{"id":6167,"date":"2024-02-26T18:43:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-26T18:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voozon.com\/?p=6167"},"modified":"2024-02-26T18:43:37","modified_gmt":"2024-02-26T18:43:37","slug":"how-to-eliminate-distracted-driving-on-your-job-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voozon.com\/how-to-eliminate-distracted-driving-on-your-job-site\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Eliminate Distracted Driving on Your Job-Site"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why Is Distracted Driving So Dangerous?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What is it that makes distracted driving such a big deal in the first place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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<\/a> the length of a football field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Extra Risks in Construction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Experience and overconfidence. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Distracted driving in company machinery.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Fatigue.<\/strong> Drowsy driving<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Hands-free calls. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 In-vehicle communication. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Policy misconceptions.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to Eliminate Distracted Driving on Your Job-Site<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So what can you do to eliminate, or at least reduce distracted driving on your job-site?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00b7 Formalize and communicate a clear policy. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n