August 30th, 2005 at 4:09 pm
Our Halliburton facility held a Safety Stand Down to advise people of the dangers of using one’s cell phone in their car. The World Health Organization published statistics that said traffic fatalities ranked 7th in causes of death, and they estimate the fatalities will rise to 3rd in mortality rates.
The presented data consisted of:
- Drivers talking on cell phones are twice as likely to miss a traffic signal.
- Their reaction time is slower to the signals they do detect.
- Their risk of causing a crash incrases by 400%.
- The amount of risk is the same as if the driver were driving legally intoxicated (0.08)
- There is no real safety difference between hand-held and hands-free phones; it’s the conversation that distracts, not the phone.
Let’s say for the moment that the “facts” are indeed truthful. It would increase my opinion of their truthfulness if the names of the people who conducted the study were included with the conclusions.
The corporate policy of “no calls while driving” only covers company-owned phones, cars, and company-rented cars. Personal cars and phones won’t get us in trouble unless it’s on company property, or the phone call is conducting company business. Some of this they admit is unenforceable. I’m of mixed opinion as to whether I hope this helps. If it helps, less people die, but it’s a case for more corporate intrusion into personal behavior.
All I can say is please try to serve your own self-interest and mine by paying attention to the road and being aware of your limitations. If we don’t, we’ll end up with legislators making excuses to intrude further into our private property.
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