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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query distracted driving. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query distracted driving. Sort by date Show all posts

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Apple Is Moving Distracted Driving Into High Gear

Transportation accidents account for a high proportion of work-related fatalities, and Apple's announcement with week of increasing the access of iCar-Technology into the automobile is raising serious concerns among safety lobbyists.

Workers' compensation insurance companies in co-ordination with the US Department of
IOS in the Car
Heavy Integration Announced
at Apple Conference
Transportation (DOT) have made major efforts over the last few years to target distracted driving as a major safety issue to avoid serious accidents and ultimately save lives and reduce insurance costs. The DOT reports, "Distracted driving is a dangerous epidemic on America's roadways. In 2011 alone, over 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving crashes."

As of June 2013, 41 state, the District of Columbia, and Guam ban text messaging for all drivers. Also, 11 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands, prohibit all drivers from using handheld phones while driving.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Distracted Driving - Time To Revisit Compensability Issues


Hang Up! Just Drive.
The Attorney General of the State of New Jersey reported today that there has been a surge of 26% in reported accidents attributed to "distracted driving." While the enforcement effort has been made some headway in leveling off the statistics, a question remains whether it is time to change the compensability rules in workers' compensation to prohibit claims if the employee was texting while driving.
Acting Attorney General John Hoffman today announced the staggering toll driver inattention has taken on New Jersey’s roadways in the past 10 years, declaring that the State experienced a “distracted driving decade” and that an ongoing law enforcement initiative is working to help end the crisis.
From 2004 to 2013, driver inattention was a major contributing circumstance in 1.4 million crashes in New Jersey – that is about half of the total crashes in the state in that period. Distraction was the number one contributing circumstance in total crashes. And in one decade (2003-2012), more than 1,600 people have been killed in crashes where driver inattention was a major contributing factor.
“The numbers tell the sad truth: we are in the midst of a surge in driver inattention, and crash statistics bear out that we can characterize the last 10 years simply as ‘New Jersey’s Distracted Driving Decade,’” said Hoffman. “What is perhaps most troubling about these numbers is that the issue of distracted driving seems to be getting progressively worse. Our research indicates that while crashes and fatalities are trending downward as a whole, the number and proportion of distracted crashes are rising.”
At the beginning of the “Distracted Driving Decade” in 2004, driver inattention was cited as a major contributing circumstance in 42 percent of crashes. But that number has risen in those 10 years and last year it peaked at 53 percent. And the proportion of distracted crashes has surged 26 percent in that time span.
“In recent years smartphones and other devices have become more sophisticated and it’s clear to most of us that they’re being used more by drivers,” said Acting Director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety Gary Poedubicky. “Though the overall picture of road safety is brightening, one cannot help but conclude that there is an increasing addiction to distraction for drivers. We need to put an end to the epidemic of driver inattention and close the book on the ‘Distracted Driving Decade.’”
In an effort to stop distracted driving, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety has for the first time made funds available to law enforcement agencies for a statewide crackdown on motorists who are using a handheld device while driving, which is illegal in New Jersey. Sixty police departments received $5,000 each for the campaign called U Drive. U Text. U Pay. and the funds will be used to pay for checkpoints and increased patrols. Many more enforcement agencies are also expected to participate unfunded in the initiative, which was funded and developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
About halfway through the three-week campaign, which runs from April 1 to 21, the funded departments have issued an estimated 3,000 summonses for cell phone and electronic device violations.
“People need to know that we are serious about stopping this deadly behavior,” said NHTSA Region 2 Administrator Thomas M. Louizou. “Using a handheld phone and texting has reached epidemic levels. When you text or talk on the phone while driving, you take your focus off the road. That puts everyone else’s lives in danger, and no one has the right to do that.”
The crackdowns are similar in scope to the Drive Sober, or Get Pulled Over and Click It or Ticket mobilizations, which have targeted impaired driving and seat belt usage, respectively. Louizou said the successes of those programs have proven that the combination of tough laws, targeted advertising, and high-visibility enforcement can change people’s risky traffic safety behaviors.
To see a list of agencies receiving funding for this initiative please visit:www.nj.gov/oag/hts/downloads/UDUTUP_2014_Grant_Recipients.pdf
This increased police presence on the roads will soon be paired with stepped up penalties for breaking the State’s primary cell phone law. Currently, motorists violating New Jersey’s primary cell phone law face a $100 fine plus court costs and fees. Because of a new law signed by Governor Chris Christie last year, penalties for that transgression will get stiffer. On July 1, those penalties will rise to a range of $200 to $400 for a first offense, $400 to $600 for a second, and up to $800 and three insurance points for subsequent violations. These changes follow the adoption in 2012 of the “Kulesh, Kubert and Bolis Law.” Under that law, proof that a defendant was operating a hand-held wireless telephone while driving a motor vehicle may give rise to the presumption that the defendant was engaged in reckless driving. Prosecutors are empowered to charge the offender with committing vehicular homicide or assault when an accident occurs from reckless driving.
Joining Acting Attorney General Hoffman’s call to end distracted driving was Gabriel Hurley. Hurley, 29, was severely injured in a 2009 crash that left him blind and with extensive damage to his face and skull. Hurley sustained his injuries when an oncoming car collided into an underpass while he was entering it. The impact caused the other car’s air-conditioning compressor to come flying into his windshield. Hurley, of Middlesex, said he believed the 17-year-old driver had been inattentive behind the wheel at the time of the crash.
After an extensive recovery period, which included more than a dozen facial reconstructive surgeries, he began a career as a safe driving advocate and has spoken to thousands of drivers, most of them in high school, about the consequences of reckless and inattentive driving.
“The course of my life was altered in that crash,” Hurley said. “I have lost my sense of sight and smell and suffered other physical and emotional damage. However, I believe what happened gave me a purpose to tell everyone that crashes like mine are preventable and we can stop them by simply focusing on the task at hand when we’re behind the wheel.”

Read more about distracted driving:
Apr 10, 2014
Stay Alert and Avoid Distracted Driving – Work zones present extra challenges and obstacles. Motorists need to pay attention to the road and their surroundings. – Schedule your trip with plenty of extra time. Expect delays and ...
Apr 18, 2011
OSHA has announced an aggressive program to combat "The Number 1 Killer of Workers," Distracted Driving. The announcement was made today by Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor of the Occupational ...
May 29, 2013
Transportation accidents rank on the top of the list for worker fatalities. Now the federal government is attempting to reduce that number by restricting distractions while driving.driving. Voluntary guidelines reduce ...
Jun 13, 2013
Transportation (DOT) have made major efforts over the last few years to target distracted driving as a major safety issue to avoid serious accidents and ultimately save lives and reduce insurance costs. The DOT reports ...


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Symposium on Prevention of Occupationally-Related Distracted Driving

Distracted driving (including texting while driving and cell phone use) is a major cause of motor vehicle crashes. Many workers may be distracted while performing work-related driving or during vehicle operations. Reducing distracted work-related driving and increasing awareness of the risk to employees that result from distracted driving is an important mission for safety and health professionals, employers and employees. This Symposium is designed to bring together a variety of stakeholder groups who are interested in reducing work-related driving distractions and generate recommendations for action, including new directions for research. This Symposium will include didactic presentations, interactive discussions and opportunities for networking, and demonstrations of training materials.

Monday, April 18, 2011
8:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Kossiakoff Conference Center
11100 Johns Hopkins Road
Laurel, Maryland 20723
1-800-548-3647

8:30 - 9:00 am:
Registration and continental breakfast

9:00 - 9:15 am:
Welcome and Review of the Agenda
Mary Doyle, MPH,RN, COHN-S/CM
Director, ERC Continuing Education Program
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Meeting Moderator

9:15 - 9:30 am:
Mission of the Symposium and Call to Action
Christine Branche, PhD
Principal Associate Director
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

9:30 - 9:50 am:
U.S. DOT Perspective on Distracted Driving
Peter Appel
Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration
Department of Transportation

9:50 - 10:10 am:
OSHA’s Perspective on Distracted Driving
David Michaels, PhD, MPH
Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA
Department of Labor

10:10 - 10:40 am:
What Does the Research Tell Us?
Jeffrey S. Hickman, PhD
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
Center for Truck and Bus Safety
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

10:40 - 11:00 am:
Audience Q & A/Feedback for morning sessions

11:00 – 11:15 am
Break and Networking

11:15 - 12:00 pm:
Panel Discussion: Elements of Model Programs: Implementation Challenges
Moderator: Jack Hanley
Executive Director
Network of Employers for Traffic Safety

Panelists:

Joseph Van Houten, PhD, CSP
Senior Director, Worldwide EHS
Johnson & Johnson

Tom Bennett
SH&E/OIMS Advisor, Fuels Marketing
Downstream & Chemical SSH&E

Amy Lokken, ARM
Group Director, North American Health & Safety
Coca-Cola Refreshments

David Hopps
Vice President, Risk Management Operations & Environment, Safety & Health
ServiceMaster

12:00 – 12:15 pm:
Audience Discussion and Feedback on Model Programs Panel

12:15 - 1:15 pm:
Lunch (provided on-site)

1:15 - 2:00 pm:
Panel Discussion: In-vehicle Technology to Address Distracted Driving
Moderator: Peter Appel
Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration
Department of Transportation

Panelists:

Eric Collins, JD
Chief Operations Officer
Mobile Posse

Michael Petricone, JD
Senior VP, Government Affairs
Consumer Electronics Association

2:00 - 2:15 pm
Audience Discussion and Feedback on In-Vehicle Technology Panel

2:15 - 3:00 pm:
Panel Discussion: Worker Perspectives
Moderator: James August, MPH
Health and Safety Consultant

Panelists:

LaMont Byrd
Director, Safety and Health Department
International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Rich Duffy
Assistant to the General President for Occupational Health, Safety and Medicine
International Association of Fire Fighters – AFL/CIO

Ed Watt, MS
Director of Health and Safety
Transportation Workers Union of America

3:00 - 3:15 pm
Audience Discussion and Feedback on Workers’ Perspective Panel

3:15 - 3:45 pm:
Facilitated Discussion with Audience
Leslie Nickels, PhD, MEd
Senior Health Communications Fellow
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

3:45 - 4:00 pm:
Closing
Mary Doyle, Meeting Moderator

4:00 - 5:00 pm: 
Reception (on site)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

US Publishes Guidelines to Minimize Distracted Driving

Transportation accidents rank on the top of the list for worker fatalities. Now the federal government is attempting to reduce that number by restricting distractions while driving.driving. Voluntary guidelines reduce visual-manual distraction - the greatest safety risk to drivers in NHTSA's new study

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today released distraction guidelines that

encourage automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risk connected to electronic devices built into their vehicles, such as communications, entertainment and navigation devices.

"Distracted driving is a deadly epidemic that has devastating consequences on our nation's roadways," said Secretary LaHood. "These guidelines recognize that today's drivers appreciate technology, while providing automakers with a way to balance the innovation consumers want with the safety we all need. Combined with good laws, good enforcement and good education, these guidelines can save lives."

Thursday, July 7, 2011

National Cell Phone Ban Proposed by Congress


Cell phone abuse while driving has been proposed by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY4).  Distracted driving accidents are soaring and are now emerging as a major cause of work-related accidents.

Distracted riving claims are a major liability issue for employers and their insurance carriers. Liability falls upon the employers for workers' compensation benefits, potential liability damages by innocent injured third-parties, and subject employers to fines by regulatory agencies such as The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

McCarthy, a victim of an accident caused by testing while driving, is a former nurse who has made public health and safety a hallmark of her tenure in Congress, has announced new federal legislation that would create a single national standard prohibiting the use of handheld mobile devices while driving.


“Driving while making a phone call, texting or using apps can be as dangerous as driving drunk, and much more common,” Rep. McCarthy said.  “With some basic commonsense rules that are already in place in some parts of the country, we can reduce injuries and save lives in America.”

The Safe Drivers Act of 2011 focuses on two primary efforts.  First, it directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish minimum regulations that ban the use of hand-held mobile devices on a public road while operating a moving or idling motor vehicle, except in the case of an emergency.  There are exclusions, including voice-operated, vehicle-integrated devices, as well as voice-operated GPS systems.

The bill also requires the DOT to conduct a study on distracted driving, focusing particularly on the issue of cognitive distraction and the impact of distraction on young and inexperienced drivers.  In two years, the DOT must report the findings of this study to Congress and provide recommendations for revising the minimum distracted driving prohibitions and penalties states must comply with.

The penalty for not complying with the DOT’s minimum standards within two years of enactment would be a withholding of 25 percent of a state’s federal highway transportation funding.

The legislation is modeled after the nation’s federal Blood Alcohol Content standard, the violation of which also results in a withholding of federal transportation funds (though no state has been in violation of the federal BAC standard).  States that are penalized can actually receive their funds as soon as they are in compliance with federal law.  Click here to read the full legislation

With a potpourri of laws in different states, including some states with no laws whatsoever limiting cell phone use while driving, distracted driving is rapidly becoming a deadly problem across the nation.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,474 people died as a result of driver distraction in 2009, making up about 16 percent of all fatalities as a result of auto crashes that year.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, using a cell phone makes a driver four times more likely to be in an accident that causes injury.

Right now, 13 states have no laws addressing handheld voice calls.  They are Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Ten states have no laws addressing texting while driving.  They are Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota.

Eight states have no laws whatsoever limiting the use of cell phones while driving, whether for voice calls or texting.  They are Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota.

Only 8 states prohibit all drivers – including novice drivers, bus drivers and regular adults – from using handheld cell phones while driving.  They are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, immediately after New York banned cell phone use while driving in 2001, cell phone use declined an estimated 47 percent.  Since then over time, handheld cell phone use by New York Drivers is down an estimated 24 percent.

 Kelly Cline, a Buffalo, NY-area mother who lost her 20-year-old son A.J. Larson in a texting-while-driving accident in 2007 and co-founded the 1,000-member Families Against Texting While Driving organization, gave the Safe Drivers Act of 2011 a very personal endorsement.

“I know all too well the tragic outcome that distracted driving can lead to in a split second,” Ms. Cline said.  “No one should lose their life because of an easily avoidable problem that society hasn’t made a serious issue of.  I hope that what happened to my family serves as a wake-up call to our legislators, and I thank Congresswoman McCarthy for her leadership.  Hopefully we can raise awareness about distracted driving and stop another tragedy from happening.”

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Trend to Exclude Distracted Driving From Workers' Compensation Coverage

The trend nationally is to prohibit the use of cell phones in motor vehicles. Such a ban would make use of a cellphone while working a deviation from employment and accidents involving cell phone use at work would then be considered a deviation from employment and excluded from workers' compensation coverage,

Citing cell phone usage while driving, the Federal Government is making a major initiative to get workers off cell phone while at work. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the agenda for the second national Distracted Driving Summit to be held on September 21st , 2010 in Washington, DC.

Building on the success of last year’s summit, Secretary LaHood will convene leading transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement, industry representatives, researchers and victims affected by distraction-related crashes to address challenges and identify opportunities for national anti-distracted driving efforts. U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar will also speak at the summit. 

“Thousands of people are killed or injured every year in accidents caused by distracted drivers,” said Secretary LaHood. “One year after our first national Distracted Driving Summit, we will reconvene to take stock of our progress and reassess the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. I look forward to hearing insights from our distinguished panelists and guests, and know that by working together, we will save lives.”

The 2010 Distracted Driving Summit will be live webcast at www.distraction.gov, enabling the participation of people around the country. US employers are urged to set policies to prohibit the use of cell phones at work. "Use a variety of organizational channels to communicate with employees the company's commitment to safety and health and specifically to the nonuse of cell phones and texting. Make it clear to your employees that the expectation is that they will NOT talk or text on their cell phones while driving on company time or in company vehicles. Have employees sign a contract that says they will not violate the organization’s ban on texting and driving."

Many State Laws already ban the use of cell phones while driving. Sample legislation to be used as a starting point for states crafting new laws to prohibit texting while driving has been encouraged. 

Making the workplace safer is a major purpose of workers' compensation law. Public policy will certainly support the effort to end distracted driving. The trend to exclude coverage for distracted driving is a signifiant move in the right direction to help workers steer clear of accidents.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.

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Saturday, June 22, 2013

Distracted Walkers Are a Workplace Hazard

Over the last 2 days I watched at least a half-a-dozen people walking in the streets with a cellphone in their hands, and totally ignoring all traffic signals and vehicles around them. We are too quick to blame workers for causing all accidents through the use of cellphones.  Pedestrians on many occasions ignore all reason and logic, and walk in front of vehicles oblivious to the world.

Read: Distracted Walking: Injuries Soar for Pedestrians on Phones 

Cell Phone Use Not Just Dangerous for Drivers, Study Finds

"More than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking, according to a new nationwide study."

Thursday, August 8, 2013

OSHA's Distracted Driving Initiative

Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from www.osha.gov
Welcome to OSHA's Distracted Driving Page!
  • Check out the agency's new distracted driving business brochure on OSHA's publications page.
  •  
  • View winning student-produced public service announcement, "Texting and Driving," from Oregon OSHA co-sponsored video contest to promote young worker safety and health. Read news release [48 KB PDF, 2 pages].
OSHA partners in conference on distracted driving
OSHA Assistant Secretary David Michaels spoke at the Symposium on Prevention of Occupationally-Related Distracted Driving held April 18, 2011, in Laurel, Md. Distracted driving, including texting while driving and cell phone use, is a major cause of motor vehicle crashes. This symposium brought together a variety of stakeholders interested in reducing work-related driving distractions and generated recommendations for action, including new directions for research. The Johns Hopkins Education and Research Center for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in partnership with OSHA, the Department of Transportation and the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy hosted the symposium which included presentations, interactive discussions, opportunities for networking and demonstrations of training materials.

U.S. Department of Labor
Assistant Secretary for
Occupational Safety and Health
Washington, D.C. 20210
October 4, 2010
Dear Employer:
Distracted driving has become an epidemic in the United States, and its often fatal...
[Click here to see the rest of this article]

Thursday, November 4, 2010

NIOSH Supports Efforts To Ban Distracted Driving

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is following the lead of the US Department of Labor by encouraging employers to ban cell phone use while operating vehicles. An outright prohibition and supporting legislation may lead to the prohibition of workers' compensation benefits in many jurisdictions in the near future unless more global and radical action is taken to re-mediate this dangerous activity.

“While the basic distractions of cell phone calls or text messaging are similar whether one is driving on work time or on personal time, there are sources of distraction and incentives to engage in distracted driving behaviors that are unique to the workplace,” noted John Howard, M.D., Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). “Someone driving on personal time has the leisure of waiting to return a friend’s call or text message. In these situations, minimizing risk is a matter of changing personal behavior and habits,” Dr. Howard said. “Workers, however, may be required or pressured by job demands to engage in distracted driving behaviors. Strong employer policies to curb the use of cell phones and in-vehicle technologies while driving are an important tool in creating a safe driving culture within an organization.”

Dr. Howard added, “NIOSH applauds the efforts of the Departments of Transportation and Labor to highlight the important role public and private employers can play in reducing distracted driving. We join them in urging employers to set policies to prohibit text messaging while driving. In addition, NIOSH will continue to work with our federal and other partners to support further efforts to reduce distracted driving in the workplace.”
.....
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.

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Monday, April 18, 2011

OSHA To Fine Employers for Distracted Driving Accidents

OSHA has announced an aggressive program to combat "The Number 1 Killer of Workers," Distracted Driving. The announcement was made today by Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA).


The enforcement program was described by Michaels  at a symposium on the prevention of Occupationally-Related Distracted Driving conference hosted by Johns Hopkins University. Following the policy announced by President Obama in his Executive Order banning texting while driving, OSHA is calling upon all employers to ban texting while driving.


It is the intention of OSHA to provide education and enforcement on the issue of distracted driving. OSHA will investigate motor vehicle accidents, including cell phone records, and will issue citations and fine employers where an accident involved texting while driving. While OSHA has juridiction over employers, and not employees,  it hopes to encourage all employers to declare motor vehicles a "text free zone."

Friday, November 21, 2014

Distracted Drivers and Rising Workers’ Comp Claims

Today's post was shared by Trucker Lawyers and comes from www.sadlerco.com



Distracted driving
Distracted driving

Such accidents are among the leading causes of high-severity Workers’ Compensation injuries.  According to the National Safety Council, the average work-related motor vehicle injury claim costs an average of $69,206. That’s double the cost of other work-related injuries. The lack of training in safe driving techniques is a primary factor of work-related driving accidents. But you can’t have this discussion without putting particular focus on distracted drivers.
A distracted driver is one who is engaged in any activity that diverts his or her attention from the primary task of driving. All distractions put drivers, passengers, and bystanders at risk. Common activities that cause driver distractions are, in no particular order:
  • Text messaging
  • Use of a cell phone
  • Eating or drinking
  • Talking to passengers
  • Grooming
  • Reading
  • Use of a navigation system
  • Adjusting  radio, CD player, or MP3 player
Who are these distracted drivers?
It’s been proven that the visual, manual, and cognitive attention required for text messaging makes it the most dangerous driving distraction. How likely is it that you or your employees could be included in the following statistics and facts below?
  • Drivers in their 20s make up 27 percent of the distracted drivers in...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Are Driving Distractions Within the Course of the Employment?


The US Department of Transportation recently held a national summit on the issues arising from distracted driving. The facts presented were certainly convincing that distracted driving is a leading cause of accidents.   



  • Distracted driving is dangerous. Distraction from cell phone use while driving (hand held or hands free) delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (University of Utah)
  • Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. (Carnegie Mellon)
  • 80 percent of crashes are related to driver inattention. There are certain activities that may be more dangerous than talking on a cell phone. However, cell phone use occurs more frequently and for longer durations than other, riskier behaviors. Thus, the #1 source of driver inattention is cell phones. (Virginia Tech 100-car study for NHTSA)
  • Drivers that use handheld devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
  • Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured. (NHTSA)
  • Research shows that the worst offenders are the youngest and least experienced drivers: men and women under 20 years of age. (NHTSA)
  • On any given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone. (National Safety Council)
Kristin Backstrom, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, testified that, “People who wouldn't get drunk and drive somehow think it's OK to text and drive - which is just as dangerous.

Public policy has always swayed the direction of the legislature. The facts surrounding distracted driving  will probably no exception. Whether this activity can be considered by the courts, as "arising out of and in the course of the employment," or whether the legislature will merely bar compensability if distracted driving is a cause of an accident, has yet to be determined. 
.........
For more on "distracted driving" please click here.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Employers Risks Increase From Cell Phone Use

The results of a recent survey of US construction industry managers reflects that employers are now facing an increased risk of lawsuits for damages caused by accidents that their  employees have had while using a cell phones while driving at work. The survey demonstrates that the passive action by employers, by merely having a written cell phone policy, is ineffective to stop distracted driving accidents caused by cell phone use.

The study, published by Zoom Safer Inc. , reveals that 72.1% of construction companies already have a written policy restricting employee cellphone use while driving. The findings of the survey disclose that 25.2% of the companies have knowledge or evidence that employee vehicle crashes occurred as a result of distractions arising from the use of cell phones while driving. The economic consequences for those companies could  be severe since 10.8% of the companies responding to the survey reported that the accidents have resulted in lawsuits against the employer for employee's use of the a cell phone while driving.

While workers' compensation is a no fault system of insurance, the surge of claims caused by distracted driving by employees, will ultimately result in severe economic consequences to the employer. It is more than obvious that the economic liability to employers will be a driving force for employers to take a more active roll in curbing cell phone use, and for insurance carriers to reconsider the the need to transferability to employers to reduce distracted driving claims.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Distracted Driving Accidents Echo Intoxication Caused Injuries

The New England Journal of Medicine reports that the activism against driving while intoxicated is beginning to be mirrored in distracted driving crashes. This parallel will probably cause workers' compensation courts and state legislature to shortly revisit the compensability of certain claims caused by employees who engage in distracted driving and will likely bar them from eligibility as workers compensation claims.


"As cell phone technology improved, texting while driving, which necessitates taking one’s eyes off the road, also became a major concern. The new term 'distracted driving' encompasses many behaviors that divert attention from driving, hampering awareness and performance and increasing risk."


The moral outrage being generated from distracted driving behavior will most likely mandate the imposition of technological changes to restrict cell phone use in moving vehicles. While that technology is being developed and deployed, workers and their employers should take heed of the growing public policy against such conduct.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Employers Face Liability For Cell Phone Accidents

Accidents resulting from the use of cell phones at work shift liability to to the employer. Todd Clement, an expert trial lawyer from Dallas TX, in a recent interview, explains why employers are going to paying damages for distracted driving accidents involving their employees.

Multiple claims can be made following a work-related distracted driving accident caused by an employee's use of a cell phone. Those claims include an action by an employee, the who used the cell phone, against the employer for workers' compensation benefits. Since the system is a "no fault" program, the employer becomes liable for the payment of benefits to the employee inclusing: temporary, medical and permanent benefits.

Claims can also be made by the passenger (co-employee) against the employer under the workers' compensation act. Also, anyone else injured may also file a liability claim against the employer for their employee's distracted driving conduct.

In some jurisdictions claims may also exist an employer directly by an employee for the employer's failure to maintain a safe workplace. In many jurisdictions, if The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cites an employer for maintaining an unsafe workplace, the employee may also be subject to OSHA files. Those violations may also be evidence used against the employer to establish proof that the employee did indeed maintain an unsafe workplace.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and from Virginia to California, the traffic safety community has a simple message for drivers: One Text or Call could Wreck it All.


Workers' Compensation Court will be challenged to deal with injuries caused by distracted driving especially as employers come on board and ban their use while driving and Federal Regulations prohibit such use.

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