With more states and provinces enacting cellphone and texting bans for drivers, companies should recognize the costs they face if their own employees continue to talk or text while driving on the job.
Companies may be liable, even negligent, if they don’t have proper workplace policies on cellphone/texting and driving, according to risk officers at Zurich North America. Many aren’t aware that they can be liable for accidents or injuries that stem from distracted employees at the wheel; especially if a crash occurs after-hours.
Part of the problem: the lack of a clear message to employees on what they should or shouldn’t be doing behind the wheel, says Jeff Chilcott, senior risk engineering consultant at Zurich NA. Companies can’t defend claims against them if they don’t have policies or their employees aren’t sure how they should act, he points out.
“If a driver says, ‘I have this phone, and I need to call in,’ [while on the road], you have to watch what message you’re sending out,” he told attendees at a May 11 webinar on distracted driving. And the risk applies to all companies, not just those in the transportation sector. “Many people see driving as down time, and use it to take conference calls. That’s the wrong message.”
VICARIOUS LIABILITY:
At present, 80% of all auto claims stem from distracted driving, the panelists note, adding that the average on-highway crash can cost an organization $100,000 (US), and that the annual cost of cellphone related crashes is estimated at $43 billion (US).
And in the U.S., several incidents involving talking/driving employees have cost employers dearly: one major employer is facing a $30 million dollar wrongful death suit, and a large brokerage paid $500,000 to settle a case even when their employee struck and killed a motorcyclist while driving his own car, and talking on his own cellphone. The reason? He was on a company-related call.
WHAT GOES WRONG:
Drivers who talk or text behind the wheel lose track of the changing environment, says Chilcott. Companies should define distracted driving as “any activity that takes your eyes off the road, and your hands off the wheel,” he says.
Studies from Virginia Tech show that driving while texting increases crash risks by 23%, and NASA studies have found that multitasking causes a “blip” in your thinking process. Even a one or two second delayed reaction can cost drivers, Chilcott points out. “If a truck or a car is going 60 mph, it would travel 160 feet before you realized that you missed a stop sign, for example,” he says. “We haven’t seen one study yet that says using these devices while driving is a great thing.”
BEST PRACTICES:
Organizations should establish formal cellphone and electronic device policies, Chilcott advises. The best ones ban all cellphones, electronic and entertainment devices–and do it gradually, he adds.
In one phase, a company can ban texting, in another, no cellphones, and in yet another no GPS use unless pulled over to the side of the road, the panellists point out.
“You want the employees to know what’s expected and you want to enforce it,” Chilcott notes, adding that dispatch departments and clients should also be aware of the policies. “Build culture change–this isn’t going to happen overnight.”
- Article from “Top Canadian Insurance Broker”
**Contact me if you are interested in tips and forms to make your employees vehicles a no phone zone!**
Sean McNamara
Companies may be liable, even negligent, if they don’t have proper workplace policies on cellphone/texting and driving, according to risk officers at Zurich North America. Many aren’t aware that they can be liable for accidents or injuries that stem from distracted employees at the wheel; especially if a crash occurs after-hours.
Part of the problem: the lack of a clear message to employees on what they should or shouldn’t be doing behind the wheel, says Jeff Chilcott, senior risk engineering consultant at Zurich NA. Companies can’t defend claims against them if they don’t have policies or their employees aren’t sure how they should act, he points out.
“If a driver says, ‘I have this phone, and I need to call in,’ [while on the road], you have to watch what message you’re sending out,” he told attendees at a May 11 webinar on distracted driving. And the risk applies to all companies, not just those in the transportation sector. “Many people see driving as down time, and use it to take conference calls. That’s the wrong message.”
VICARIOUS LIABILITY:
At present, 80% of all auto claims stem from distracted driving, the panelists note, adding that the average on-highway crash can cost an organization $100,000 (US), and that the annual cost of cellphone related crashes is estimated at $43 billion (US).
And in the U.S., several incidents involving talking/driving employees have cost employers dearly: one major employer is facing a $30 million dollar wrongful death suit, and a large brokerage paid $500,000 to settle a case even when their employee struck and killed a motorcyclist while driving his own car, and talking on his own cellphone. The reason? He was on a company-related call.
WHAT GOES WRONG:
Drivers who talk or text behind the wheel lose track of the changing environment, says Chilcott. Companies should define distracted driving as “any activity that takes your eyes off the road, and your hands off the wheel,” he says.
Studies from Virginia Tech show that driving while texting increases crash risks by 23%, and NASA studies have found that multitasking causes a “blip” in your thinking process. Even a one or two second delayed reaction can cost drivers, Chilcott points out. “If a truck or a car is going 60 mph, it would travel 160 feet before you realized that you missed a stop sign, for example,” he says. “We haven’t seen one study yet that says using these devices while driving is a great thing.”
BEST PRACTICES:
Organizations should establish formal cellphone and electronic device policies, Chilcott advises. The best ones ban all cellphones, electronic and entertainment devices–and do it gradually, he adds.
In one phase, a company can ban texting, in another, no cellphones, and in yet another no GPS use unless pulled over to the side of the road, the panellists point out.
“You want the employees to know what’s expected and you want to enforce it,” Chilcott notes, adding that dispatch departments and clients should also be aware of the policies. “Build culture change–this isn’t going to happen overnight.”
- Article from “Top Canadian Insurance Broker”
**Contact me if you are interested in tips and forms to make your employees vehicles a no phone zone!**
Sean McNamara
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