Texting and driving statistics show how dangerous this habit can be on the road. Cellphones have factored in 1.6 million auto crashes annually. And sending a text message makes a crash 23 times more likely to happen. The numbers alone show the dangers of texting and driving.
So how are cell phones distracting? We’ve got the answers and gathered some solutions to avoid texting and driving.
Take a look.
Distracted Driving
Most individuals participate in some form of distracted driving, besides texting. It can involve eating behind the wheel or talking to passengers. What are the other distracted driving statistics?
Forty-nine percent of adults reveal they text while driving. That’s a lot!
This increases the likelihood of texting and driving accidents. But a strong driver safety culture ensures everyone is aware of how to avoid distracted driving and has the means to do so. This begins with a commitment from management to enforce policies and provide their staff a strong driver safety solution.
How to Stop Texting and Driving
Texting and driving may appear to be a small distraction. At 55 mph, the 5 seconds spent sending or reading a text is the equivalent of driving through a football field with your eyes closed. So what can your fleet company do to stop texting and driving? Read below.
1. Establish a Driver Safety Culture
A strong driver safety culture needs a solid foundation from management. It all starts at the top-before you cascade the rules and policies that will influence your drivers’ behavior. If they see that fleet managers and coaches are following safety rules like not having a cellphone distraction, then they will follow suit.
Make sure that the forms of distracted driving are emphasized as dangerous during the training. And show ways to prevent texting and driving through safety training videos. One way to control distractions is to remove the cellphone out of sight and reach. Break down elements of other safe driving behaviors like defensive driving to prevent texting while driving accidents.
2. Ensure Policy Visibility
Rules are useless if they are not practiced under your fleet safety program. For every training program or one-on-one coaching, make sure that your drivers understand the reason for your safe driving tips. You can use something like a texting and driving safety video to clearly explain why texting and driving is dangerous. The driver safety program should also explain how your drivers will benefit from the policies, which keeps these at the forefront of their minds.
Give practical tips like solutions to texting and driving. This provides valuable policy insight that ensures they follow it every time on the road. Don’t forget to update policies with the latest statistics and practices in your field.
3. Utilize Gamification
Gamification encourages healthy competition among your drivers. So setup game mechanics that will motivate them to work hard for incentives like a cash prize or gift card. Recognize your best performing drivers with a monthly update of their rankings. Entrepreneur reports how “recognition and appreciation are integral components of a winning reward system.”
Announce your best performing drivers in the company newsletter or send email updates. Highlight the positive behavior that led to their ranking, such as defensive driving or their answers to how to stop using your phone while driving. Ask them for safe driving tips they can share to their peers.
4. Use Technology
Your company can harness technology to stop distracted driving, like a video safety solution, also referred to as a fleet dash cam. Netradyne’s Driveri Solution gathers data on the driver’s performance and the outlying road conditions. The program uses dash cam technology to gather the necessary data. Its leading AI and Edge Computing technology processes the information in real time so you have full visibility into what’s happening.
And whenever your driver glances at their notifications (of course when not driving), the mobile app can emphasize how well they are performing, and encourages what to do. All forms of distracted driving are recognized as it happens and warns drivers of this behavior, so they can easily correct and raise that driver score.
5. Implement a Driver Coaching Program
Offer your drivers a less invasive but equally effective coaching program with technology. Netradyne’s Driveri™ RealTimeCoach sends out real-time reminders and notifications to help improve driver performance. Drivers also receive an alert whenever the app catches an instance of texting and driving. No need to involve a supervisor every time they’re on the road.
The Driveri™ Mobile app provides a GreenZone™ score to help drivers keep track of their performance. The score is displayed in real time and includes tips on how to improve behaviors.
With a consistent program in place, transparency and trust are built between drivers and management with a solid foundation for further improvement. A better working relationship becomes one of the benefits of a dash cam.
Texting and Driving Effects
For your company to reap the benefits of not texting and driving, you first need to establish a driver safety solution program. Be sure to emphasize the dangers of this behavior as a leading cause of distracted driving. With the help of technology and consistent policies, your can drivers improve and protect lives on the road.
Read The Top Elements of a Driver Safety Solution to continue learning or click the Contact Us button below to get in touch.
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