April 2, 2015

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

Last week, we discussed safety practices while in work zones,

Employees’ use of mobile phones while driving has become a liability for companies. On-the-job car crashes as a result of employees’ negligent driving distracted by a cell phone are costing companies about $43 billion every year. As employers and managers, you can prevent this from hurting your employees and your bottom line by:

Educating your staff.  Hold distracted driving dangers awareness meetings to discuss the scenarios and ways to deal with it.

Implementing a corporate cell phone ban. This means that wireless phones must be turned off before starting the car. If a call has to be made,  pull over a safe location and park before making the call. You also need to inform clients, associates, and business partners that calls will be returned when no longer driving. And don’t worry about this rule hurting your company. A recent NSC survey showed that 99% of organizations did not experience any decrease in productivity.

Announcing your commitment to Employee Safety. You can do this by spearheading a Don’t Text and Drive Awareness Campaign at work. Get your workers involved by holding activities to foster an environment of road safety. Boost safety awareness by participating in monthly celebrations such as the recently concluded NAOSH Safety Week.

Providing No Phone While driving reminders at work. Put up No texting while driving signs in your facility. You can also stick Stop texting while driving stickers and labels in all your company-owned and leased vehicles as an extra reminder to your employed motorists.

Using posters, web banners and fact sheets to drive your point across. Avail of the National Safety Council provides many resources to help promote the prevention of distracted driving. Put posters and banners up, and make sure each of your staff receives an information kit.