How does your company’s cell phone policy stack up?
May 27, 2011 by Fred HosierPosted in: cell phones and safety, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Lawsuits, Research on safety, Transportation safety, What do you think?
PDF Does your company have a policy that prohibits texting and/or talking on cell phones while employees are driving for business purposes? A recent survey provides some benchmarks.
The survey commissioned by ZoomSafer shows 62% of companies have adopted written policies prohibiting employees from using a mobile phone while driving for company business.
That sounds like good news. But the news isn’t as good on the enforcement front. Only 53% of companies with cell phone policies make an attempt to enforce compliance.
Some other findings include:
- 32% of companies know about vehicle crashes that occurred because of employee use of cell phones while driving.
- 7.6% of companies have faced lawsuits resulting from damages alleged to have occurred as a result of employee use of cell phones while driving.
- Long-haul and local trucking companies were the most likely to have a written cell phone policy (71% and 83% respectively), while home and business services companies were least likely (<50%).
Full disclosure: ZoomSafer is a company that sells various safe-driving products to employers including client apps for smartphones that detect driving and can shut down phone features.
So the following statistic from the survey is definitely a point the company wants to make: 61% of companies rely on post-incident disciplinary measures to make sure employees comply with cell phone policies. Only 2% use technology to measure and manage employee compliance.
ZoomSafer says to truly change employee behavior, companies should actively measure and enforce compliance with their cell phone policies.
The survey polled 500 business managers in North America and has a margin of error of +/- 3.6% with 90% confidence.
Does your company have a cell phone policy? Does it address texting and phone use or just texting? Does your company use blocking software in phones or is it considering such software? Let us know in the Comments Box below.
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Tags: cell phone policy, driving for business purposes, prohibit texting, smartphone apps
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May 27th, 2011 at 7:54 am
It falls under distracted driving. Our policy implements common sense and personal responsibility.
June 7th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Disclosure - we sell Employee Manual Builder workplace policies handbook software.
With our 2011 revision we inserted a very comprehensive cell-phone usage policy - for liability purposes, it’s important to be on record as having explicitly notified your employees:
Cell / Mobile Phone Usage
Cell phone usage in the office should not disrupt your work or the work of others, or distract the user’s attention from safely and considerately navigating the office space or effectively performing work duties.
Mobile phone usage while driving
In a growing number of states, it is illegal to drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone, unless the phone is configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that manner while driving. Violations carry a fine of $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses.
[Text messaging is banned in [State]]. [Company]’s focus is on your safety first – please use common sense while driving.
Go Hands-Free
Employee’s who drive as part of their jobs and frequently need to make business calls while on the road, should make sure they have a hands-free device by July 1,2008. Also, keep in mind that other states have similar restrictions on the use of handheld mobile phones while driving. Employee’s should check the laws in other states to be sure they are in compliance.
For safety and liability reasons, it is important that employees avoid using their cell phone for business while driving, whether they are using a hands-free device or not. Phone conversations while driving can cause big distractions, which can lead to tragic accidents. And if the call that caused the accident was work-related, the [COMPANY] client - and the employee who caused the accident - could be liable.
If you must use a cell phone while driving, we recommend the following safety guidelines:
* Use a hands-free phone
* Dial only while the car is stopped
* Never use the phone in heavy traffic or bad weather…