Reduce Distracted Driving: 5 Tips for a Safer Trucking and Distribution Fleet

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5 Tips for

a Safer Fleet

REDUCE DISTRACTED DRIVING

TRUCKING & DISTRIBUTION

Many of us are guilty of having engaged

in distracted driving at some point in our

lives—maybe we’ve taken a peek at a

new text message, or eaten lunch while

driving during a hectic day.

While these common activities may

seem insignificant, they can have

serious consequences. 

In this eBook, we’ll cover the prevalence

of distracted driving—along with

actionable steps you can take to help to

protect your workers and your fleet.

Introduction

Lytx MV+AI technology is designed to respect driver privacy because it does

not collect biometric identifiers or biometric information (i.e., scans of facial

geometry). See https://www.lytx.com/driver-information.

Table of contents

The facts about distracted driving and who is at risk

Distracted driving and your industry

What can you do to change driver behavior?

How dash cams help to mitigate distracted driving

Tips for selecting a technology solutions

Lytx MV+AI technology is designed to respect driver privacy because it does

not collect biometric identifiers or biometric information (i.e., scans of facial

geometry). See https://www.lytx.com/driver-information.

Does distracted driving even happen that often?

The answer is yes, and there’s a high human cost

associated with it.

In the United States, more than 3,000 people die in

crashes involving a distracted driver every year1.

That’s an average of 8 people every day.

See how cell phone use and other distracted driving

behaviors put drivers, passengers and bystanders

at risk.

Distracted driving can be prevented.

CHAPTER 1:

The facts about

distracted driving

and who is at risk

But what’s a few seconds,

really?

It’s more time for trouble than most people realize!

Number of drivers using

an electronic device at any

given moment2

Number of estimated injuries

due to distracted driving3

Drivers using cell phones are

four times more likely to get

into a crash that results in

serious injuries.4

660,000

400,000

4X

That’s like driving the length of

a football field blindfolded!6

With a

5 SECONDS =

the average time

your eyes are off the

road while texting

55

SPEED

LIMIT

1 0 2 0 3 0 4 0 5 0 4 0 3 0 2 0 1 0

1 0 2 0 3 0 4 0 5 0 4 0 3 0 2 0 1 0

Distracted driving is more than just cell phone

use. It’s anything that takes attention away

from the road.

There are three categories of distracted driving:

VISUAL

Looking at a phone

Reading

Grooming

Using a laptop

PHYSICAL

Texting or dialing

Eating

Adjusting the radio

Reaching for objects

COGNITIVE

Talking on the phone

Day-dreaming

Talking to a passenger

Who does distracted

driving hurt?

DRIVERS AND THEIR FAMILIES

Injury, loss of life, or loss of income affect not just

your employees, but their families too

CUSTOMERS

Missed appointments can cause problems for

customers who are depending on your drivers

THE GENERAL PUBLIC

Unsafe driving puts everyone on the road at risk 

YOUR COMPANY

Damage to reputation or costly litigation can ruin

the business you’ve worked to build

Did you know that almost

16% of drivers 18-24

years of age admit to

texting while driving?

And of that age group, almost 30%

believe they multitask (e.g., text and

drive) pretty well. See the stats here.

Think your drivers are immune to distracted

driving? Think again.

TRUCKING

Trucking fleets that work with drivers to raise awareness

of the impact of distracted driving protect and retain their

valuable employees. Safer driving means reduced

collision costs and improved CSA scores.

DISTRIBUTION

Safety programs that target risky driving behaviors help

distribution companies maintain a strong safety record,

over-deliver for their customers and protect their drivers.

TRANSIT

A clear, enforceable program of education around

distracted driving prevention can help demonstrate

compliance, safeguard reputations and reduce

passenger liabilities.

WASTE

Waste collection is one of the most dangerous jobs in the

world. When drivers are engaged in a focused company

policy around cell phone and hand-held device use, waste

companies can increase operational efficiency, maintain

compliance and ensure drivers get home safely every day.

Prevention and awareness can

benefit your drivers and your fleet

CHAPTER 2:

Distracted driving and

your industry

What does distracted

driving mean for your

fleet?

Collisions

Angry customers

Damage to reputation

Litigation

Financial costs due to settlements and

lost customers

on work-related accidents5

Property damage $24,500 per single-vehicle incident6

Injury average cost $150,0006

Fatality can cost up to $3.6 million7

Number of lost workdays due to accidents8

Employers spend

$60 billion annually

1.6 million a year

10

Learn how Doughnut Peddler

achieved a 50% reduction in

cell phone use and a 54%

reduction in overall risk while

lowering insurance costs.

“Our drivers have a big job, and it’s a tough job. We want to

do everything we can to get them home safe every night.”

William Cooper, National Director, Project Management & Compliance

Doughnut Peddler

Consider these

four steps

EDUCATION

EMOTIONAL APPEAL

POLICY ENFORCEMENT

LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY

CHAPTER 3:

What can you do

to change driver

behavior?

11

Education

Educating your employees about the

dangers of distracted driving needs to

be an ongoing effort reinforced during

meetings and trainings throughout the

year, not just a short-term push.

Things you can do:

Talk to your drivers about what constitutes an

avoidable collision.

This includes behaviors like cell phone use,

listening to loud music, not being aware of

another risky driver, or not driving carefully

in bad weather

Provide driver training.

Show drivers how to become aware of common

risky behaviors and how they can then effectively

change them

Coach your drivers in a positive manner.

Stress that safety is the top priority

Coaching should be proactive, not punitive

12

Use yourself as an example.

Confess your own bad driving habits and what

you are doing to change them

Use statistics to provide credibility to your

training. Here are some examples:

Texting increases the risk of a crash by

23 times10 

The brain cannot multi-task! When talking and

driving it switches between the conversation

and driving, which slows reaction time9

Drivers talking on cell phones can miss up to

50% of their driving environments, including

pedestrians and red lights9

Lytx MV+AI technology is designed to respect driver privacy because it does

not collect biometric identifiers or biometric information (i.e., scans of facial

geometry). See https://www.lytx.com/driver-information.

13

Emotional appeal

When one manager surveyed drivers to

find out who called and texted them the

most during work hours, they reported that

more than 50% of calls and texts received

were from family members! This means

that the people with the biggest stake in the

safety of the driver were the ones

unintentionally putting them at risk.

Cell phones make us feel connected to

those we love. But using a cell phone while

driving is increasingly a factor in

endangering our safety. Read more about

the role of cell phones in distracted driving.

Things you can do:

Engage the family.

Include letters to families in your safety campaigns, encouraging

them to ask the driver, “Is it safe to talk?” when they call. 

Buy cell phone bags for technicians and have their family member

sign it. A visual reminder of a loved one who would be affected if

the employee got in an accident may keep them from picking up

their phone.

Share real stories from your community.

An internet search will, unfortunately, reveal plenty of real-life

examples of those affected by distracted driving. Sharing a

relatable story from your industry or hometown will leave an

impactful impression.

14

You can’t expect your drivers to follow your rules if you don’t

have any. Define and repeatedly communicate your driving

policy, and include behaviors like cell phone use, wearing a

seatbelt, eating or drinking in the vehicle, and any other

requirements you believe will protect your workers and

your business.

Not only is a good policy essential for driver training, but it

will help your defense should your company ever be sued

after a collision.

Have a clear policy and enforce it

15

Post visible reminders of the risks

of distracted driving and your

company's preventative policy.

Check out these Distracted Driving

Statistics and Tips.

PURPOSE, BACKGROUND,

AND APPLICABILITY

Why is there a policy, who does it apply to

and when?

DEFINE THE POLICY

What is the policy trying to do? For example, “this policy is

intended to define certain prohibited activities that could

cause drivers to become distracted and to prescribe

practices that help employees safely operate company

equipment.”

SPECIFIC PROHIBITIONS

What activities are specifically prohibited? Consider things

like texting, cell phone use, eating, and not wearing a

seatbelt. Include those that are most applicable to your

business and technicians.

SUGGESTED PRACTICES

Offer solutions such as pulling off the road before using a

cell phone or taking a 15-minute break

to eat.

CONSEQUENCES FOR

VIOLATING POLICY

What action will be taken if a driver is found to be violating

this policy?

Things to consider when developing policies

16

Leverage technology

Technology can be used to help mitigate

distracted driving. Here are three options:

DO NOT DISTURB

Do Not Disturb (DND) is a

common feature on most

smartphones and easy to

enable. A user can select

specific times for DND to be

in effect and set “favorite”

phone numbers to still ring

through in case of an

emergency.

CELL BLOCKING

TECHNOLOGY

Cell blocking technology is

usually accessed through an

app and will block calls and

texts from coming through

while the car is in motion. The

phone can still be used for 911

calls or by passengers. Check

with your company on whether

there are policies governing this

type of technology.

DASH CAMS

You may have well-defined driver policies and

communicate them clearly and often, but policies

themselves won’t always change behavior. Some

dash cams can monitor both the road and inside

the cab, giving you the power to trust your driver

but to verify their actions as well. Intelligent dash

cams can detect risky driving behaviors and send

real-time alerts to help empower drivers

to change their behavior. If it’s of interest, these

dash cams can send reports back to you, which

can later be used for employee coaching

and training.

17

This company did all the right things with

its policy and training, but the driver used

his phone anyway. By looking just at the

telematics data, the risky event could have

been flagged as a hard braking event and a

swerve to avoid another driver, and there’s

no way to be sure why it happened.

However, with dash cam footage, you can

actually see evidence that the driver was

distracted by his cell phone. This could be

one of YOUR drivers!

Trust but verify

Dash cams offer a detailed view of distracted driving incidents.

18

Changing driver behavior

Have open, two-way dialogue with

your drivers

Incentivize drivers to comply with safety

goals or initiatives

Build awareness around risky driving

behaviors and communicate it fleet-wide

Take a “head to heart” approach with your

drivers and bring emotion into the

conversation

Build a safety culture where good driving

behavior is recognized and rewarded

Use disciplinary action in accordance with a

company policy

Assume your drivers will just figure it out

Ignore their concerns, or talk at them

Only take a punitive approach to risky driver

behaviors

Single out drivers exhibiting risky behaviors

Stay distant and disconnected from your drivers

Allow the workplace to be just a place to punch

in and punch out

Rely only on disciplinary action or use it without

a documented policy in place

DO

DON’T

19

The concept of “trust, but verify” is a great way to ensure

drivers are following your company policies. You’re busy

running your business, so enlist technology to do the heavy

lifting of driver management for you. 

When it comes to protecting your company and drivers,

capturing simple movements may not be enough. You need

technology that leaves no doubt about what a driver was doing

at any given point in time.

The most advanced dash cams use a combination of machine

vision and artificial intelligence (MV+AI).

Sees and recognizes

Interprets and decides

To learn more about MV+AI,

read Demystifying MV+AI Technology

CHAPTER 4:

How dash cams help

to mitigate distracted

driving

MACHINE VISION

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

20

How does it work?

In this example, machine vision sees an

object—like a cell phone—and detects the

motion of the driver’s head. Artificial intelligence

uses logic to determine that this combination is

risky, and will deliver an audio alert. Ideally, the

driver will put the phone down.

This is an actual event triggered by AI

identification of handheld phone use. With just a

few seconds of video, you can verify what the

driver is doing and take appropriate action.

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