Distracted Driving Awareness Month: An opportunity to dialogue with employees

April is Distracted Driving Awareness month. The annual safety campaign promotes discussion on risky driving behaviors, which cost over 3,500 people their lives in 2021.

Dialogue on distracted driving is not just for commercial drivers. Any employee who operates a fleet vehicle or a personal vehicle on behalf of your company should be trained on the dangers of distracted driving.

Keep your employees engaged during training

The topic of distracted driving has been promoted for several years. As a result, getting your employees’ attention may take some creativity, since some may have become desensitized to the message on the dangers of distracted driving.

Consider the following training tips:

• Use real-life examples of crashes and the impact on those involved (fatality, injuries, jail time, financial ruin).
• Have the trainees come up with a list of distractions, which forces them to think about the impact of multitasking while driving. Let them know it is more than just cell phone use. Tasks might include using a GPS, eating, drinking, and adjusting the radio, seats, mirrors, and vehicle’s temperature.
• Illustrate how far a vehicle travels at 60 mph when performing different tasks.
• Familiarize participants with your corporate policy on distracted driving.
• Discuss appropriate actions to avoid multitasking while driving (pull over, adjust equipment prior to driving).

Use of technology

The use of a vehicle’s telematic data or dash cam video clip can help detect and reduce distractions. The intent of monitoring drivers is not to punish them. It is to help prevent a serious crash. Those drivers identified as having close calls should be spoken with, coached, and/or required to take corrective action training.