What's the correct approach to driver safety?

September 03, 2010

According to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics, vehicle crashes are the number one cause of accidental death in the U.S. – by a wide margin. Although last year marked a record low in U.S. highway fatalities (1.16 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled), recent legislative strides to change driver behavior are still a hot topic in the news. As of August 2010, thirty states, DC and Guam have banned text messaging for all drivers, while eight states have banned the use of hand-held phones while driving altogether.

But some proponents of highway safety say the government and other advocates are becoming side-tracked on secondary issues, rather than focusing on speed reduction and crash-prevention technology. Here’s a link to an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal which discusses differences in approach to reducing vehicle-related deaths.

What steps are your company taking to reduce driver distraction and improve safety? How has the increase in government intervention in cell phone usage affected your drivers and on-the-road policies?

Tags:

Risk & Safety , Consulting

2 Comments

2010-10-25 13:32:14

Jay Shelly, PHH

There are so many distractions in the vehicle today that I am amazed that we can get from point A to point B as well as we can. Sometimes finding a radio station is just as distracting as pushing the talk button on the phone. I just posted a blog entry about data from a new Highway Loss Data Institute that points to the counter-intuitive issue you commented about. Data is showing that legislation banned cell phone use while driving is not having an effect in reducing distraction-related crashes. Nevertheless, we need to stay focused on the fact that talking and texting while your vehicle is moving are key factors in dangerous driving. Bluetooth is an excellent connection point for when you pull over in a parking lot to talk on a conference call so you can multitask, or in other conditions when the vehicle is not in motion, and I think that the OEMs are working on sending that same message.
2010-09-07 16:35:25

Mike McDonald

Although, I think it is a little counter-intuitive I have read studies that say hands free cell phone and hands on cell phone have the same accident rates. Do you all agree with this. If so who is going to tell the OEM's that Blue Tooth is a dangerous option. :0) I bet they, the OEM's, challenge the studies that say both cell usages are equally dangerous.

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