Many states have laws against texting or talking on cellphones while driving. Absent a clear, tough, enforced policy against distracted driving, employers risk losing millions of dollars in jury verdicts—and contribute to crippling and fatal carnage on the road.
You need a clear policy: Employees may not use mobile devices while driving on company business.
THE LAW: Most state laws hold employers responsible for their employee’s actions while on the job. Under the law, answering a boss’s cellphone call means the employee is working. If the call distracts the employee to the point that it causes an accident, the employer is liable.
If the scenario above takes place in a state that prohibits using a phone while driving, the driver faces heightened criminal charges.
WHAT’S NEW: New technology has put the ability to communicate via voice, text or even video in the palms of our hands. More than ever, drivers have navigation devices that need to be programmed and sophisticated entertainment systems that can demand the driver’s attention. With each new gadget, the risk of distracted driving rises.
Many states permit “hands-free” phone operation, but studies show little difference in distraction levels for hands-free users. In court, science won’t back employers that allow hands-free mobile device use.
Additionally, the evidence shows that distracted drivers may be just as impaired as drunken drivers. No employer would permit a drunken employee to operate a company vehicle, but when employers expect employees to immediately answer cell calls and texts, they essentially do the same thing.
Several high-profile, multimillion-dollar verdicts against employers—coupled with more states enacting bans on cellphone/texting while driving—should convince employers that they need to get tough on workers who multitask while driving.
HOW TO COMPLY: You need to mount a three-pronged attack on distracted driving. First, have a written policy defining and prohibiting distracted driving. Second, educate your workforce about what the policy means and how it affects daily operations. Finally, enforce the policy continuously and fairly.
Developing a policy
While it is wise to consult an attorney to develop such a policy, some guidelines are easily available. The National Employers for Transportation Safety (NETS) provides key resources, including a look at what several safety-conscious companies include in their cellphone usage policies.
More guidelines are available at distraction.gov, a government site dedicated to providing employers and auto manufacturers information about distracted driving. The study urged manufacturers to develop technology that would disable several mobile phone operations unless the vehicle is stopped and in park:
- Manual text entry when sending texts and browsing the Internet
- Video-based entertainment and communications such as video phoning and conferencing
- Displaying certain types of content, including text messages, Web pages and social media apps.
Until cars do this automatically, employers should bar such behavior in their policies. In general, government guidelines suggest limiting the time a driver must take his eyes off the road to perform any task to two seconds at a time and 12 seconds total.
Education that changes behavior
Posting a policy is not good enough. Managers, supervisors and employees must understand how the policy plays out in the workplace. For example, employees who understand that they should not answer phones and texts while driving and then are criticized for not responding right away receive mixed signals. Bosses must understand the instant communication we have come to expect will not necessarily occur under the new policy. They’ll need to learn to take a deep breath and wait for the response.
Employees must also understand that the same prohibitions apply to both personal and business communications while they are driving during business hours.
Trafficsafety.org offers links to training that shows the effects of distracted driving.
Enforcing the policy
Courts view unenforced policies as nonexistent policies. The reason is that employers’ actions form employee expectations. For both employees and juries, the employer’s actions or lack thereof will speak louder than words.
Consistent policy enforcement protects the employer on many fronts. In addition to showing the employer’s commitment to safety, it shows that the employer does not discriminate in employee discipline. Similar offenses should receive similar punishments regardless of who the employee is.
When enforcing the policy, employers should refer to past disciplinary actions to ensure they are being consistent. Laying out disciplinary and investigatory procedures before the process begins and using the same procedures consistently should yield consistent results.
Review procedures and training
The technological and legal fields are constantly changing. Employers should review their policies to keep them up-to-date. After all, not many years ago we didn’t know what a text message was, didn’t drive with a GPS and couldn’t access our email in the car. Who knows what capabilities and distractions are coming down the line?
