As we approach the end of 2011, and the inevitable beginning of 2012, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year’s key moments in the fight to prevent distracted driving.
The past month alone has seen incredible momentum on the part of the federal government, with anti-distracted driving activity from FMCSA, NHTSA and the NTSB all coming in quick succession in just five short weeks. So let’s take a look at the year’s biggest news and most surprising developments concerning cell phone use while driving, employer liability, road safety and other topics related to distracted driving prevention!
January:
- While the total number of traffic fatalities declined 22% in four years, crash deaths related to distracted driving rose 142% in three, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
- ZoomSafer releases FleetSafer Vision, the world’s first distracted driving solution to support all types of mobile phone (not just smartphones)
- The U.S. Department of Transportation launches its poignant video series, Faces of Distracted driving, to share the stories of victims of distracted driving crashes
February:
- The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) promotes the idea of “alternative compliance,” asking trucking fleet operators to consider innovative and non-traditional methods for changing employee driver behavior to improve safety.
- An Illinois workers’ compensation case filed on behalf of a state trooper whose texting while driving caused a fatal crash creates serious implications for insurers and employers – specifically, that workers’ comp benefits could be denied if employers fail to manage employee cell phone use while driving
March:
- New research from Strategy Analytics shows a compelling link between smartphone use and distracted driving: of U.S. smartphone owners, 40% read texts and 25% read emails while driving, and 40% admit they write emails behind the wheel
- A Connecticut school bus driver is arrested and charged with reckless endangerment after being caught texting while driving a school bus more than 1000 times
- Maryland state legislators act to clarify that the state’s handheld phone ban includes times when drivers are stopped at stoplights
April:
- In honor of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, ZoomSafer offers employers a plan for raising their own and employees’ awareness of the problem
- Just in time to mark Distracted Driving Awareness Month, North Dakota becomes the 31st state to ban texting while driving
May:
- ZoomSafer releases the results of our first annual distracted driving survey, whose findings show that while companies are increasingly aware of the risks associated with employee cell phone use, few are doing enough to proactively prevent work-related distracted driving
- After Rachel Carlina Woodruff was killed in a distracted driving crash, her family files suit against Dara Toy Company for failing to stop its employee from texting while driving a company vehicle
- FMCSA announces it will implement new safety measures for commercial drivers – but fails to include ensuring compliance with existing cell phone use regulations among them
June:
- While Indiana and Maine both enact laws banning texting while driving, down in Texas, Gov. Rick Perry vetoes legislation that would prohibit drivers from texting
- In a video interview with ZoomSafer, expert trial attorney Todd Clement explains why employee cell phone use creates so much risk and liability for employers – and what companies can do to reduce their risk
We’ll conclude our review of 2011′s biggest news in smartphone proliferation, ‘intextication,’ and legal liability and risk tomorrow!