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Charity calls on fleets to tackle distracted driving

Brake, the road safety charity, is calling on fleet operators to crackdown on mobile phone use at the wheel, as fewer than half (38 per cent) of respondents in its annual Fleet Safety Survey have an organisation-wide policy banning all employees from using hands-free phones at the wheel.
This year’s Fleet Safety Survey, conducted with the support of Licence Bureau, covered the six key areas of the Brake Pledge:

  • Slow – within speed limits
  • Sober – free from alcohol or drugs
  • Sharp – not tired, ill or with poor eyesight
  • Silent – phone off and out of reach
  • Secure – belted up in a safe vehicle
  • Sustainable – only when you have to

Driving is a highly unpredictable and risky activity, which requires your full attention at all times. Drivers who perform a secondary task at the wheel are two to three times more likely to crash.
Whilst the number of respondents who have an organisation-wide policy banning all mobile phone use, including hands free, has increased since Brake’s last survey on this topic (2013) from three in ten respondents to four in ten, Brake is urging all companies to adopt such policies, given research shows that the call itself is the main distraction.
Technological innovation means an increasing amount of in-vehicle systems for drivers to interact with, such as sat-nav or GPS, Bluetooth and touch-screen displays, yet just 44 per cent of respondents have a policy that drivers should not adjust, or communicate using, any of their in-vehicle technology while driving.
Many drivers allow themselves to be distracted because they believe they are in control, and do not believe distraction poses a significant risk. However, 98 per cent are not able to divide their attention without significant deterioration in driving performance. It is essential that organisations have policies in place that ban drivers from using mobile phones at the wheel.
More than 200 fleet operators completed this survey; the majority of respondents are from the UK, with responses also coming from fleets based in Australasia, Asia, Africa, North America, and mainland Europe. Respondents manage a total of more than 190,000 vehicles including mopeds, cars, vans, trucks, and buses, and more than 170,000 employees driving for work. The size of the fleets varied: the smallest were single-vehicle operators; the largest had over 80,000 vehicles.
Other key survey findings include:

  • Fewer than one in ten respondents (8 per cent) prioritise environmental concerns when making vehicle purchasing and leasing decisions.
  • Only three in ten (33 per cent) require a full eyesight test for all new staff who drive for work, or proof they had one recently.
  • Only one in ten (12 per cent) have vehicle safety ratings as their top priority when making purchasing and leasing decisions.
  • Only five in ten respondents (53 per cent) strongly agree that their organisation sees licence checking as a priority.
  • Three in ten respondents (31 per cent) don’t provide any training, even at a remedial level, on staying within legal speed limits.

 

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