Strategies for Promoting and Supporting Wireless Communication Device Free Driving Policies

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Strategies for Promoting and Supporting
Wireless Communication Device Free Driving
Policies

• Cate Burant-Fernuik
• Louis Hugo Francescutti, MD, PhD, MPH
• International Symposium on Distracted Driving
• October 14, 2008 - Arlington VA

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Overview

• Coalition for Cellphone-Free Driving History
• Background on Cellphone Use While Driving
• Rationale for Company Policies
• Our Services and Supports
• What Are the Challenges and How do We Deal With
• Them?

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Henry Louis Mencken
For every complex problem, there is a solution
that is simple, neat, and wrong
The Sage of Baltimore, American author, critic,
newspaper man and iconoclast. (1880-1956)
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Many Generations in Audience

• 1925 1945 Silent Generation
• 1946 1965 Baby Boomers
• 1965 1982 Generation X
• 1983 1994 Generation Y
• 1994 Wireless Zoomers

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Besides Cellphone Use, What do You Think
Distracts Drivers the Most?

• Car stereo / DVD / GIS
• Children or pets
• Conversations
• Driver fatigue
• Eating or drinking
• Being emotionally upset
• Personal grooming
• Rubbernecking
• Reading
• Smoking
• Drug / alcohol
• Sex

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Developing the Coalition

• 2005
• Established by a Graduate student-led initiative,
  School of Public Health, University of Alberta,
  Canada
• 2006
• Expansion from a regional initiative to a
  provincial initiative by holding 9 back-to-back
  press events across Alberta on the same day
• 2007
• Advisory Group formed by Coalition stakeholders
• 2008
• Pilot Workshop for Employers

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Our Partners..
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Albertas Concerns

• The problem
• In Alberta, 6 people die and 500 injured/week in
  traffic collisions
• Alberta Transportation Driver error responsible
  for 90 of crashes
• Wireless communication device use while driving
  is a major distraction

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Traffic Fatalities - USA
Deaths per 100 million VMT
Motor Vehicle Deaths per 100 million Vehicle
Miles Traveled
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Evidence from Research

• Cellphone use while driving
• Increases risk of crashes by 4 times
• Slows drivers reaction time by 18
• Increases risk of rear-end collisions by 2 fold
• Reduces visual field attention
• Increases probability of running red lights
• Inattention blindness

cagle.com
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At 250 KM (155 mph) the motorcyclist is traveling
at 227 feet per second. With a normal reaction
time to SEE-DECIDE-REACT of 1.6 seconds the above
motorcyclist would have traveled over 363 feet
while making a decision on what actions to take.
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What Do Albertans Think?

• 2007 survey of Albertans
• 94 think it is dangerous to use cellphone while
  driving
• 76 believe that people should not be allowed to
  use their cellphones while driving
• 74 would support legislation that would make it
  illegal to use a cellphone while driving
• Coalition for Cellphone Free Driving, 2007

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Why Do Companies Need Policies?

• Self-assessment
• Understand the issue
• Overall safety context
• Company statistics
• Current policy
• Cost to the company if this policy is not
  implemented
• Liability
• Legislative penalties
• Loss of productivity

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Insurers Financial Group

• Recommendation
• Be proactive with the implementation of a
  cellphone
• policy for the purposes of
• detailing appropriate use, including alternatives
  and emergencies
• distribution and acknowledgement by all drivers
• driver education and training

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Liability

• Recommendations to Employers
• As a defense measure, employers should issue
  written directives to all employees that
  cellphones (and similar devices) must not be used
  while driving
• If an employee should ever require the use of a
  cellphone while driving, he/she should be
  directed to stop in a safe location

Ogilvyrenault.com
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Liability

• Brokerage Firm - Roberts v. Smith Barney
• an employee ran a red light while using a
  cellphone and struck and killed a motorcyclist.
• accident occurred outside of normal business
  hours
• Smith Barney did not own the Cellphone or the car
  operated by the employee
• victims family claimed that Smith Barney was
  liable for the accident because it encouraged its
  employees to use car phones and it failed to
  establish an adequate policy for their safe use.
• paid 500,000

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What Should a Policy Contain?

• A good policy will include the following
• Clear policy statement
• Communication strategy
• Enforcement and commitment
• Appropriate discipline

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Generic Policy Statement

• Company employees are not permitted to use an
  electronic interactive communication device,
  either hand-held or hands-free, while operating a
  motor vehicle on company business, and/or on
  company time
• While driving, calls cannot be answered and must
  be directed to voicemail
• If an employee must make an emergency call (911),
  the vehicle should be parked in a safe location
  before making the call
• All employees will be made aware of the company
  policy and will be expected to comply with it

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Company-Specific Policy

• Application of the policy
• Employees
• Contractors
• Visitors on premises
• Equipment
• Cellphones, hand-held and hands-free
• PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
• Laptops
• GPS - Global Positioning System
• iPods

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Company-Specific Policy

• Related policies
• Consider referencing other policies that are
  currently in place
• Enforcement
• Human resources
• Safety committee
• Security
• Direct supervisors

blogs.indystar.com
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Coalition Support

• Communications Resources
• Generic Policy
• Research and Information
• Policy Development Workshop
• Policy Launch Support
• Networking

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Communications Resources

• Ripples
• Fatal Distraction Video
• Tips for Driving Cellphone-Free
• Quick Facts about Cellphone Use While Driving

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Research and Information

• Research Posted on Website
• Provincial Survey
• Newsletter

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Workshop

• Developed workshop
• All You Need to Know About Implementing a
  Cellphone-Free Driving Policy
• Piloted spring 2008
• Tool Kit
• Content
• Reasons For a Policy
• Company Readiness Self-Evaluation
• Generic Policy
• Strategies for Implementation (buy-in,
  discipline, maintenance)
• Case Studies and Presentations
• Discussion and Networking

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Pilot Workshop

• Thursday, April 17, 2008
• 800 am 130 pm
• Sterling Crane Training Centre
• Edmonton, Alberta
• 26 Participants SOLD OUT

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Presentations

• Why implement a policy?
• Dr. Louis Hugo Francescutti
• Tool Kit to get you started
• Liza Sunley Cate Burant-Fernuik
• Implementation strategies
• Tom Petras (Finning Canada)
• Communication strategies
• John Kageorge (AMEC)

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Workshop Sponsors
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Evaluation Summary

• Most Useful Part of the Workshop?
• Communication and Networking
• Real Experiences and Anecdotes
• Industry players implementation and support
  strategies
• Presentation by Tom and John
• How Could This Workshop be Improved?
• More speakers
• More Time! (For presentations/topics, but
  especially for networking and QA)
• More workshops, with penetration into key small
  centres (Red Deer, Lethbridge etc.)
• More examples of actual policies and discipline
  for non-compliance
• Comments or Suggestions
• More information of legal implications (e.g..
  pulling records for law enforcement/lawsuits)
• Handouts of PowerPoint slides would be
  appreciated
• Great information and presentations
• How do we get additional Toolkits for our company?

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• Evaluation Data

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Participants
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Policy Launch Support

• Assist companies with policies to launch
• Media event support
• Provide resources and connections with other
  similar companies

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Finning (Canada) Launch
News Release
January 18, 2007 FINNING BANS CELLPHONES WHILE
DRIVING Joins Coalition for Cellphone-Free
Driving Edmonton, Alberta -- Finning (Canada) has
announced that effective January 1, 2007 it
prohibits employees from using any wireless
communication devices - either hand-held or
hands-free - while operating a motor vehicle on
company business. This signals a significant
shift in the work practices of about 4000 Finning
(Canada) and Cat Rental Store employees at 80
locations across Alberta, BC, Yukon and
NWT. Communications devices covered by this
policy include hand-held and hands-free phones,
BlackBerries, car phones, mobile phones, text
messaging devices, pagers, two-way radios,
Bluetooth enabled equipment, or other wireless
devices.
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Northern Lights Health Region

• News Release
• October 16, 2007
• Northern Lights Health Region becomes a member of
  the Coalition for Cellphone-Free Driving
• Official announcement made at event featuring the
  release of a provincial opinion survey
• FORT MCMURRAY, AB Northern Lights Health Region
  (NLHR) shows its commitment to health and safety
  and becomes a member of the Coalition for
  Cellphone-Free Driving.

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On-Going Individual Support

• Connecting people with other similar companies
• Locating information and resources

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Challenges Our Partners Face
Ill be less productive
Its more dangerous to not have a cellphone
How do I stay in contact?
What about hands-free?
Where is the evidence?
This ban will be bad for business
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FAQs

• Is hands-free better than hand-held?
• It doesnt matter which is used, it is the
  conversation that creates the distraction
• How is having a conversation on a cellphone
  different than with a passenger?
• A passenger can see the traffic situation and
  adapt the conversation accordingly

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FAQs

• Wont I be less productive?
• AMEC surveyed their employees 1 year after a
  cellphone ban.
• What about on 1 way/2 way radio controlled roads
  where safety depends on driver calling in km?
• Takes 1 second to call in it is not a
  conversation and therefore not a distracter.

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FAQs

• What if there is an emergency?
• The safest thing, especially when there is an
  emergency, is to pull over to the side before
  calling 911
• How do I stay in contact with my clients/family?
• Leave a voice message that you are driving
• Let them know when they can contact you/provide
  an alternate contact

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Lessons Learned

• Communication and networking
• Knowledge translation
• Effective use of research for implementation of
• strategies
• Rates of incidents reduced with companies who
• enforce the policy
• Examples of actual policies and discipline for
  non-
• compliance

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• www.cellphonefreedriving.ca