Ahh - the digital world
- By: Admin
- On: 02/02/2010 21:22:13
- In: HR Resolutions
- Comments: 0
I admit it… I’m addicted – I’m a “crackberry” with carpal “thumbal”. But, I’m also a hands-free kind of girl – my entire car is “blue tooth” so I don’t have to have my communicator sticking out of my ear when I’m driving. I can dial by voice – I can answer a call with one move of a finger on my steering wheel – I can disconnect the call the same way. You know what I can’t do though? I can’t text or e-mail without using both hands with both eyes on the Blackberry – not on the road. How safe is that?
Well, now it’s the law – at least for commercial drivers. As of January 26, 2010, texting (read e-mailing too) is expressly prohibited and not just for your obvious commercial drivers (trucks, busses) but for van drivers who transport 8 or more people. The fines can be civil or criminal and amount up to $2,750.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood “Today we’re sending a strong message: We don’t merely expect you to share the road responsibly with other travelers—we require you to do so,” said LaHood. “This is an important safety step, and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving.”
Get your policies in place – don’t forget to communicate them to your employees. In fact, you may want to implement something for ALL your employees because…
Gregory Hare, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Atlanta, observed in a Jan. 26, 2010, interview that distracted driving is a much bigger problem in the workplace than just with truckers and bus and van drivers. Many studies show statistics demonstrating how dangerous it is to text/drive – the most amazing to me is from Car and Driver Magazine suggesting that reaction times can be as much as twice as long when texting as compared to being intoxicated!
Thanks to SHRM’s articles: “Distracted Driving by Employees May Result in Employer Liability” but Joanne Deschenaux and “DOT Announces Federal Ban on Texting for Commercial Truck Drivers” by Allen Smith for some of the details for this blog!
We sent the following out to our clients to copy into memo format for their drivers – feel free to use:
DOT and FMCSA Bans Texting for Commercial Drivers
The U. S. DOT and FMSCA have announced new regulatory guidance that bans commercial truck and bus drivers from using any handheld cellular device or wireless device to text while driving a commercial vehicle. This new ban will subject commercial drivers to civil and criminal penalties of up to $2,750.00, if they text while driving a commercial vehicle. Please be advised, you the driver, will be responsible for paying any fines received for this violation.
This will probably be the first step the federal government is taking to raise the awareness of distracted driving. Distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in while operating a motor vehicle. The three main types of distraction are: Visual – taking your eyes off the road, Manual – taking your hands off the wheel and Cognitive – taking your mind off what you are doing. Using a cell phone, whether it is hands-free or hand-held is a cognitive distraction which degrades a driver’s performance. The driver is more likely to miss key visual and audio cues needed to avoid a crash.
The safest and best practice to follow is to safely pull off the road and stop before using your cell phone for texting or talking. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter and for keeping our operation safe.
Comments
There have been no comments made on this article. Why not be the first and add your own comment using the form below.
Leave a comment
Commenting is restricted to registered users only. Please register or login now to submit a comment.