What are you doing to protect your fleet and your drivers from distracted driving accidents? Read about one employer that’s experiencing significant success with a strict driving policy.
In 2009, 5,500 people were killed as a result of distracted driving accidents. Twenty percent of injury crashes involved reports of distracted driving, resulting in half a million injuries.
Despite a slight drop in the rates from the previous year, distractions continue to kill and injure Americans in alarming numbers.
There are many types of distractions, including:
- Talking or texting on a cell phone;
- Surfing the Internet with a smart phone;
- Eating, drinking, or grooming;
- Talking to passengers;
- Using a PDA or GPS;
- Using an MP3 player;
- Changing the radio station or CD; and
- Believe it or not, reading or watching video while driving!
We talked to two employers that have taken action to improve fleet safety by driving out distracted driving. We’ll introduce you to the first in today’s Advisor and the second in tomorrow’s edition.
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Confronting the Problem
KCI Technologies, Inc., is an employee-owned, multidisciplinary engineering firm headquartered near Baltimore. According to CEO Terry Neimeyer, the firm employs around 850 people, operates 28 offices, and has a fleet of 192 vehicles driven by survey crews, construction inspectors, and others.
Regular monitoring revealed that the bulk of KCI’s vehicle accidents were related to distracted driving, especially cell phone use.
“We’re engineers, and we like to solve problems,” Neimeyer explains. “So we said, ‘Let’s figure this out.'” At the same time, KCI was launching a self-insurance program, which provided a strong financial incentive to reduce accidents.
Taking Action
The first step was easy, recalls Neimeyer: “We said there would be no cell phone use in cars. End of conversation.” Those who needed to take or make a call would have to pull off the road.
The company’s cell phone policy reads: Employees will avoid using the cell phone or other electronic devices while driving. Allow voice mail to handle your calls, and if you must use a cell phone, safely pull off the road and stop the vehicle.
Employees said the business would suffer. “We thanked them for their concern,” says Neimeyer, “but we said our business was getting them home safely to their families. And we had documented proof to show the impact.”
The second step also elicited some “screams and wails.” Every KCI employee found to be at fault in a vehicle accident would be required to pay half the price of repairing the vehicle, up to $1,000.
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The third action was a required review of employees’ motor vehicle records before letting them drive for the company. Any who show dangerous or reckless behavior are required to take an online defensive driving course.
KCI made other changes, including installing GPS systems that can detect unsafe driving. Neimeyer said some considered the onboard system intrusive. But his thinking was that an employee who is driving safely and following the rules has nothing to worry about.
Enjoying Success
Neimeyer is confident that the investment in reducing driving distractions is money well spent.
KCI monitors accidents quarterly and takes careful note of trends. In 2007, the year the changes took effect, KCI logged 21 at-fault accidents and averaged around 180,000 miles between accidents. In 2009, there was considerable improvement—9 at-fault accidents with 339,000 miles between accidents.