Driving without distractions – why risk a wreck?
By TransCore 3sixty Carrier Blog
Everyone agrees that it is dangerous to drive while talking or texting on cell phones. Carriers must do their best to reduce the temptation for drivers to use handheld devices. But many dispatchers rely on these technologies to stay in touch with drivers.

Carriers can eliminate routine check calls and reduce driver distractions by installing satellite-powered truck location and tracking solutions in the cab. Dispatchers know the location of every truck in the fleet, without calling the driver. Drivers can view written directions and other important information when the truck is parked safely.

Satellite-based tracking and communications solutions such as TransCore’s CabLink™ enable carriers to save time, improve productivity and conserve fuel, with accurate, actionable reports. CabLink tracks each truck’s location and monitors route, mileage, speed, RPMs, and other key indicators. Best of all, CabLink confirms that every message has been received, so drivers are not obliged to answer the phone or reply to text messages while driving.

Carriers who rely on cell phones for driver communications are constrained by laws that ban the use of handheld phones while driving in six states. A bill was submitted to the U.S. Senate in October, to ban text messaging by drivers nationwide. As the issue of distracted driving has received significant attention in recent months, more legislation can be expected.

In September, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood convened a Distracted Driving Summit, where he cited these grim statistics: “On any given day in 2008, more than 800,000 vehicles were driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone,” he said. “Every single time someone takes their eyes or their focus off the road - even for just a few seconds - they put their lives and the lives of others in danger,” Secretary LaHood continued. “Distracted driving is unsafe, irresponsible and in a split second, its consequences can be devastating.”

LaHood estimated that crashes involving distracted drivers led to nearly 6,000 deaths and more than 500,000 injuries in 2008 alone. Handheld cell phones were observed in use by 6% of drivers across the country, with almost as many using hands-free devices, as revealed in a separate report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA.)

Happily, “large-truck drivers had the smallest percentage of total drivers involved in fatal crashes that were reported as distraction-related,” according to the Traffic Safety Facts research study published in September by the NHTSA. FMCSA is now researching driver distractions among drivers of commercial trucks and buses, in a study that began in September and will continue through June 2010. 

To stay in touch with drivers while minimizing distractions, consider CabLink.

 http://news.3sixty.transcore.com/blogs/carrier