At a glance
- No specific OSHA standard covers this topic. Federal guidance: CDC/NIOSH, Distracted Driving at Work.
- About 5 minutes: read the script out loud, then ask the three questions.
- Free PDF: the script, the questions, the rule and a 20-line sign-in sheet. No account, no email.
Read this to your crew
Today's talk is about a hazard that follows us off the jobsite: the drive. To the site, to the supply house, between jobs, home after a long shift. According to NIOSH, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the United States.
Distraction comes in three kinds. Visual: eyes off the road, reading a text or looking at a map. Manual: hands off the wheel, reaching for a drink or a phone. Cognitive: mind off the road, a heated call or an argument with a passenger. A phone in your hand does all three at once, which is why it is the one we talk about.
Here is what I am asking of everyone who drives for this crew. Phone down before the truck moves. If you need to call, text or look up directions, pull over somewhere safe and park first. Set the GPS before you leave. If a call comes in, let it ring; whoever is calling can wait the few minutes it takes to pull over.
Hands-free is not a free pass. A hands-free call still takes your mind off the road, and that is why the CDC's workplace guidance recommends banning hands-free calls in company vehicles too.
Other distractions count: eating, adjusting the radio, paperwork on the passenger seat, a dog loose in the cab. Fatigue after a long shift slows your reactions too, so if you are nodding off, pull over and stop.
Passengers have a job. If the driver picks up the phone, say something. If you are calling someone you know is driving, hang up and call later. And nobody on this crew gets in trouble for missing a call because they were driving.
Three questions for the crew
- What pulls your attention away from the road most often?
Listen for: Honest answers: the phone, the GPS, food, calls from the office. Each one gets a fix: set it before you go, or pull over. - What do you do when the office or a client calls while you are driving?
Listen for: Let it ring, pull over safely, call back. The supervisor confirms that nobody is expected to answer while driving. - What would you say to a coworker texting at the wheel?
Listen for: Something short and direct. Passengers are expected to speak up.
Is there an OSHA rule on distracted driving?
No specific OSHA standard covers this topic. Federal OSHA has no rule on phone use behind the wheel, and this talk adds no obligation.
The guidance comes from the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: ban all phone use while driving a company vehicle, including texting, handheld and hands-free use, and the use of company-issued phones while driving personal vehicles; have workers pull over safely to look up directions, text, or make or take a call; and prepare workers before the policy starts, with an acknowledgment that they understand it.
Drivers of commercial motor vehicles answer to separate Department of Transportation rules, and states have their own laws on phone use while driving; check the rules of each state you drive in.
What are the three kinds of driver distraction?
| Kind | What it takes away | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Visual | Eyes off the road | Reading a text, looking up directions, rubbernecking |
| Manual | Hands off the wheel | Reaching for something in the cab, holding a phone |
| Cognitive | Mind off driving | Talking on the phone, arguing with a passenger |
Source: CDC/NIOSH, Distracted Driving at Work.