Where Do You Stand on Distracted Driving Policies?

Recent survey results from software company Aegis Mobility shows employers are concerned about use of mobile devices while driving but not confident enforcement measures are working

Kim Johnston S Mheadshot Headshot
Employers continue to be concerned about the risk and liability posed by employee use of mobile devices while driving on the job.
Employers continue to be concerned about the risk and liability posed by employee use of mobile devices while driving on the job.

Aegis Mobility, a manufacturer of software for mobile devices to prevent workplace distracted driving, recently conducted a survey on the issue of employee distracted driving. The survey received responses from 547 professionals in safety, risk and fleet management disciplines from a variety of different industries in the United States and Canada. According to Aegis, "The objective of the survey is to measure corporate fleet operators' perspectives and attitudes toward distracted driving and how attitudes are changing over time."

Your Company Could Be Liable for Employees' Distracted Driving

Prevent Distracted Driving

Here are some of the key findings from the survey:

  • 86% of respondents report their companies take some measure to enforce distracted driving policies
  • 71% of respondents work for companies that have adopted some form of policy to manage employee use of mobile devices while driving
  • 52% of those without a policy plan to adopt a policy
  • Only 32% report they are "very confident" that current compliance methods are effective
  • 45% of respondents prohibit all use, except hands-free; 41% prohibit all use, no exceptions; 12% prohibit texting, emailing and browsing; 2% prohibit texting only
  • 22% report that they plan to evaluate either device-based software, device analytics or in-vehicle cameras within the next 12 months to better enforce compliance with distracted driving policies

Can You Use A Smartphone to Promote Safe Driving?

Companies are also pursuing a variety of enforcement methods. Of the respondents, these were the most popular methods of enforcement:

  • 81% written/signed policy
  • 76% training
  • 72% observation and reporting
  • 55% post-crash discipline
  • 40% random safety audit

Top Ten Defensive Driving Tips For Contractors

So where does your construction company fit in to the discussion? Is your company actively trying to curb distracted driving practices? If so how? Are you seeing results? Are you looking for different ways to enforce mobile device policies?

Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below.

Page 1 of 28
Next Page

Create a free For Construction Pros account to continue reading