Use of Cell Phones (including texting) is Prohibited While Driving College Vehicles Or While You are Driving on College Business.
College Policy: If the driver must use a cell phone while driving on College Business, or while driving a College owned vehicle, s/he must stop safely, secure the vehicle and then make or take the call. There are NO exceptions, including hands-free phones. This applies to everyone: employees, students and volunteers.
There are a few basic reasons for this policy:
(1) your personal safety;
(2) the safety of others on the road – drivers and pedestrians; and
(3) the College can be held liable for your accident.
There are two dangers associated with driving and cell phone use. First, drivers must take their eyes off the road while dialing or texting. Second, people can become so absorbed in their conversations that their ability to concentrate on the act of driving is severely impaired, jeopardizing the safety of vehicle occupants and pedestrians. Since the first law was passed in New York in 2001 banning hand-held cell phone use while driving, there has been debate as to the exact nature and degree of hazard. At first safety experts focused on the problem as part of the larger one of driver distractions in general. These can include anything that reduces driver concentration on road hazards from drinking coffee to talking with another passenger. Now there is increasing evidence that the dangers associated with cell-phone use outweigh those of other distractions. Safety experts also acknowledge that the hazard posed by cell phone conversations is not eliminated, and may even be increased, by the use of hands-free sets.
Recent Developments and Studies
- In a 2009 study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute researchers found that collisions are 20 times greater when drivers were texting while driving. The study found that texting takes a driver’s eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds, long enough to blindly travel the length of a football field at 55 mph.
- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that Rhode Island has joined 18 other states in banning text messaging by all drivers effective November 9th, 2009. Many other states have instituted fines if drivers are caught texting or emailing behind the wheel.
- 25 persons were killed including the train engineer and 135 injured in a 2008 train accident in Chatsworth, California. The train engineer of the Metrolink commuter train #111 crashed into a Pacific Union freight train. The collision was primarily caused by the engineer running a red light because he was texting while driving.
- In a 2008 study conducted by the Clemson University Psychology Department, researchers found that text messaging while driving is more dangerous than talking on the phone. Using a simulated test, they found motorists who are texting and using iPods while driving leave their lanes at least 10 percent more often than other drivers.
- Texting while driving is now categorized as a national hazard. One solution being raised is the Alert Drivers Act of 2009 where states are required to implement federally set minimum penalties for texting while driving or forfeit 25 percent of their highway financing according to a September 2009 publication in the New York Times.
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