danger of texting while driving
March 1, 2018
There are so many misconceptions about new teen drivers. After a teen driver has their first “incident”, you can hear all the adults saying that "They were probably playing on their phone!”. While this may be true in some instances, reality shows us that these drivers are simply not equipped with good information, and certainly lack actual experience. I am sure we all remember thinking we were the best drivers at 16! Now after many years have passed, we have learned that was far from true. Does anyone really think an online driving course that quizzes you on a yield sign prepares you for complex left hand turns in traffic? Did the driving school take them out at night, in the fog, or on a highway off ramp after it recently rained? Of course not. The truth is new drivers lack a depth of experience to prepare them for the reality of driving.
Think of any job. Can you think of any task that kills more than 40,000 people per year? Driving is a task and a very necessary one for most of us. So now envision starting a new job with a company where you are doing to do a "task" like driving. They bring you in to a small group and give you 6 hours of practice on your first day (equivalent to 6 hours behind the wheel) and then they turn you loose. On the second day you are badly injured doing the very “task” they trained you on. They would throw away the key on the employer for not better preparing you to accomplish the task safely - and yet, that is all the behind the wheel time most new teen drivers are required to take before receiving a license, scary right? Cell phone or no cell phone, they just aren't ready for how complicated things have become. I certainly don't know all the stats about how many of us "50-somethings" had to learn to drive on six lane highways but many teens now face that daily, among many other challenges with evolving technology at their fingertips.
What you can do! Look for ANY opportunity to mentor teens, provide guidance and offer training to make them safer. Simulators can't be the only answer but they offer a chance to give extensive experience in situations that are otherwise too dangerous to practice in. Parents! Remember they watch what YOU do when driving so do NOT use your cell phone in the car even when stopped at an intersection. Check out the Resources page on our website for useful links and great articles offering parenting tips.
For more information, visit our website and check out our Facebook page.
All the best and keep your family safe!
Bob Davis, CEO & President of VDI
What you can do! Look for ANY opportunity to mentor teens, provide guidance and offer training to make them safer. Simulators can't be the only answer but they offer a chance to give extensive experience in situations that are otherwise too dangerous to practice in. Parents! Remember they watch what YOU do when driving so do NOT use your cell phone in the car even when stopped at an intersection. Check out the Resources page on our website for useful links and great articles offering parenting tips.
For more information, visit our website and check out our Facebook page.
All the best and keep your family safe!
Bob Davis, CEO & President of VDIFebruary 3, 2018
“The climate today is such that the law says a company that entrusts an employee with a vehicle should know if the employee is qualified to drive it.” – Jim Colangelo, VP PHH Arval90% of car crashes are the result of human error. Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the #1 killer of the
American work force1 and are usually more severe in nature than average worker’s comp claims. Additionally, the risk varies by vehicle type with the number of non-fatal injuries being higher for passenger vehicles and the number of fatalities being higher for trucks.
- Negligent Entrustment Lawsuits: Organizations can be liable for millions of dollars for employees’ actions while driving for work, even when driving to and from work on personal time. The more your employees drive, the more exposure your organization has to crashes.
- Workers Comp Losses: Motor vehicle accidents are more severe than average worker’s comp claims. More likely to include lost-time and encompass a disproportionate share of severe claim types.
- Company Exposure: Companies can be liable if an employee has an accident in a company vehicle during work hours but businesses also incur significant productivity and medical benefit losses associated with crashes in personal vehicles when the employee is not “on the clock”.
- Brand Risk: In 2012, a jury in Texas awarded $21M in damages to a woman struck by a Coca-Cola driver who was talking on her cell phone.
- Distracted Driving: Applies to all employees not just company-owned vehicle drivers. Driving to/from work, client appointments, driving clients to lunch, rental cars/business trips, security guards making rounds, delivering equipment or supplies, etc.
July 18, 2014
VDI customer Bolland Driving Solutions showing devastating consequences of driving distracted and impaired to young adults in Canada.
July 17, 2014
Lee Memorial Trauma Center and Injury Prevention Coalition purchase VDI's 'One Simple Decision' to teach communities the devastating impact of driving distracted or impaired.
July 8, 2014
Covenant Health Care teaches danger of texting while driving utilizing VDI simulators.
