Distracted driving is extremely dangerous for anyone who practices it, and that holds true on a construction job-site as well. If you want to keep your job-site as safe as possible, and minimize workplace deaths and injuries, it’s your responsibility to introduce tools, policies, and educational materials to reduce the prevalence of distracted driving.
Why Is Distracted Driving So Dangerous?
What is it that makes distracted driving such a big deal in the first place?
Safe driving requires constant attention and vigilance, and even a few seconds of distraction can break this continuity. A vehicle traveling at 60 mph is traveling at 88 feet per second; in less than 4 seconds, your vehicle will travel the length of a football field.
During this time, sudden braking by the vehicle ahead of you, hazards on the road, and minute changes to your vehicle’s trajectory can present a hazard you can’t reasonably respond to.
Distracted driving is also an important topic because of how common it is. No matter how many statistics you throw at the average person, they’re likely to believe that they’re somehow exempt from the impact of distracted driving. Maybe they have a system for glancing at their phone for just the right amount of time or maybe they believe they can truly multitask. But this is illusory superiority; no one is exempt from the danger of distracted driving.
Extra Risks in Construction
Distracted driving is, of course, a problem in more than just construction job-sites, but there are some extra risks to consider in the construction industry.
· Experience and overconfidence. Professional workers have lots of experience driving vehicles and operating machinery, so they may eventually grow to become overconfident. If they are hubristic about their own abilities, they may be more likely to tolerate distractions.
· Distracted driving in company machinery. It’s not just about vehicles; it’s also about construction machinery like excavators and cranes. These vehicles don’t move quickly and don’t have to deal with traffic, so it’s initially tempting to believe distracted operation isn’t as much of a problem. However, this is still extraordinarily dangerous.
· Fatigue. Drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving, and construction is a hard job. If you’re especially fatigued, you may find it easier to be distracted and your reaction time is going to be lowered.
· Hands-free calls. Professionals often have technology to allow them to make hands-free calls. This is certainly an improvement over holding the phone and calling or texting, but it can still be a distraction.
· In-vehicle communication. Similarly, construction employees often ride in the same vehicles together. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining a conversation to pass the time, but there are opportunities for this ongoing communication to present a distraction of its own.
· Policy misconceptions. Misconceptions about policies can also lead to distracted driving. For example, construction employees have been known to express a belief that distracted driving policies only apply to company phones, making personal phone operation acceptable. This is not the case.
How to Eliminate Distracted Driving on Your Job-Site
So what can you do to eliminate, or at least reduce distracted driving on your job-site?
· Formalize and communicate a clear policy. If you don’t already have a formal policy against distracted driving in place, now is your time to create it and communicate it. Make sure everyone reads it and understands it thoroughly.
· Explain the risks. Nationwide, distracted driving kills thousands of people every year. You can use distracted driving statistics, and models about the impact of distracted driving to get people to take this threat seriously.
· Provide training and education. Don’t assume that all your employees understand all the types of distractions that can present themselves. Provide ongoing training and education to get each employee up to speed.
· Monitor and review. Telematics systems may give you the ability to monitor and review company vehicle operation. Use these technologies to identify distracted drivers; from there, you can provide reeducation or take disciplinary action.
· Encourage rest. Remember, fatigued driving can also be dangerous and make distracted driving situations worse. Encourage your workers to take breaks and rest before operating heavy machinery or driving.
· Reward safe driving. It’s not just about punishing distracted drivers; it’s also about rewarding safe driving. Pay attention to the safest drivers in your business and publicly reward and praise them.
· Invest in insurance. No matter how hard you work, it’s possible that your employees will eventually become distracted while driving. And if they’re distracted, they’ll be much more likely to get into an accident. Accordingly, it’s a good idea to review your insurance policies and potentially upgrade those policies to financially protect your business.
Distracted driving is a problem that will never fully go away, but we can get much more control over it with proactive efforts. Make sure everyone on your construction job-site takes the threat of distracted driving seriously, and create and enforce policies to practically eliminate it.
