By Andrew Stacey, CDS, National Fleet Safety Loss Control Specialist, Aviva Risk Management Solutions

Much of my summertime travel these days is joyfully done on two wheels. Yes, I am an avid motorcycle enthusiast. With more than twenty-five years of having 18 or more wheels under me, the ability to travel on two wheels and breathe in southern Alberta’s mountain air is simply one of the best things in the world.

This topic is quite near and dear to me. While I have not witnessed nor had any collisions with distracted drivers, it is alarming how often I am able to identity a distracted driver. In my current role, as a National Fleet Safety – Loss Control Specialist with Aviva Canada, I visit commercial and corporate fleets from the Yukon to Newfoundland and it alarms me how easy it is to identify a distracted driver –
regardless of where I am in this country.

Without looking for a statistic to keep you reading, I want to simply relate to you from my own experience. It is rather sad that with so much information and news on the risks, I increasingly find myself at stoplights, politely informing and requesting distracted drivers to put down their phones for everyone’s safety. Moreover, these occurrences involve drivers of all ages – not simply the stereotypical inexperienced, young driver.

Unfortunately, we continue to have this type of conversation when we are all aware of the potential, yet completely avoidable danger. This is what prompted Aviva Canada to launch its social impact platform, Take Back Our Roads, to help make roads safer for everyone, through community projects, innovations, and employee engagement (www.takebackourroads.ca).

By using this medium, I know I am reaching out to other respective Fleet Safety Specialists, who want safe roads for all to drive and ride on. Ask yourself how many of these drivers are on your fleet.

As Fleet Specialists, we constantly ask our customers, “Do you honestly know what distracted driving is?” It is not as simple as being caught on your cellphone, although that is the high-profile standard we all hear about and relate to. Distracted driving is more than talking on your phone. It includes texting, eating, drinking, loud music and even smoking. ‘Hands-free’ mode can also be distracting as the conversation can take the driver’s full attention away from the task in front of them.

Distracted driving is now one of Canada’s most prominent causes of collisions. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), nearly three out of four Canadian drivers admit to distracted driving.

You are also 3.6 times more likely to crash if you use an electronic device while driving. Sending or receiving a text message can take a driver’s eyes off the road for five seconds or more. The IBC states that a driver, who’s travelling at 90Kph and sending a text message, can be compared to crossing the length of a football field with your eyes closed.

A sobering thought! Ask yourself, “Would you close your eyes for that long on a congested road? More importantly, are you comfortable with other drivers taking that risk?”

Whether I am out enjoying the curves of the Rocky Mountains or travelling through multiple provinces to visit our clients, regardless of any statistics, I can tell you I have seen a dramatic increase in rear-end collisions caused by distracted driving. Sadly, many of these incidents are severe, resulting in injuries and fatalities; anyone who has lost a family member or co-worker knows too well that these incidents are extremely preventable.

Why is distracted driving considered the new Driving Under the Influence (DUI)? Clients are often shocked when I focus on drivers with cell phone-related charges. My response in these cases is that the studies and evidence available to us show that a distracted driver is very much an impaired driver.

Statistics clearly shows that there is no difference, and they should be treated as such.

StatsCan suggests 88.1% of cell phone users are of the age 15 and older:

• 45.5% check their phones every half hour,
• 56.1% will check their phone right before they go to sleep,
• 53.6% use their phone while watching TV, and
• 20.6% will use their phone during dinner.

The statistics go up dramatically when you look at all genders between the ages of 25 and 44, where 97.1% have a cell phone.

While root causes can always be debated, the underlying and widely accepted fact is that addiction to technology and social media is all too real.

With technology being an essential part of our daily lives, we intuitively expect that you likely have a driver in your fleet who will defiantly use their phone while driving.

What can YOU do as a good, moral fleet operator?

I highly encourage you, as the employer, to provide training to all drivers, even the office worker who makes afternoon bank runs. We cannot assume that everyone is genuinely aware of the risk; you know how it goes – it will never happen to me! There is a cost to risk, and we as humans intuitively calculate these risks every day. As an employer, you have a duty to consider the probability of that risk and how to mitigate it as best as possible.

Although many carriers of heavy and light commercial units have distracted driving policies, they’re limited to a simple line or two in a dust-covered safety binder. Unfortunately, this is not enough in today’s world, not to mention that distracted driving encompasses more than using a cell phone when you operate a vehicle.

A comprehensive interactive policy will help improve your workplace safety. Your policies should also be underpinned by interactive training to support your safety culture and understand how to reduce this type of exposure.

Here is a starting point to develop your policy:

Initiate conversation, research your provincial regulations, and genuinely understand the legislation. If you are a federally regulated carrier, you might have to study and understand multiple provinces or states; yes, the United States also has distracted driving regulations.

Understanding the root cause is the foundation of prevention.

1) Create a policy that is reflective of your company’s safety culture.
Make sure it is concise, make it easy to understand while also making it mandatory for all staff to understand. A policy should describe and identify the concern, mitigate the problem, and clearly explain the consequences for non-compliance.

2) The safety officer’s job is to communicate this policy, not just with the drivers but also with everyone, including senior management and company shareholder. This is, or should be, a team effort. After all, it affects us all to make a culture change.

Now, how do you communicate a policy?
I am glad you asked.

• Send an email or newsletter,
• Post signage throughout the workplace,
• Take pictures of safe actions,
• Hold Safety meetings, and
• Make this part of the annual driver review process. 

Depending on your company, you may have to become creative.

3) Ensure you provide constructive training for this particular policy. Make this a part of your onboarding and remedial training program.

4) Monitor the policy over time, ensure that it is effective, also update it annually or when there are legislative changes; keep it current.

5) Enforce the policy. What is the point in a policy if you do not follow up or enforce it; would you allow a driver to drink and drive in your vehicle? Essentially this is no different, and the consequences really should be the same. While we can all go onto the internet and research various statistics from locations across Canada, the message remains the same; distracted driving is plain dangerous. As professionals, it is our responsibility not to aid those who choose to ignore the significant risk of distracted driving.

You and I both know you have that one driver that no matter how many times you warn them, they will use their phone the minute they are out of sight. You also have that driver who will eat a burger holding fries between the legs while navigating city streets.

Or, the driver is using the hands-free speaker but still holding the phone to their lips, thinking that is safe and legal. Yes, you likely have these drivers, but hopefully not many of them, but there is a good chance you will have some. Take some time to ponder this; did a driver you know pop into your head?

For more helpful tips on preventing distracted driving, I encourage you to reach out and have a conversation with your insurance loss control specialist or broker; take some time and dive into some of the information that is here at your fingertips.

Insurance Bureau of Canada
www.ibc.ca/bc/auto/distracted-driving-likelife

CCMTA
www.ccmta.ca/en/road-safety

Disclaimer

The content in this article is for information purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as specific professional or expert advice. Aviva Canada accepts no responsibility for action taken as a result of reliance on any information contained in this article.