April marks Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a pivotal period dedicated to raising awareness about the critical issue of distracted driving. As we navigate through this month, it's imperative to educate your team about the potential distractions that can occur while driving.
Driving requires a motorist’s full attention at all times, as more than 90% of U.S. crashes involve human error. In 2020, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 3,142 lives lost due to distracted driving. While distracted driving is an ever-growing problem, understanding the strategies to prevent it can save lives. Below, we cover critical Distracted Driving Awareness Month tips companies can leverage to combat distracted driving throughout the month of April and beyond.
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How Your Company Can Combat Distracted Driving
Let’s dive into some tips to help your fleet avoid the four types of distracted driving:
Avoiding Visual Distractions
Taking their eyes off the road, even for just a few seconds, can dramatically increase the risk of a crash for your fleet drivers. Remind your drivers to:
- Keep their eyes actively scanning the road ahead and checking mirrors at regular intervals, rather than getting caught up in in-vehicle distractions.
- Always pre-program their GPS or route guidance before starting the trip.
- Use voice-guided navigation instead of glancing at screens while driving.
- Avoid multitasking at red lights—checking a phone or adjusting settings can delay reaction time when the light changes.
- Keep glass surfaces clean and wear polarized sunglasses when needed.
- Disable or dim screens on dashboard systems or mobile devices that aren’t in use. Even passive visual movement can pull attention away from the road.
- Avoid fixating on billboards, crash scenes or scenery. Even a few seconds of “rubbernecking” can be dangerous.
Avoiding Manual Distractions
Manual distractions involve any physical actions that take your drivers' hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. Ensure drivers:
- Avoid eating or drinking while driving.
- Adjust their seat or mirrors before starting the vehicle to avoid diverting their attention and hands from controlling the vehicle while in motion.
- Avoid reaching for items in the glove compartment or back seat, as this can lead to a loss of control when they stretch and shift their focus away from driving.
- Avoid using a phone to text or dial numbers.
- Secure loose items in the car, like bags or papers, to prevent them from losing focus and control.
- Avoid applying makeup or grooming while driving, as this makes it difficult to react to sudden changes in traffic.
- Avoid smoking or handling cigarettes.
Avoiding Cognitive Distractions
Cognitive distractions occur when a driver's mind is not fully focused on safely operating their vehicle. Drivers should:
- Avoid daydreaming or thinking about personal issues that can cause their mind to wander, making it difficult to stay focused on driving.
- Understand that engaging in deep conversations with passengers can divert their attention from the road and reduce their ability to react to sudden changes in traffic.
- Try their best to manage stress or emotional distress before driving, as it can make it hard to concentrate on driving defensively.
- Avoid listening to an overly engaging podcast or audiobook that can capture too much of their attention.
- Focus on the current driving situation rather than planning or thinking about the next destination or tasks.
- Avoid driving when fatigued or drowsy, as it can significantly impair their ability to concentrate and react quickly to road conditions.
- Avoid trying to solve problems or make decisions while driving, as they can take their mind off the road and increase the likelihood of poor decisions.
Avoiding Auditory Distractions
Auditory distractions involve sounds that can divert a driver's attention to the source of the sound. Ensure drivers:
- Avoid loud music or radio that can drown out important sounds like sirens or horns, making it difficult to stay aware of their surroundings.
- Understand that phone calls or voice messages can divert their attention from driving, especially if the conversation is engaging or stressful.
- Manage noisy passengers to prevent their sounds and movements from drawing attention away from the road.
- Avoid checking messages from mobile devices while driving, as these can be tempting and divert attention from the road.
- Keep the GPS sound at a moderate volume level to make sure it provides necessary directions without causing major distractions.
How Companies Can Share These Distracted Driving Safety Tips with Drivers
- Hold regular safety meetings to discuss distracted driving, using visual aids and encouraging open discussions.
- Send out engaging safety emails with tips, real-life stories and links to relevant articles or videos.
- Assign interactive training sessions with online mastery-based quizzes.
- Organize in-person workshops focused on specific distractions, teaching practical techniques on ways to avoid them.
- Display eye-catching posters and flyers in common areas to highlight key tips and remind drivers to stay focused.
- Implement incentive programs to reward drivers for demonstrating good habits and maintaining a clean driving record.
Stay Aware of Distracted Driving Violations
How do you stay informed about the driving violations your employees receive? Each mile driven without intervention increases the risk to your company and the safety of others on the road. Implementing a timely and proactive strategy is crucial. To achieve this, it's essential to be continuously alerted about distracted driving violations. Ongoing notifications allow you to address issues promptly. Continuous motor vehicle record (MVR) monitoring provides ongoing alerts when your drivers receive violations—whether those violations occur on or off the clock.
Learn more about the importance of monitoring distracted driving violations.
Assign Frequent Driver Training
Knowing about a violation isn’t the same as fixing it. Upon discovering a violation, you need a fast, simple and effective strategy in place that’s aimed at improving driver behavior. The shortest distance between knowing and fixing is assigning relevant driver training. There are three different types of training strategies you can implement at your company:
- Remedial training helps you take immediate action after someone receives a violation.
- Frequent training can be used to proactively prevent violations and crashes.
- “Premedial” training, or remedial training assigned to new hires based on previous violations, can help expand your hiring pool.
Set Clear Driving Expectations in Your Safety Policy
Setting a clear standard for safety within your company driver safety policy is essential to communicate that distracted driving is unacceptable. Develop a comprehensive definition of distracted driving, including specific examples, to ensure all drivers understand what behaviors are not tolerated. Be sure to outline available resources, such as training programs and intervention strategies, within your safety policy. This approach reinforces the importance of attentive driving and demonstrates your commitment to protecting employees and the community. By setting high safety standards and ensuring everyone is aware of expectations and consequences, you can foster a culture of responsibility and vigilance.
Need to establish a stronger safety foundation for your drivers? Learn how to implement a thorough driver safety policy.
Use a Comprehensive Risk Management Tool
You can save your company exponentially if you’re using the right tools to identify and act on risky driving behaviors. Combining risk mitigation technology with a solid safety policy is your best way to act against distracted driving and prevent future crashes, claims and lives lost.
Looking for more Distracted Driving Awareness Month tips? Watch our free webinar, “How Your Company Can Combat Distracted Driving”, to learn how to create an effective intervention strategy. 