OSHA’s website has a link to an NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) initiative on distracted driving. The site includes tips on actions to take as a promotion for April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
According to the site and as you probably already know, distracted driving has become a deadly epidemic on our roads. Cell phone use has become the most common distraction. Just look around! Texting and other unsafe driving behavior like changing radio stations are easy to spot.
Other risky actions include eating and drinking while driving, adjusting the radio, and/or looking at GPS. We have even noticed drivers applying makeup! Such behaviors are a danger to the driver, their passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians!
As an organization, consider an initiative to ensure safe driving as part of your safety program and/or wellness program. Please consider the following questions to ensure employee safety:
- Do you have a safe driving policy for company business?
- Does it include not texting or making calls while driving?
- Do you honor this by not calling or texting drivers and especially expecting an answer?
Here are a few tips to share with employees, co-workers, friends, and family:
- Pull over and park in a safe location to send texts or look up information.
- Designate a passenger as your “designated texter” to respond to calls or messages.
- Put the cell phone out of reach if the temptation is too great.
- Remind your friends and family: No distractions. The only thing you are doing is driving
- If you are driving with someone texting or distracted, tell them to please stop and focus on the road.
- Make a pledge to not drive distracted.
- Ask friends, and family to also take the pledge.
- Share your pledge on social media to spread the word — #JustDrive.
Photo by Damir Kopezhanov on Unsplash