Multi tasking while driving
NaeNae55
3,243 Posts
John Phillips wrote about multi-tasking in his blog today. This is a very important issue, and wondered how other HR people are dealing with the matter.
Does your policy specifically address emailing, texting, or talking on a cell phone while your employees drive? Does your policy allow it? Why?
If you do not allow it, have you had to discipline an employee for doing it anyway? What were the consequences?
Do you have policies against texting and cell phones while in the office, or only while driving?
Have you avoided addressing the issue completely?
I know I could have done a survey on this, but I want details. Please respond.
Enquiring minds want to know.
Does your policy specifically address emailing, texting, or talking on a cell phone while your employees drive? Does your policy allow it? Why?
If you do not allow it, have you had to discipline an employee for doing it anyway? What were the consequences?
Do you have policies against texting and cell phones while in the office, or only while driving?
Have you avoided addressing the issue completely?
I know I could have done a survey on this, but I want details. Please respond.
Enquiring minds want to know.
Comments
Texting and driving recently became illegal here in Tennessee. I know it's illegal in several other states. I assume these laws also cover using a phone or PDA to work/surf the internet/check e-mail.
Is everyone with company cars and/or phones/PDAs keeping up with their local laws and changing company policy to reflect those laws? Or if a law is passed, does the texting/PDA issue fall under a more general policy of "obey the rules of the road when in a company car," etc.?
Here's a link to John's blog post: [URL="http://tiny.cc/fsBWI"][/URL] [URL="http://tiny.cc/fsBWI"][COLOR=blue][B]http://tiny.cc/fsBWI[/B][/COLOR][/URL]
Here's a link to the [I]New York Times[/I] article that inspired his post: [URL="http://tiny.cc/3ZntU"][COLOR=blue][B]http://tiny.cc/3ZntU[/B][/COLOR][/URL]
I wanted to chime in, less on the policy front, but on the legal front to note that a number of states have looked at multi-tasking while driving in the past couple of years. Back in April we ran an article on "dialing and driving" laws in our [url=http://www.hrhero.com/esla/index.shtml]Employers' State Law Alert[/url] newsletter.
At that time 17 states prohibited cell phone use by novice drivers (ages vary, but generally those under 18 or driving with a learner's permit). By April of this year, five states had laws prohibiting talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving (though the use of hands-free/Bluetooth devices is permitted). Other states allow localities to pass their own specific ordinances regarding handheld cell phone use. (Hawaii, for example, passed a couple of local ordinances this year that ban the use of hand-held devices including phones, PDAs, and the like.) Further, seven states had banned all texting while driving, except in emergency situations. During the 2009 legislative sessions other states considered similar laws, some of which passed (for example, Utah and Washington D.C. have now also banned hand-held cell phone use while driving).
With all of this said, if you don't currently have a cell-phone use policy, you may want to check your state law and see if there are recently-enacted laws prohibiting use of cell phones/hand-held devices while driving.
The problem I see is that we as a society are conflicted. We don't want others to text and drive but hey its ok if I just answer this one text. I'll be super quick! Its important!
Recently, the Daily Show had a funny clip about the mixed message our society is sending out about distracted driving.
[URL]http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-october-1-2009/cnn-warns-against-texting-while-driving[/URL]
Keep in mind that most younger people believe they can text one-handed without looking so they may not even buy into the rationale that texting while driving is dangerous.
All to say that I think we will be dealing with issue for some time and companies who employ drivers will need to be fairly proactive in their response.
In some cases, our supervisors have witnessed drivers on cell phones while driving, in others, the motoring public has reported it to us, and then there is always the telltale detailed phone records. DOT drivers are required to keep daily logs. Hard to justify 12 hours on duty with 10 hours of driving, but the phone detail shows 4 hours use.
Our safety director received study information a few months ago that talking on a cell phone while driving is comparable to driving under the influence of alcohol at a .08 level. Further, texting while driving is 23% worse.
Wouldn't you be concerned about the rise in Workers Comp cases from injuries related to driver's banging their heads repeatedly against the dashboard?
Nae, I mistyped. I stated 23% but it should have been 23 times more dangerous. Either way, the liability is too great.
Just to play devil's advocate, I grew up in So California and I remember traffic jams that were brutal. You would inch along for miles.
Are you trying to tell me that I can't send a text message when I'm sitting on the 405 Fwy and I haven't moved for 10 minutes?
I listen to NPR a lot. In fact I have it playing now - local station out of Univeristy of Missouri - plays classical music when not doing the news.
Just to play devil's advocate, I grew up in So California and I remember traffic jams that were brutal. You would inch along for miles.
Are you trying to tell me that I can't send a text message when I'm sitting on the 405 Fwy and I haven't moved for 10 minutes?[/quote]
Hmmmmmmm, I wonder how many of those traffice jams were caused by somebody doing something stupid instead of devoting their full attention to driving.
We did not have mass availability of cell phones then, but there were still lots of slowdowns due to merges, people with car trouble and accidents. Without cell phones, people still managed to do make up, eat, or read while driving. I saw it just about every day. Once I even saw a lady taking her curlers out and doing her hair (not just combing it.) No matter the times or technology, you will always have idiots.
This state does not have any laws against driving while using your phone (we can't even get a comprehensive seat belt law passed.) However, it just seems like common sense to me and I try to pull over somewhere when I need to make a call. If someone calls me, I answer but tell them I am driving and they wait until I get to a place where I can talk to them. I do text at lights, but at least with texting there is no urgency to text back (like there is if the phone rings.) I would like to see more places to turn into to do my calls, but as that isn't really practical, I don't have any expectations for it.
I would like to see a comparative study done on cell phone use. I want to know how using the phone and talking compares to talking to someone in your car. I also remember (in my teen years) all the studies done on smoking in the car and how many accidents that caused. No one passed any laws against smoking while driving. I believe that is because, at the time, so many people smoked. Will there now be push back from phone users? Perhaps the difference today is that no one was sued for smoking and causing an accident.
This may sound like I am against laws that prohibit cell phone use. I am not. Neither am I for one. I would just like to see people use their brains instead of assuming they can do everything and it is other people that are a problem. (I know, I know. I live in a fantasy world.) I would also like to see laws that are fair, and enforceable. Is talking to someone on your cell phone more dangerous than talking to your kids in the back seat? Is it more dangerous than lighting a cigarette?
As in most cases, what we really need is to educate ourselves on the facts and then make intelligent choices. Our first step is to get some intelligence. You go first.
We live in a world where multi-tasking is rewarded and if you're not up to the minute on all late breaking news, well, then you're way out of the loop, and you'll never get caught up.
A hundred laws can be enacted against cell phones while driving but people are still going to use them. We're still going to tune the radio or ipod while driving. We're still going to eat while driving. We're still going to drive with screaming kids in the car fighting over who gets whatever. And, we're going to keep on doing all of these not too safe activities while driving because odds are we're not going to cause an accident.
It would be tempting to say that you can't legislate common sense; but, seat belt laws would disprove that pretty quickly. So, what's the answer? I'm not convinced it's more legislation, but I guess that's as good a place to start as any. Another would be educating our children on the hazards of distracted driving. I know I sure could have used that when I was a teenager.
One last thought. Maybe it's not so much that we're using cell phones while we drive but that we're driving 80-90 miles an hour on the interstate. Anyone who actually drives the speed limit pretty much gets run over these days.
Sharon
Nae, if you are suggesting a law that prohibits me from having to talk to my kids in the back seat, you have my full support.
Sharon
A hundred laws can be enacted against cell phones while driving but people are still going to use them. We're still going to tune the radio or ipod while driving. We're still going to eat while driving. We're still going to drive with screaming kids in the car fighting over who gets whatever. And, we're going to keep on doing all of these not too safe activities while driving because odds are we're not going to cause an accident.
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Chiming in a little late on this, but Sharon raises such a great point here that I had to. I've often thought about this when I'm driving home and I'm not *texting* on my iPhone, but I am fast forwarding to a different song to listen to. I'm doing almost exactly the same thing I'd be doing if I were texting, as far as the way it would look to an outside police officer. I'm holding my phone and pushing a button on it with my thumb without looking at it.
"But officer, I wasn't texting, honest, I was just in a Dream Theater mood today!"
Drivers have been fiddling with radio knobs for years, but if the "radio knobs" are on my phone now, does that make it illegal? :P
Holly has a great point, though...hey, I was just changing songs on my Blackberry!
Two things are a nightmare here - traffic and HR. At least the sunny skies and 80 degree weather make it more bearable!
The thing I miss the most is the flowers that bloomed on the hilly sides of the freeways in February. That is when it is freezing and icy here and I am longing for some nice green lawns and beautiful flowers.