On-the-job vehicle crashes can be costly to employers, even when they occur off the clock. Protect the company, drivers, and others on the road by developing and enforcing a comprehensive fleet cell phone policy.
AT A GLANCE
Companies must ensure drivers are not putting themselves, the company, and others on the road at risk. A total employer cell phone ban covers:
All employees.
All company vehicles.
All company cell-phone devices.
All work-related communications, even in a personal vehicle or on a personal cell phone.
Photo Courtesy of www.automotive-fleet.com
The morning of Jan. 25, 2010, was a clear, sunny Texas day. Mindy Ragsdale, a 31-year-old, stay-at-home mom of two, and her 82-year-old grandmother, Peggye Woodson, were on their way to Mindy’s mother’s home.
Their sedan was stopped, waiting to make a left turn onto a heavily traveled two-lane rural highway. For 14 seconds prior to the crash, their vehicle should have been in full view of the driver of a cable TV utility pickup truck as it crested a hill and headed toward them with the cruise control set at approximately 70 mph.