"Late last year the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration turned down an exemption request for co-ops and power companies from the new mobile phone rule. With this latest decision, it seems likely that everyone in this program will be addressing the issue."
By R. Bruce Wright, CPCU
Readers of this publication know that RE-marks has published an intermittent series on the hazards of cell phone use while driving. You can navigate to past articles "RE-marks Archive" tab above. In the time since this series of articles started in 2006, various jurisdictions have passed regulations affecting the use of cell phones by drivers generally, including a number of states and an even larger number of municipalities, leading to a confusing patchwork of laws and rules that vary widely from place to place.
Now, it seems as though a more comprehensive regulatory answer is at hand, at least for utilities in this program. As you may know, NRECA requested that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration agree to an exemption from its new mobile phone rule by classifying coops (and other utilities) as “emergency services,” and late in 2011 the FMCSA turned that request down. You can link to an article in the December 11, 2011 issue of NRECA’s publication Electric Co-op Today for more details by clicking HERE.
Many of the utilities covered by this program have already attempted to institute limits or outright bans on the use of cellular telephones by their drivers of company vehicles, although with mixed results, due at least in part to the fact that there was no mandate to do so. With this latest decision, it seems likely that everyone in this program will be addressing the issue in meetings, policies, and even driver disciplinary reviews, so this seems like an opportune time to take a moment to consider a couple of issues that relate to making effective changes in safety policies.
Safety behaviors are more a matter of company culture than of simple rule making. In addition, uniform application of rules is more effective in creating an atmosphere leading to compliance than when exceptions are created, complicating understanding of the rule. Thus, it is important that any “rules” be kept simple, straightforward, and universal. As a result, in the case of cell phone use by drivers, even though the regulation referenced above applies only to CDL vehicles, trying to single out those vehicles in a driver policy is not likely to be an effective approach. Cell phone use restrictions should instead apply to all drivers of all company vehicles at all times. Why so?
As you know, we believe that safety behaviors are influenced primarily by company culture, and that culture is formed as people model their behavior based on the examples they see around them, most critically those behaviors they see their own leaders (managers) demonstrating. As a result, any rule that permits senior management to use cell phones while driving a company automobile, SUV, or pick-up truck, while forbidding such use by line workers in bucket trucks will be doomed to failure. Take a moment to think about the message such a rule sends.
“You will be distracted by using a cell phone, while I will not.”
That’s the message it sends, intended or not. And, for a further thought experiment, ask yourself, “How would I feel if my boss told me his driving talents are far better than mine?”
If you want drivers to stop using cell phones, institute a straightforward policy that applies to all drivers, make certain that members of senior management support and abide by it first, and then reward those workers who comply (by simply offering recognition and thanks) while applying sanctions uniformly, regardless of who is involved. If you do this, the level of acceptance and compliance will exceed your expectations!