May 23, 2012

Driver Cell Phone Use Increasingly a Concern for Employers, ZoomSafer Study Says

The number of commercial fleet operators that have adopted written policies pertaining to employee use of cell phones while driving on-the-job has increased 29% in the past year — from 62% to 80% — according to the second annual survey conducted by ZoomSafer of more than 900 transportation and fleet professionals.

Although more companies are taking steps to enforce written cell phone use policies, confidence in current enforcement methods is dropping. Only 26% are “very confident” that current enforcement methods are sufficient to modify driver behavior.

The survey finds that the number of companies claiming to enforce their established cell phone use policies increased 62% in the past 12 months, from 53% in 2011 to 86% in 2012, a finding which suggests that commercial fleet operators are reacting to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) new rule prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from using hand-held mobile phones while driving.

Other findings include:

• Efforts to enforce written cell phone use policies have increased: 86% of companies with a documented cell phone use policy now take steps to enforce their policy. This represents a 62% increase from 2011, when only 53% reported making any effort to enforce compliance.
• Interest in cell phone compliance technology continues to grow: 80% of respondents say that managing driver compliance with cell phone use policies is “more important” or “equally important” when compared to monitoring hard braking, rapid acceleration and speeding. Further, 26% of respondents report that their companies plan to evaluate phone-based software, cell phone use analytics or in-vehicle cameras within the next 12 months to help manage compliance with documented policies.

“The year-over-year results of our survey show that fleet operators increasingly recognize the serious risks associated with employee use of mobile phones while driving,” said ZoomSafer CEO Matt Howard. “Further, the survey results suggest that employers will to do more than adopt written policies; they will also begin to evaluate technology solutions to measure and manage compliance with cell phone use policies.”

The survey has a margin of error of +/- 4% with a confidence of 90%. To download the full survey analysis, please visit: http://zoomsafer.com/2012-distracted-driving-survey-results.