Magazine for the professional tire industry
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MTD September 2015 Distracted driving Create a policy now to save lives and money down the road By Lauren Fletcher and Joanne Tucker I t shouldn't take an accident followed by an expensive trial to convince businesses to implement efective policies on distracted driving. And, even if the company has a policy, it also shouldn't take a distracted driving case to make the business enforce it. Atorneys specializing in personal injury and employment at the law frm of Lewit, Hackman, Shapiro, Marshall & Harlan in Encino, Calif., cite that all too ofen employers wish they had implemented a policy afer an accident occurs. Tey say from the plaintif side, that's what atorneys look for, as does the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Negligence in not efectively enforcing a policy will put the company's drivers on the losing side, and cases are surfacing to prove it. In Ford v. McGrogan & International Paper, for example, a woman's arm had to be amputated afer a driver for International Paper allegedly rear-ended the plaintif 's car while on a cell phone. Te company had a policy banning employees from using cell phones while driving, but still had to pay $5.2 million to setle the case. Cases where a company had a policy but an employee ignored it can be avoided. What distraction? A distraction is any activity that reduces visual connection and understanding of changing trafc conditions and takes a driver's atention away from the road. For tire retailers who have employees who drive delivery vehicles, courtesy cars or service trucks, driver distractions can turn into millions of dollars in losses due to accidents and the ensuing injuries to drivers and damage to vehicles, as well as any other motorists involved. Distracted driving comes in three forms: cognitive, visual, and manual. According to the National Highway Trafc Safety Administration (NHTSA), cognitive distractions are when a driver's mind isn't focused on driving. Visual distractions occur when the driver looks at anything but the road ahead. Manual distractions occur when the driver takes one or both hands of the wheel. Recognizing the biggest problem Of the many types of driver distractions, texting or talking on a cell phone while driving is still a primary concern. Te reason for this, according to the National Safety Council (NSC), is due to risk exposure. The NSC focuses on the activity that causes the most crashes, in which people will be more ofen hurt or injured. It believes the greatest cause of distracted driving crashes is when a driver is using a mobile communication device, such as a smartphone or cell phone. Te concern with cell phones is not because everything we do on a phone is the most risky thing we can do while driving. While talking on a cell phone while driving is less risky than texting or emailing, the issue is truly how ofen drivers are exposed to the risk. If there is a really bad risk out there, but we are never exposed to it, it will not cause many crashes. But, if there is a moderate risk out there and we are continually exposed to it, such as cell phone conversations while driving, then it causes a lot of crashes, reports the NSC. NHTSA estimates 10% of all drivers at any given moment are distracted by a cell phone. Tis greatly increases the risk exposure from this activity. Advanced Driver Training Services (ADTS) acknowledges the many other forms of driver distraction, and agrees with the NSC that the number of people currently using a cell phone, or texting while driving, is a much bigger problem in comparison with other distraction concerns. Numerous studies have shown that talking on the phone — hands-free or handheld — increases the risk of being in a crash, similar to a person who has a 0.08 blood alcohol concentration, which is the assumed level of intoxication throughout North America, according to ADTS. Drunk driving, and its impact, is recognized throughout the world as a severe danger on the roadways. And, yet, although numerous studies have shown that people are as likely to crash as a drunk driver if they are using the phone, people still continue this activity at epidemic proportions. Te mental aspect of driver distraction is critical and "inat- tention blindness" is a very real phenomenon. ADTS reports drivers can look at something, and if they are thinking of something else, they won't even realize that what they are looking at is there. Te phrase "I never even saw the other car" is a very common statement made by drivers Business insight Ten percent of all drivers at any given moment are being distracted by cell phone activities. Taking your eyes off the road for two seconds doubles your risk of an accident. 66