The Department of Transportation says that “Driver distraction could present a serious and potentially deadly danger. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving… While these numbers are significant, they may not state the true size of the problem, since the identification of distraction and its role in a crash can be very difficult to determine using only police-reported data.”
The problem of distracted driving posed a challenge to road safety. This article discusses ideas for how businesses and individuals can grapple with the problem cooperatively.
Have your workplace take a stand against distracted driving
Your workplace has an investment in its employees and their well-being. This year’s Drive Safely Work Week is a great time to strengthen that commitment.
More and more organizations have adopted an official mobile device policy to discourage workers from texting or using cell phones during their drive-times before and after work, or while driving company vehicles. If you are a manager, you can review your company’s policy — or put a strong program in force. If you are a worker, this would be the perfect opportunity to call management’s attention to the benefits of a mobile device policy. Encourage management to make a visible pledge to support the restrictions on mobile device use while driving, and to publicize that pledge among all employees.
A business climate that opposes distracted driving is an effective strategy. That’s why President Obama used an executive order to restrict cell phone use by drivers on official federal government business. In Pennsylvania, the firm of AnapolSchwartz has taken a leadership position among law firms in bringing a dedication to driving safety on behalf of its employees. These are just two examples of how taking a public stand on this issue demonstrates an organization’s concern with its community and workforce.
Making a public commitment is essential for bringing dramatic improvements to driving safety. When a business owner chooses to make safety a priority, then the employees’ attitudes will follow — both on and off the job. The business becomes a leader among its competitors; its workers naturally become role models in promoting safer driving among friends, family, and the whole community.
Join and support community and national advocacy organizations
Thousands of people have begun to join together to fight for safer roads. Among business leaders, the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) works tirelessly for ending distracted driving as a workplace safety issue. The American Automobile Association, active in all fifty states, has established a workgroup within its Foundation for Traffic Safety to focus on this issue. The National Safety Council — a nonprofit, nongovernmental public service organization long dedicated to promoting safe roadways — has turned its attention to the problem of distracted driving. Overall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration operates the most comprehensive site for online information and news on this issue, Any of these online websites can be a starting point for your continued efforts to fight distracted driving.
Publicize your commitment to road safety
The United Nations has declared 2011 to 2020 the Decade of Action for Road Safety, highlighting the fact that almost 1.3 million people die every year on the world’s roads, and up to 50 million are injured. The UN has joined with the World Health Organization to encourage people across the globe to signal their commitment toward safer roads by wearing the official yellow diamond tag as a symbol of unity. Purchasing and wearing the tag will show how seriously you view the issue.
Reaffirm your commitment throughout the year
The Drive Safely Work Week campaign lasts only one week each year — but confronting distracted driving is a daily challenge. Once you are aware of the issues, you have a moral duty to act, because safer driving is a benefit to your friends, to your family, and to your community as well as in your own self-interest. Every time you enter a motor vehicle — whether as driver or passenger — or use the public streets as pedestrian or cyclist, you have an obligation to maintain safety.
And so does everyone else. It requires a commitment across the United States, on all levels, to take effective action on this critical issue. “When we stop for a moment and ask ‘why,’ we see the ingredients of a recipe that can also prove effective against distracted driving: Tougher laws, more effective enforcement, public education, and personal responsibility,” said Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood in 2010.
The good news is, despite the seriousness of the task, we can get it done if we all work on the same side. And that only reinforces the message of the week: Getting there safely is, after all, everyone’s business.
