By R. Bruce Wright, CPCU
Just a week or two ago, in response to a request, I visited a distribution system to conduct several sessions on safe driving for their employee group. In the course of each one of those sessions, sooner or later the discussion turned to the use of cell phones while driving. As we dug a little deeper into the issues it became clear that many folks initially thought that hands free devices such as ear buds, blue tooth earphones, or speaker phones offered a safe alternative to holding a mobile device to ones ear. This view is clearly shared by many legislators, since several states have already passed laws prohibiting or restricting the use of handheld cell phones by motorists.
Unfortunately, the most recent studies suggest that this widespread belief is false. It is not the holding of the device that causes accidents, it is the mental effort of conversing on the telephone and simultaneously driving that is the issue.
Listening to the radio is a passive activity, while talking on the phone is an active one, in which drivers are compelled to use areas of their brain that are also needed to make decisions on speed and direction, and to react to the decisions of other drivers. For reasons not fully explained yet, talking to passengers is nowhere nearly as hazardous as using a mobile telephone. One likely theory suggests , although it seems that conversations with passengers are less distracting since the passenger and the driver are both aware of the conditions around them, are likely to break off their discussions when traffic issues require actions, and to wait for clear times to get back to their conversation. 
This type of situational awareness is not possible for those on the other end of the telephone call, so drivers are much more likely to try to continue a discussion under conditions when they would break off a chat with a passenger. Another theory suggests that we are able to receive more subtle cues from a passenger, including small variations in tone and temper, which we use in interpreting meaning and intent, while with cell phones these cues are much harder to pick up. This difficulty leads us to concentrate harder in order to hear these cues, leaving fewer brain cells available for driving decisions. Whatever the reasons, it is clear that the use of cellular telephones while driving greatly increases the risk of vehicular accidents.
As I told the folks I was addressing, I was personally quite disappointed when I learned this, since I had already purchased a snazzy Bluetooth headphone for myself, thinking I was doing the right thing, only to later learn that there was little if any provable benefit to using it. Unfortunately for me and for others, the most recent studies show that drivers are four times as likely to get involved in a traffic accident when using cell phones, regardless of whether they are using devices held to their ears, using hands-free earphones, or using speakers.
So, every company needs to address this issue by designing, communicating and enforcing a mobile telephone policy for all its drivers. In the development of a comprehensive cell phone policy it will be necessary to consider a wide range of exposure issues, including personal devices, company issued devices, use while driving, and the use of phones outside of vehicles at worksites.
One all-too-common sight that makes my head shake is that of a bucket truck driver using a cell phone even with a passenger aboard. Why shouldn’t the passengers handle communications- radio and telephone- and leave the driver free devote full attention to driving? It’s a mystery to me, although it seems that some crew leaders think they need to drive the truck and handle all communications. A sensible policy would make clear that in any case like this, the driver should leave all communication tasks to the passengers.
Many jurisdictions have passed restriction on the use of cell phones while driving and many more have efforts underway. Regulations are being imposed by local governments and by states, making it difficult to keep up with the rules, but here is a excerpt from the Governors Highway Safety Association Web site (found at www.ghsa.org.) that offers a summary of current statecell phone driving law highlights:
- Handheld Cell Phone Bans: The 5 states of California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington, along with the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands, have enacted cell phone laws prohibiting driving while talking on handheld cell phones. With the exception of Washington State, these laws are all primary enforcement—an officer may ticket a driver for using a handheld cell phone while driving without any other traffic offense taking place.
- Text Messaging: 4 states (Alaska, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington) ban text messaging for all drivers, but many other states have introduced similar legislation.
- Novice Drivers: 17 states and the District of Columbia have special cell phone driving laws for novice drivers.
- School Bus Drivers: In 15 states and the District of Columbia, school bus drivers are prohibited from all cell phone use when passengers are present, except for in emergencies.
- Preemption Laws: Some cities, such as Phoenix and Detroit, have cell phone laws, but 9 states have preemption laws that prohibit local jurisdictions from enacting restrictions.
- Some states, such as Utah and New Hampshire, treat cell phone use as a larger distracted driving issue.
- Utah considers speaking on a cell phone to be an offense only if a driver is also committing some other moving violation (other than speeding).
In sum, it is worth remembering that driving is an important part of the job in the utility business. All too often it is considered to be incidental to work, and not part and parcel of the work itself. Since vehicle accidents are the most frequent type of liability event in most systems, isn’t it worth the time to address an issue that may increase losses by a factor of four?