It’s not very often that the State of Utah gets a round of applause (OK, there was that Olympics thing not too long ago but otherwise…). Today, I want to applaud Utah. While most other US States give someone a slap on the wrist or a measly fine for causing an accident while text messaging behind the wheel, Utah gives you up to fifteen years in prison.
Causing an accident while texting and driving is no longer considered an accident, it’s wilful. That means it becomes a case of reckless driving. Drinking and driving and texting and driving become the same.
Utah is the same state that recognizes talking on the cellphone is as hazardous as a .08 blood-alcohol level. But this new legislation (May 2009) states that there is an assumption that people know the risks and if they intend on texting while driving and caused an accident, then they carried a blatant disregard for others. That’s a wilful act punishable by up to fifteen years in prison.
SAFETY ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Either put down the phone for the short time you’re driving or risk going to prison where you’ll have all of the time in the world to text. Oh right, they take away your cellphone when you go to prison. So either put the phone away for a few moments while you’re driving or put it away for fifteen years. Your call.
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You know I hate to come down on these types of attitudes with negativity.
ReplyDeleteI will start by agreeing with you that cellphone use of any kind (hand held or hands free) is a distraction while driving.
A study published by Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation shows the cellphone use makes up only 1.5% of collision related distractions. Things like Outside Object, person or Event (29.4), Adjusting Radio or CD (11.4) and Other occupants in vehicle (10.9) create a combined total of 51.7% of the distraction we face on a daily basis. Even things like eating or drinking (1.7) and adjusting the heat (2.8) are higher contributing factors in collisions.
I do believe driver distraction is a real issue on our roads and in our workplaces. The study also goes on to say that laws and policies have less of a long term effect than awareness campaigns, yet so many employers are quick to think that a simple policy is going to be their band-aid solution.
Unfortunately, in our workplaces, many of the cellphone bandits are senior management / supervisors driving around in company vehicles.
For these types of initiatives to be successful employees need to be engaged in finding real solutions that work for them in their workplace.
I agree completely that driver distraction needs attention. I especially thank you for your stats. They were enlightening. Here's one more: drivers who are texting while driving are 29 times more likely to be involved in an accident than being distracted by anything else.
ReplyDeleteThink of it, driving at highway speed, looking away for 3-4 seconds and you have covered an entire football field.
Besides education, how do we bring a driver's focus back to the road? Honk the horn long and hard? Report the driver to police? Or do we just let the driver do as they please before we intervene?
Proactive is the solution. Education for sure and perhaps shock for the "thicker" ones.
I agree 100%. I think that they are on the right track with 15 years in prison. If you make the choice take your mind off the task at hand and your actions kill someone then you need to face the consequences.
ReplyDeleteI guess the point that I was trying to make is that we need to be careful which bandwagons we jump on, sending too many messages out to our employees only makes things harder to remember.
We are dealing with an old problem in a new light, keeping your mind on the task... so how do we put a new spin on an old message.
Its tempting to jump on the cellphone bandwagon without really knowing the facts. Delivering a marketing campaign to your employees, or the general public for that matter, aimed at 1.5% of the problem is a huge waste of resources.
Maybe its time to dig up the "keeping our mind on the task" and apply a new campaign focused on driving and in addition to cellphones, address some of the other distractions while we are at it.
safety speakers are so important. We had one at work and he totally changed the way I do everything while Im on the job.
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