Can your company afford an insurance claim of this caliber?
If your dispatch center or customer service representative is speaking to one of your drivers, they should be instructed to tell the driver to hang up and call back when the vehicle is pulled over. 

Talking on cell phones has been an issue since the existence of cell phones.  If the risk of talking on cell phones wasn’t bad enough, texting while driving has increased the danger of drivers on the road, not to mention pedestrians.   You are 4X more likely to get into a car accident when you are drinking and driving but you are 8X more likely to get into an accident if you are texting while driving. 

There aren’t enough hours in a day and for many of us, those countless hours in the car driving from place to place or just commuting are valuable hours lost that could be spent working.  The human brain is only capable of so much which means that one of the activities being conducted is going to suffer; is it the important business decision or the car you might hit in front of you?

Studies have shown that while trying to conduct business in the car, you are in a mode of cognitive impairment.  You are more likely to make the wrong decision than if you had given your full attention in an office, away from distraction, or not trying to focus on the road.

As a company who employs drivers, it is your responsibility to implement strict driving policies.  Driving policies should prohibit any use of hands-free, handhelds or texting while the vehicle is in motion.  Training sessions should be held regularly as continuous reminders of the driving policies and why they are in place. 

Driving policies should go beyond the drivers and employees and should be extended to families to help understand the risk involved in the use of cell phones while drivers are behind the wheel and to encourage full support of the company’s driving policy.

Driving policies are put in place to avoid fatal disasters, costly insurance claims, and the overall safety of people on the road. There is a reason why 30 states to date including Wisconsin and Illinois have banned texting while driving.

Read more about HNI's truck insurance policy for more information.