Many of American companies today are banning the use of cell phones while driving for their employees during work hours. They also are encouraging their employees to carry the practice into their personal driving while not on the job. This is in part because of the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) recommendation back in December 2011 that calls for the District of Columbia and all the states to ban cell phone use while driving.
Owens Corning is one of the companies that have enacted a ban on employees. Since the ban the employees have learned that the world does not shatter, because of a missed phone call and that the employees find different ways to work within the limits of the ban according to Doug Pontsler and Owens Corning vice president in charge of safety, environmental and health at the company.
Shell International back in the later part of the 1990s discovered and there was an increase of not just accidents, but also fatalities among the contractors and employees of its company. This was because of cell phone use while they were driving. In the later part of 2002, a global ban was placed on the use of cell phones while driving and then revamped to ban texting and even the hand-free devices in 2005. Mr. Watson the company’s global road safety manager says this ban is strictly enforced and could mean the employee being dismissed. It has been successful not solely because of the plan, but because training has been included, to help the employees understand how to work with it to still do their jobs. Wrecks are down by approximately 57% through these and other safety measures.
S&ME is another company that enacted a program prohibiting the use of company cell phones while driving personal or company vehicles. The president of the company, Randy Neuhaus, understands how hard it is to quit doing this action, and admitted that even he had trouble at first. Today though, he cannot think of letting it cause a distraction that could cause loss of life.
Federal investigators recommend that all states place bans on use of mobile phones while driving except when necessary in an emergency situation. This is spurred on in part because of fatal crashes like the one a teenager had while texting where the teen received or sent a total of 11 texts in the 11 minutes preceding the wreck. This recommendation even includes hands-free devices. This would go further than what the states have enacted in their new laws.
At present 35 of the 50 states along with the District of Columbia has placed a ban on texting during operating a vehicle. Only 9 of these states have banned the use of hand-held mobile phones. District of Columbia also has this ban in place. However, the bans are not enforced as strongly as they should be.
People in this country would have a hard time with a total ban on using cell phones while driving. These phones are such a part of our daily lives today. However, more and more companies and individuals are becoming aware of the distraction that cell phones are when operating a vehicle.
