April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, although we should focus on the issue of distracted driving every day. According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2023, distracted driving killed 3,275 people.
NHTSA defines distracted driving this way: “Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment, or navigation system—anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.”
Most of us will admit that texting while driving is a distraction, but I am not sure all of us agree on some of the other items that NHTSA includes in its description. However, I believe we can all agree that failing to pay attention while driving a vehicle—whether it is a passenger car or a Class 8 truck—can have severe consequences for the driver and others on the road.
FleetOwner recently ran an article about a study by Verra Mobility that found that “85% of Americans believe distracted driving is equal to or more dangerous than drinking and driving.”
See also: Fleets Explained: What is distracted driving?
Fleet managers must take the lead in ensuring drivers understand the seriousness of eliminating distracted driving. There are several ways they can do this. The first is instituting a comprehensive training and coaching program. Obviously, the fleet’s distracted driving policy needs to be part of new driver orientation, but it is not enough to merely talk about it.
Distracted driving needs to be discussed regularly in driver meetings and other forms of communication with drivers. There should be an ongoing effort to reinforce the fleet’s policy about cellphone use and other behaviors that it categorizes as distracted driving. There needs to be consequences when the fleet manager discovers distracted driving behavior.
In the survey, drivers were asked to identify the most effective ways fleets could assist them in reducing their use of mobile technology while driving. According to the article, that list included “improved communication systems to limit work-related calls and messages (44%), better in-cab routing and navigation (43%), and implementing policies that prioritize safety over speed (42%).”
Fleets also have the option of using technology to help them monitor distracted driving. Of course, I am referring to dash cameras. Here is what I consider an interesting finding from the Verra Mobility study: “93% of drivers acknowledge that reviewing dash camera footage of their driving has increased their awareness of distracted behaviors.”
Eliminating distracted driving is something everyone in the trucking industry should be working on. The good news is that there are various techniques we can use to help mitigate the adverse effects of distracted driving.
