Employer Group Supports Workplace Distracted Driving Policies

A news release from the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) said traffic crashes are the leading cause of death and injury in the workplace and, according to results of a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cost Americans more than $99 billion in lost productivity and medical costs each year.

“The most effective way to modify driving behavior is by combining policy, education and enforcement,” said Bill Windsor, NETS Chairman, in the news release. “Employers are in a unique position to apply all three of these key elements to influence behavior and reduce the occurrence of distracted driving in the workplace.” NETS is a public-private partnership made up of private employers and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

According to the news release, in addition to the Drive Safely Work Week campaign, NETS conducts the annual Strength in Numbers Fleet Safety Benchmark Study. The 2009 study, based on a combined U.S. fleet of 191,669 passenger vehicles, found that a total ban on mobile phone use while driving was a common attribute of the companies with the best fleet-safety performance.

More information about the group is at http://trafficsafety.org/.