Tag Archives: Texting While Driving

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NTSB’s Most Wanted Improvements Reflect Major Transportation Disasters of 2018

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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) unveiled its 2019-2020 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements today. The 10-item list is associated with 267 open NTSB safety recommendations that mark critical changes needed in the next two years to reduce transportation accidents, injuries and fatalities, and longstanding safety issues that threaten businesses, professionals and the traveling public.

The list, which is now available online, was unveiled at the NTSB’s press conference in Washington, D.

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C.:

  • Eliminate Distractions.
  • End Alcohol and Other Drug Alcohol Impairment.
  • Ensure the Safe Shipment of Hazardous Materials
  • Fully Implement Positive Train Control (PTC)
  • Implement a comprehensive strategy to reduce speeding-related crashes
  • Improve the Safety of Part 135 Aircraft Flight Operations
  • Increase Implementation of Collision Avoidance Systems in All New Highway Vehicles
  • Reduce Fatigue-Related Accidents
  • Strengthen Occupant Protection
  • Require Medical Fitness – Screen for and Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea

“We do not simply come up with these recommendations based on a whim,” NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said during his opening remarks. “It’s a data-driven approach based on the results of our investigation and the tragic and senseless deaths we investigate. The NTSB’s most wanted list is written in blood.”

Sumwalt said driving while distracted – from cars to trains – had risen to be one of the most prevalent transportation risks facing American roads, railways, businesses and the general population. Texting-while-driving, he said, can increase the likelihood of a crash between four and 20 times. Sumwalt said the NTSB has called for an outright ban on all mobile devices when operating a vehicle because of the distraction to a driver’s cognitive ability and has urged policymakers to regulate the use of devices like Bluetooth and hands-free phones the same as standard mobile device use.

He also said that nearly 37,000 fatalities were reported on roadways in 2017, the most recent year of data available.

The inclusion of distracted driving dovetails with a study released in January by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which highlighted the marked increase in drivers using phones in risky ways. based on an observational survey of drivers in four Northern Virginia communities drivers were 57 percent more likely to be observed manipulating their phones, like when texting or using for purposes other than phone calls.

Based on findings that fatal crash risk is 66 percent higher when manipulating a phone, IIHS researchers estimated that about 800 crash deaths in the United States in 2017 could be attributed to drivers texting or using phones for things other than talking.

PTC also received special focus during the NTSB panel discussion and press conference. Board member Jennifer Homendy said the most recent data is from the third quarter of 2018 and that, “we are closer to installation but there’s a big difference between installation and operational. We’re a ways away from that, unfortunately. The risk is the same 50 years ago as it was a year ago,” she said, referencing the PTC-preventable crash she investigated exactly one year ago in Cayce, South Carolina.

After Congress passed the PTC Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015 it also authorized the FAST Act, which allocated $199 million in PTC grant funding and specifically prioritized PTC installation projects for Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing funding. The Association of American Railroads estimates that freight railroads will spend $10.6 billion implementing PTC, with additional hundreds of millions each year to maintain. The American Public Transportation Association has estimated that the commuter and passenger railroads will need to spend nearly $3.6 billion on PTC.

As previously reported, several major transportation providers, such as AMTRAK and the Long Island Railroad have missed critical deadlines for installing PTC.

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“In 1961 President Kennedy set a goal to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade and in July 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did that,” Homendy said. “In 1969, NTSB investigated its first PTC-preventable accident. In one decade we put a man on the moon but in five decades we haven’t implemented PTC.”

Eyes on the Road, Hands on the Wheel – Organizations Focused on Distracted Driving

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It is probably not shocking to learn that distracted driving is fast becoming a huge problem.

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The introduction of the smartphone, that clever device that allows you to text, email, speak with a friend and, ugh, take a video of yourself hopping out of your car and dancing while it’s in drive, is right at the center of the blame.

For parents, the thought of their newly licensed teenager taking the family sedan out – with their phone in hand – can be frightening.

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And, it should be. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia distraction was a key factor in 58% of crashes involving drivers ages 16 to 19.

But, distracted driving is not something that only parents should worry about. “When it comes to preventing distracted driving, people often worry about their teenage drivers — but what about conversations happening at the office or while people are on the job?” said Jordan Solway, Group General Counsel and Vice President of Claim, Travelers Canada.

Travelers’ public policy arm, The Travelers’ Institute, recently commissioned a poll that highlighted the importance for businesses to identify the risks of distracted driving with their employees. The poll found that 37% of Canadian drivers answer or make communications while driving. Of these drivers, 14% cited “wanting to always be available for work.” as a key reason for their distractions behind the wheel.

But, always being connected can create risks. “When you’re involved in a conference call, you’re paying less attention to your surroundings,” Solway said. “Driving is a complex function that requires visual (eyes on the road), physical (hands on the wheel) and cognitive processing. Taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds actually doubles your chances of an accident.”

Countless organizations, public agencies, universities and other businesses employ the use of fleets, while other organizations rely on their employees to drive from location to location in their own vehicles as part of the course and scope of their responsibilities.

“In Ontario, similar to other provinces, it really does not matter if the vehicle is owned by the employee or the organization, if there is an accident caused by distracted driving and the driver was in the course and scope of his or her employment, the organization can be held liable,” Solway said. “This isn’t something just big businesses need to worry about.  In fact, the opposite. A distracted driving judgment against a smaller, neighborhood business has the potential to have significant financial consequences.”

The 2012  $21 million jury award against Coca-Cola for a distracted employee who was driving was a wakeup call to all organizations that:

1) companies can be held liable for their employees who operate vehicles while distracted,
and
2) organizations can even be considered negligent if they do not have a distracted driving policy or if their policy is inadequate.

There is a great opportunity for risk professionals to step in and develop policies procedures that address distracted drivers and mitigate the consequences of their actions to their organizations.

“Fundamentally, every business should have a [distracted driving] policy. There should be training on the policy. And, not only should the policy require compliance with the applicable law, but also, it should have clear direction on how and when mobile devices should be used in a vehicle,” Solway said.

Travelers Canada recommends four key steps to making a distracted driving policy more effective:

Training and continuing education are great but it shouldn’t stop there. “The organization has to enforce progressive disciplinary action against those violating the policy,” he said.

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“They must be warned and dealt to further demonstrate that the organization is serious when it comes to distracted driving.”

Technology will be a key solution to combatting distracted driving. Most new vehicles are equipped with hands-free technology, cellular devices now feature a Do Not Disturb Function and some organizations have installed video recording devices in vehicle cockpits – all great options for promoting safer driving habits.

“In the not so distant future sensors, collision warnings, smarter-cars and autonomous vehicle operating systems could help keep drivers’ eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and minds focused on safe driving,” Solway said.

Lessons from Distracted Driving Awareness Month

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June is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and while it is quickly drawing to a close, the message remains: Distracted driving is escalating, with 25% more vehicle accidents resulting from drivers talking or texting on cellphones. More cars on the road, especially during summer months, also translates to more accidents.

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Organizations with fleets should take note as motor vehicle crashes are the number-one cause of work-related deaths, accounting for 24% of all fatal occupational injuries, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). On-the-job crashes are also costly, with employers sustaining costs of more than ,500 per property damage crash and 0,000 per injury crash.

Zurich sums up NSC statistics:
Employers can and are being held liable for damages resulting from employee accidents. “We might expect an employer to be held liable for a crash involving a commercial driver’s license holder who was talking on a cell phone with dispatch about a work-related run at the time of an incident—especially if the employer had processes or a workplace culture that made drivers feel compelled to use cell phones while driving,” the NSC said.

The lines believed to exist between employment-related and personal or private life get blurred in some cases involving:

  • Cell phones owned by employees as well as employer-provided equipment
  • Vehicles that were employee-owned as well as employer-owned or leased
  • Situations where employees were driving during non-working hours or were engaged in personal phone calls

To protect themselves and their employees, the NSC recommended that organizations implement and enforce a total ban policy.

“The best practice is to prohibit all employees from using any cell phone device while driving in any vehicle during work hours or for work-related purposes. Regarding off-the-job hours, precedent has been set by lawsuits.

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Thus employers may want to extend their policies to cover off-the-job use of company-provided wireless devices, use of personally-owned devices that are reimbursed by the company, and use of devices in company-provided vehicles. All work-related cell phone use while driving should be banned 24/7,” the NSA advised.

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Companies should also pay attention to other common distractions that can lead to accidents, Zurich adds:

No One Knows if Texting While Driving Bans Have Prevented Car Crashes

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Logically, you would think that imposing a statewide ban on mobile phone use while driving would have to make the roads safer. Distracted driving has become the scourge of the roads, according to many (including Oprah), so anything that helps curb such behavior would have to prevent accidents.

That very well may be the case.

But according to a recent long-term study conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association, no one can prove it.

The report—produced with a grant from State Farm—says limited research suggests cell phone use does increase crash risk, but no one knows by how much.

Additionally, there is no conclusive evidence about whether hands-free cell phone use is any safer than hand-held use.

State Farm could not immediately be reached for comment.

Texting “probably” increases risk, but no evidence exists to prove if cell phone use or texting bans reduce accidents.

Therefore, among a handful of recommendations, GHSA advises states that do not have handheld bans to wait until more research is done before passing laws. In the meantime, the association urges states with bans to enforce them.

So … thanks, researchers.

That really clears up nothing.

Map via Property Casualty 360