ZoomSafer released a survey today showing that 32 percent of companies have knowledge or evidence of on-the-job crashes that have occurred as a result of distractions stemming from employee use of cell phones while driving.

The first annual survey by the company, which provides software to promote the safe, legal and handsfree use of mobile phones while driving, polled 500 business managers in North America. The study was designed to gauge corporate attitudes and best-practices pertaining to distracted driving.

Overall findings indicate rapidly growing concern among corporate managers about distracted driving risks and liability. Results show that 62 percent of companies have adopted written policies prohibiting employees from using a mobile phone while driving for company business. The survey also reveals that while many companies have adopted written cell phone driving policies, only about half (53 percent) make any attempt to enforce compliance.

Among companies that do enforce compliance, the survey found that 61 percent rely on post-incident disciplinary measures, and only two percent currently utilize technology to proactively measure and manage employee compliance.

Other important findings include:

• 32 percent of companies have knowledge or evidence of vehicle crashes that occurred as a result of distractions stemming from employee use of cell phones while driving. Also, 50 percent of companies with more than 500 drivers have knowledge or evidence of such crashes.
• 7.6 percent of companies have faced plaintiff's litigation resulting from damages alleged to have occurred as a result of employee use of cell phones while driving. For companies with more than 5,000 drivers the same statistic is 37 percent.
• 62 percent of companies have implemented a written cell phone use policy. Long haul trucking and local trucking were the most likely to have a written cell phone policy (71 percent and 83 percent respectively) while home and business services were least likely (less than 50 percent).
• 53 percent of companies with a defined cell phone policy claim to enforce the policy in some manner. Interestingly, 25 percent of respondents who claimed to have a policy declined to answer how such policies were enforced. For companies who did answer the policy enforcement question, 61 percent said they utilized “post incident” employee discipline to enforce compliance.

“The fact that so many companies are telling employees to put the phone down while driving is encouraging from a policy perspective; however, from a practical perspective, it's simply not enough to change behavior,” said CEO Matt Howard. “To truly change behavior and fully protect themselves from liability, companies must actively measure and enforce employee compliance.”

National opinion polls invariably show that most drivers believe using a cell phone while driving is dangerous. However, many also admit they regularly talk or text while behind the wheel. At any time, 11 percent of all drivers are using cell phones, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The National Safety Council estimates more than one out of every four motor vehicle crashes involves cell phone use.