Protecting Your Employees, Protecting Your Business.

In today’s business environment, nearly all of us carry our cellphone at work, which means we probably have it in our cars as we drive from point A to point B. And, believe it or not, studies have shown that a texting driver is 23 times more likely to have an accident than a non-distracted driver, and that the reaction time while texting is twice as long as while legally intoxicated.

Juries across the country have sent clear messages: employers will be hit with large verdicts for damages incurred by accidents their employees caused while talking on cellphones and working.   A Virginia law firm was sued for $25 million after one of its employees allegedly driving while talking on her cellphone killed a 15-yearold girl walking along the road. Likewise, an Arkansas company paid $16.2 million to a woman severely disabled in a car accident caused by one of its employees driving while talking on his cell.

So, how can you protect your organization and your employees?

The best thing you can do is to take preventive measures beyond carrying adequate insurance liability coverage.  It is recommended that you have a policy in place stating that employees who use company-owned or leased vehicles or company-provided phones should not text, talk or otherwise use their cellphones while driving.  Further, employers should prohibit others in their organization from calling or texting employees while they are driving.

Putting the policy in place is the easy part.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have model policies on their websites that an employer may tailor to its individual work force. The hard part is communicating the policy and consistently enforcing it.

If your employees regularly manage phone calls or emails while traveling, it may be time to require such voice-activated dialing, headsets and other technology that can decrease distracted driving. If you’re worried about customers not getting timely communication, it may be wise to inform them of your policies as an explanation for delayed responses.

Finally, the policy should explain when and where cellphone use is permitted. For example, you may require an employee pull off the road into a parking lot to make a call or set a schedule to stop, retrieve messages and respond to calls or texts.

Given the safety and liability risks of not having a policy banning or restricting certain use of electronic devices while driving, doing nothing is not an option. Employers need to incorporate such a policy into their operations for the safety of their employees, themselves and their community.