Effects of distracted driving
Last year there were more than one million crashes, almost half with injuries and resulting in more than five thousand fatalities. Cell phone usage is by far the leading contributor to these incidents with 80% of accidents occurring within three seconds of a distraction. The cognitive, visual and physical distractions caused by cell phone usage significantly increasing your likelihood of a crash: talking on phone = 1.3 times; dialing phone = 2.8 to 5.9 times; and texting or emailing on phone = 23 times. Some have even suggested that the level of impairment from distracted driving due to cell phone usage is worse than drunk driving.
Teen driving statistics
Teen drivers are especially at risk. Teens are four times more likely to be in a crash and worse yet, distracted driving, in specific, is the leading cause of death among teens. A new study from Pew Research found that “many teens understand the risks of texting behind the wheel but the desire to stay connected is so strong for teens that safety sometimes takes a backseat to staying in touch.” The results show that over a third of teens with phones who drive are texting while they drive, and over half use their handset while they drive – all this even though 21 states and DC have laws against such use.
Corporate liability
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of on and off the job related work fatalities. Based on recent case law, it is safe to assume that any employee who texts or emails while driving is opening a huge liability for their employer – whether or not the employer supplied the phone or if the message was business related. With the average cost of a work-related crash now estimated to be $25,000 (non-injury), $150,000 (with injuries) and $3,600,000 (fatal), distracted driving can be a very expensive problem. This is made worse by the trends for high judgments (ranging from $2 million to $18 million) against employers for wrongful death and injury suits recently awarded.
Company vs. Employee Owned Phones
Regardless of who pays for the phone or the service, companies MUST have visibility into how employees are doing their phones and be able to apply safe driving policies to mitigate risks and minimize liability. When an employee, in the context of performing his/her job, uses a cell phone in a manner that is unsafe or illegal -- it's a potential source of massive liability for the corporation, plain and simple and it does not matter who owns the phone.
Safe Driving Policies
The rising risks associated with distracted driving have motivated more than 1200 corporations in America to implement paper policies to prohibit employees from using mobile phones while driving. Unfortunately, paper policies are not enough to defend against a motivated plaintiff's attorney. To truly protect themselves from risks and liability stemming from distracted driving, companies must deploy tools so they can actively enforce safe-driving policies on mobile devices.
Distracted driving laws
Today 19 states and the District of Columbia have specific legislation banning the ability to text and drive and another 8 states and DC specifically require hands-free usage with fines ranging from $20 to $1000. Additionally, there is significant federal, state and local legislation action on this issue with a federal law expected to pass before the end of the year. However, even though there is broad consumer support for the anti-texting legislation, it is also clear from recent studies that education and legislation alone are not effective solutions – people continue to text, email and twitter even though they clearly recognize it is dangerous and in many cases illegal.
Learn More About Distracted Driving
Listed below are additional resources and information on distracted driving.