Time for a distracted driving policy?

Forty-two percent of drivers admit to reading texts or emails behind the wheel.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, drivers on a cell phone have a 17 percent higher chance of being involved in a crash or near crash. At least 16 states have passed laws prohibiting certain kinds of cell phone use while driving.

In May 2019, Gov. Kim Reynolds said that “it makes sense” to ban the use of handheld devices while driving, telegraphing her support for new legislation in Iowa.

Iowa law only prohibits drivers from writing, sending or viewing text messages while in motion on the road. It does not ban calling or other cell phone use.

When employees text and drive, employers are at risk. Juries across the country have awarded large verdicts against employers in accidents caused by employees who drive distracted while on duty.

A Virginia law firm was sued for $25 million after a 15-year-old girl was killed by a lawyer allegedly was talking on her cell phone behind the wheel. An Arkansas company paid $16.2 million to a woman severely disabled in a car wreck struck by one of its employees talking on his cell phone.

And a jury in Florida ordered a company to pay almost $21 million to a 78-year-old woman inured when one of its traveling sales representatives struck her while talking on his cell phone as he traveled between appointments.

How should your company react to the evolving legal landscape of distracted driving?

If you have not yet talked to your insurer about liability coverage for employee accidents, do so right away.

But never forget that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Iowa employers should have a policy in force that clearly prohibits employees who drive while on duty from texting or talking while behind the wheel, especially if they are using a company vehicle or company phone.

Both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have sample employer policies on distracted driving available on their websites.

Of course, as a practical matter, the hardest part of implementing new policy in your workplace is enforcement — not enactment. How are you going to monitor distracted driving?

If your company supplies cell phones to its employees, you should consult with your IT department and corporate counsel regarding options for collecting distracted driving data.

Options for monitoring employees who use supply their own cell phones are more limited.

One place to start is through influencing your workplace’s attitude. If your employees view distracted driving as a negative behavior, the rules may begin to enforce themselves.

As you work to implement and enforce your company’s distracted driving policy, be mindful that you are also encouraging a corporate culture where it is OK for safety to come before availability.

It may help to communicate your distracted driving policy to clients and business partners so that your employees feel at liberty to leave calls and emails unanswered until they reach the parking lot.

Wilford H. Stone is a lawyer with Lynch Dallas in Cedar Rapids.