Safety

Aegis survey finds companies adopting “zero tolerance” policies on distracted driving

April 17, 2013

According to the recently published results of Aegis’ “Measuring Corporate Attitudes to Employee Distracted Driving” survey, most companies have already adopted a strict policy on distracted driving (71%) and those that have not are planning to do so-- and soon. Among the 29% of companies without an existing policy, the survey finds that 52% plan to adopt a policy. Of those, 55% plan to adopt a policy within the next 12 months.

In spite of all the apparent efforts to control distracted driving, however, fleets still reported a relatively low level of confidence in the results. Only 32% report they are “very confident” that current methods are effective. 60% noted that they are “somewhat confident,” while 8% reported that they are “not confident”.

2013 was the first year in which the survey asked employers to identify mobile device behaviors specifically prohibited by company policy. 45% reported that they prohibit all use except hands‐free. 41% said they prohibit all use with no exceptions, while 12% said they prohibit texting, e-mailing and browsing. Some 2% prohibit texting only.

Because of the relatively low level of confidence in the effectiveness of current policies and procedures in controlling distracted driving behaviors, it is probably not surprising that the recent survey also found interest in policy technology continuing to grow. 22% of respondents reported that they plan to evaluate either device‐based software, device analytics or in‐vehicle cameras within the next twelve months to better enforce compliance with distracted driving policies.

Most companies (81%) said that they currently depended upon employees signing a written policy statement/agreement to manage enforcement, while 76% mentioned training as their enforcement practice and 72% noted that they relied on observation and reporting. Based on the data, many companies are obviously using multiple means to try to assure policy compliance.

According to the survey results, feature phones still remain prominent among corporate-liable devices with 53% of respondents issuing them to at least some portion of their employee drivers. Push‐to‐Talk (PTT) devices continue to be the most popular device type among company‐liable feature phones, representing 38% of the total.

Probably at no surprise to truck fleet owners, the survey also finds that the “tablet wave” is coming to commercial fleet vehicles. 27% of respondents currently equip employee drivers with some form of tablet computer. Of those, 73% are iPads and 27% are Android. Prospects for continued growth appear strong as 8%of total respondents indicate plans to deploy tablets to employee drivers within the next 12 months.

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.