Interactive Driving Systems is advising companies to tighten and enforce policies limiting the use of of all mobile communication equipment while driving.
It follows a significant legal case in which a salesperson, Marie
Howden, was found guilty of causing death by careless driving, after
she crashed and killed another driver while using a legal hands-free
phone.
The case adds weight to a growing body of research that looks at the dangers of using mobile communication devices – whether mobiles or hands-free phones – while behind the wheel. Studies from the Transport Research Laboratory, for example, concluded that all car-phone conversations and texting result in more drifting in lanes and slower reaction times.
Interactive Driving Systems suggests companies employ a zero-tolerance approach to breaches of the law or company policy relating to the use of mobile equipment while driving. It also cautions employers to think about their organisation’s culture of using such equipment, and, in cases where they contact an employee who may be driving, advises them to adhere to the following three points:
For more information, visit www.virtualriskmanager.net
With employees who drive for business more likely to be killed at work than deep sea divers or coal miners, driver safety is a vital business consideration.
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