Cell Phone Safety Makes Good $ense

Formal company policies regarding texting and cell phone use are becoming more common - and with good reason. Not only are distracted drivers more likely to crash, courts have ordered companies to pay judgments as high as $20 million when employee cell phone use resulted in death - even when making a work-related call after-hours on a personal cell phone.

A new survey of National Safety Council members shows that 58 percent of organizations have a cell phone policy of some kind. And 99 percent of companies that prohibit use of cell phones and messaging devices while driving have experienced no change in productivity. Some have seen an increase in productivity after policies took effect.

A driver sending or receiving a text message spends
4.6 seconds with their eyes off the road
for every 6 seconds of drive time,-- Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

The NSC has developed a comprehensive cell phone policy kit with sample policies, PowerPoint presentations and executive summaries to help companies build support for cell phone policies and communicate to employees. You can download the no-cost kit here.

Links to learn more:

• A fact sheet, data resources and other information concerning cell phone use while driving are available on the NSC Website.
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety maintains updated charts of cell phone and text messaging laws. Find maps and charts with details of state laws here.
• Check these NSC links to cell phone and texting laws across the U.S.
• Review a Human Resources article at Inc.com about cell phone policies.
• Browse ANSI, OSHA and other cell phone signs and labels at ComplianceSigns.com.