Earlier this week, the Automobile Club of Southern California announced that texting by drivers in the Golden State that has nearly doubled since the introduction of a state law nineteen months ago designed to prevent distracted driving. The SoCal Auto Club first suggested that texting behind the wheel appeared to be increasing, not decreasing, back in April.

Graph of citations issued by CHPBased on the agenda for the second national Distracted Driving Summit, scheduled for next Tuesday, September 21, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., the news from California was likely not a surprise to officials at the U.S. Department of Transportation, who are exploring ways for employers to contribute in the effort to combat distracted driving. Among the speakers joining Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at the summit will be his colleague, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who will address distracted driving as an issue of occupational safety.

AAA’s new study adds to an increasing body of evidence that texting behind the wheel remains a serious, and growing, challenge to road safety. For example, the Pew Internet & American Life Project released the results of a study that found nearly 50% of adults who text admit to having done so while driving.

“The AAA Southern California report combined with recent research from Fresno State University, Pew and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety highlights the complex nature of the distracted driving problem and questions the effectiveness of current laws. Further, this important data reinforces the need for corporate America to proactively adopt technology that promotes safety and protects companies from risk and liability stemming from employee use of mobile phones while behind the wheel of a car,” said Matt Howard, CEO of ZoomSafer.

Innovations in technology provide employers with a simple way to more effectively engage wtih the distracted driving problem, without sacrificing the productivity gained by mobilizing their workforce. “As a leading provider of wireless fleet management services, we understand the important role that technology plays to help modify human driving behavior,” said Keith Schneider, president and CEO of Networkfleet. “We’re excited to integrate ZoomSafer with our telematics solution so our customers can simultaneously monitor and manage fleet vehicles while promoting safe, legal and responsible use of mobile phones.”

Some employers have been quick to take advantage of tech innovations to help manage employee cell phone use. Bob Stanton, Director of Polk County Fleet Management, saw adding policy enforcement software as a simple way to enhance existing fleet safety standards. “We are committed to improving safety here at Polk County. When we learned about ZoomSafer’s ability to prevent distracted driving, we knew it was something we wanted to try. Their integration with our existing Networkfleet telematics system made the decision even easier.”

Added Keith Lucier, Director of Network Support at Florida-based Girard Environmental, “We are very concerned about the dangers of distracted driving. When we found ZoomSafer software, we knew we had to implement it. We use it with success on all of our corporate-issued phones to prevent distracted driving.”

I’m excited to announce that ZoomSafer team members will be exhibiting at the Distracted Driving Summit next week. I hope all of our fellow attendees take the opportunity to visit us in Booth #17 for a live demonstration of our innovative safe driving software.

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