources.
- Those who aren’t interested in adopting a corporate policy but want to educate their employees can find materials on ending distracted driving.
Most of us believe that cell phones – conversations and texting – are the main culprits in distracted driving. Studies show that even talking on a “hands free” cell phone still involves concentration and attention to the conversation at hand, often at the expense of the driving task. However, every driver may or may not let outside influences affect their driving. Many drivers become distracted in heavy traffic while: applying makeup; reading; listening to loud music or becoming too engaged in conversation. Cyclists and other drivers, as well as pedestrians must know what part of the road is their territory, and not infringe on other drivers.
It is our responsibility to be safe drivers, regardless of whether we are going to and from work, or elsewhere. Always drive defensively; many times it is the other guy that causes an accident. Here are a few tips for avoiding distractions:
- Concentrate on the driving task; this demands our full attention.
- Don’t be distracted by things outside your vehicle.
- Eliminate distractions inside the car. Eat and drink, and pre-set your radio station or CD before you start the car.
- Again, avoid using your cell phone while driving. Pull over if you need to answer a call, or better yet, check the message later. Put your phone on “silent”, so you aren’t tempted to answer it.
- Don’t let the GPS or other navigation devices take your eyes off the road.
So, let’s start this month off by driving a little safer than usual. The reward could be your safety and/or that of others.
ON THE ROAD – OFF THE PHONE!
Of all the articles we have presented, please read this one! Being the last week of National Safety Month, and sponsored by the National Safety Council, this week’s title can have more impact on drivers than anything, if they will pay attention! The theme is “On the Road – OFF the Phone!” After reading information that the National Safety Council has to offer, I am now convinced that when I start my car, my cell phone will be turned OFF. Whatever messages I have will be there when I arrive at my destination. If I need to make a call, I will do it when I am stopped for a soft drink or break and the car is parked.
We have written about this subject as other bloggers, all in the interest of keeping drivers safe: distracted driving, drunk or drugged driving, texting and driving, and all the hazards of driving a vehicle that can cost your life or the lives of many innocent persons. In the United States, so far this year, 626,997 (count ’em!) crashes involving drivers using cell phones while driving have already happened. That’s one crash every 29 seconds!
Although I could use the hands-free device in my car, I really don’t like to use it. Now, I am finding that hands-free driving is really no safer. Vision is the most important sense for safe driving. Many times, drivers using hands-free phones (and those using handheld phones) have a tendency to “look at” but not “see” objects. There are estimates that show that drivers using cell phones look but fail to see up to 50 per cent of the information in their driving environment. This is what researchers call “inattention blindness,” similar to that of tunnel vision. They are looking out the windshield, but they do not process everything in the roadway that they must know to effectively monitor their surroundings, seek and identify potential hazards, and respond to unexpected situations. (Primarily, because they are too engrossed in their phone conversation!)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 11 per cent of drivers at any given time are using cell phones, (there are more than 285.6 million wireless subscribers in the U.S., many who admit that they regularly talk or text while driving. The National Safety Council estimates more than one in four motor vehicle crashes involve cell phone use at the time of the crash. This shows us that cell phone use while driving has become a serious public health threat. A few states have passed laws making it illegal to use a handheld cell phone while driving; this gives the false impression that using a hands-free phone is safe.
At one time, alcohol and speeding were the leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes; now “distractions” has been added to the list. Although texting is clearly a serious distraction, NSC data shows drivers talking on cell phones are involved in more crashes. More people are talking on cell phones while driving more often, and for longer periods of time than they are texting. In 2008, an estimated 200,000 crashes involved texting or emailing, versus 1.4 million crashes involving talking on cell phones.
I recently advised my grandson, who is in the Graduated Drivers Licensing program, to make that a habit. After learning this information, I am more than convinced that I told him to do the right thing; whether or not he will, is his and his parents’ decision. However, I am going to turn mine OFF while driving! I will let my friends and family know that the phone is off while I am driving, and they can leave a message. That’s one more way to solve the problem; let callers know that you won’t be answering while driving.
Hands-free devices often are seen as a solution to the risks of driver distraction because they help eliminate two risks – visual, looking away from the road and manual, removing your hands off the steering wheel. However, the third type of distraction can occur when using cell phones while driving, cognitive – taking your mind off the road! Hands-free devices do not eliminate cognitive distraction. Cognitive distraction will be our subject for tomorrow. Till then, hang up, and drive safely!
DISTRACTED DRIVING IS A WORKPLACE HAZARD
Thus states OSHA, in an open letter to employers: “It is (the employer’s) responsibility and legal obligation to create and maintain a safe and healthful workplace, and that would include having a clear, unequivocal and enforced policy against the hazard of texting while driving. Companies are in violation of (OHSA) if, by policy or practice, they require texting while driving, or create incentives that encourage or condone it, or they structure work so that texting is a practical necessity for workers to carry out their job.” This letter was written to kick off “Drive Safely Work Week”, an article we featured on this blog.
Has this policy been established at your workplace yet? Several workplace employees have told me that they are not allowed to text while driving during work hours, and if caught doing so, they will be fired. The Department of Labor and Department of Transportation are joining OSHA in this initiative by creating public awareness campaigns on the serious issue of distracted driving. OSHA’s top priority is keeping workers safe. Year after year the leading cause of worker fatalities is motor vehicle crashes. Distracted driving increases the risk of a vehicle accident.
Federal employees are prohibited to text while driving. Because it is well known that texting while driving is a hazard, it is imperative that employers do not encourage workers to text while driving, which violates everything that safety rules stand for. As stated by Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, “Although communication technology helps businesses work smarter and faster, it does not justify the dramatically increased risk of injury and death that comes with texting and driving.”
There are thirty states that ban texting and driving for all drivers. OSHA’s website features a video message and the letter mentioned above to showcase employer policies and team up with employer and labor associations to communicate OSHA’s message. According to fellow blogger, Ken Oswald, a complete listing of current state laws on cell phone use and texting while driving can be found on the Governors Highway Safety Association’s website or the National Conference of State Legislatures’ website. Also, Mr. Oswald states that OSHA has warned employers that it will investigate complaints that an employer requires or encourages texting while driving and penalties will be imposed to employers who fail to comply with its guidelines.
In a separate report, Federal statistics include a code for factors involved in fatal crashes, which point to a big increase in inattentive driving. “U.S. data combines talking, eating, and using cell phones in the same group. There has been a 42 per cent increase in fatal crashes in which the coder labeled inattention as a factor.” (I recently received a comment on one of our latest distracted driving blogs that questioned not only texting and talking on the cell phone, but also putting on makeup, reading, and other distractions while driving. Good point.)
Maybe when companies enforce these rules regarding texting and driving, those employees will adjust to not texting and driving during their free time. It would be a better habit to turn the phone off and retrieve the messages when you are on your lunch break, or after you get home. Hands-free phones should be the only type allowed, and even then, certain conversations may keep the driver from focusing on their driving.
Join in with OSHA and your state to make the highways safer. Leave the phone off until your vehicle is stopped. Their little answering machines work just fine!