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1 January 2005
Can your company
hear me now?
Cell phones can put your company
at risk
By Terry Riley
 Do you carry a cell phone when you travel? I'm guessing you do. I do.
And why not? They are great little devices that give us near-instant access to
assistance almost wherever we go.
But there are times—lots of times—when you should avoid making or
receiving calls on your cell phone: Specifically, when you are behind the
wheel.
I have been waiting patiently on the sidelines thinking I wouldn't
have to wade into the debate over using a cell phone while driving.
However, after
nearly being mowed down last week by a guy talking on his cell phone
while driving, I can wait no longer.
This is one topic on which I can truly speak as an expert. My doctoral
dissertation was on the topic of human attention, and although I did the
research over three decades ago, the ability of people to split their
attention between tasks hasn't evolved a scintilla.
The chief problem with using your cell phone while driving is not
dialing the numbers or holding the phone (though those activities can
contribute to unsafe driving). No, the overriding problem is dividing your
attention between carrying on a conversation with someone removed from
your traffic environment and safely operating a speeding mass of metal.
Studies show pretty convincingly that factors affecting driving
performance are more significantly degraded while talking on a cell phone
than while listening to the radio or while talking to others in the car.
So without getting into the details of those studies—which any plaintiff's
attorney can easily find—suffice it to say that companies that do not have policies
which prohibit employees
from making or receiving business calls while driving are opening
themselves up to
liability risk.
Perhaps it will take some driver (a female teenage driver is a
likely candidate) to fly through a school zone and wipe out a half dozen
kids while talking to her friend (who is also on her cell phone driving in
another part of town). Then maybe do-nothing legislatures will finally
open their eyes to the science that is foretelling of the danger of using
cell phones while driving, and they will do something.
In the meantime, if you are a trial lawyer, give me a call. There may be big money just
waiting to be had from head-in-the-sand companies with no cell phone use rules in
place. I smell big bucks.
© 2005 Applied Psychology
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