April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

Are Your Company Drivers Addicted to their Cell Phones?

Everyone knows at least one person who can’t be away from their phone — even  when behind the wheel. Did you know:

Cell phone addiction is real.  Are any of your co-workers among the 47% percent of drivers who can’t keep their hands and minds off
their phones when on the road?

47% of Americans consider themselves addicted to their cell phone.
Drivers are 23 times more likely to crash when using a cell phone.
One out of every four car accidents is caused by texting and driving. 

What is Distracted Driving?

Distracted driving is anything that takes your hands off the wheel, your eyes off the road or mind off  your primary goal - driving safely. It is an extremely risky behavior that puts everyone on the road in danger. There are different kinds of driving  distractions:

Visual - Taking your eyes off the road
Manual - Taking your hands off the wheel
Cognitive - Thinking about anything other than driving

Talking and texting on a phone are driving distractions. Texting while driving is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distractions. Hands-free phones are not the solution. Research shows that they are just as distracting as handheld phones.

Other common distractions include: tending to kids, passengers or pets in the back seat, eating, putting on makeup/grooming, adjusting radio or climate controls, checking your GPS app or daydreaming.

 Any non-driving activity you engage in is a potential distraction and increases your risk of being involved in a motor vehicle crash.  

Research has shown that drivers who are using cell phones may be looking at but failing to see up to 50% of the information in their driving environment. Usually, the driver’s “field of view” is narrowed to what is directly in front of them. As a result, the missing 50% of information may include a stop sign, a stopped vehicle, or a child.

 During National Distracted Driving Awareness Month schedule a brief team meeting to go over the dangers of distracted driving and the need to focus all your attention on arriving on time safely at your destination when you are in the drivers seat.

Thank You Federated Insurance Company and www.cdc.gov/niosh       for providing much of the information for this article. 

       The Risk Management Corner is made possible by ECF's Premier Corporate Sponsor  Federated Insurance