1. Emily Gartland and Debra Ferris GSA Fleet Safety and National Safety Council
Brief intro- who we are, what our organizations do
Today we’ll give you facts about the problem, help you understand why it’s important to You personally, and send you out to be ambassadors for the solutions
July 13, 2010
This presentation was made in collaboration with the National Safety Council

2. Embrace Life
This presentation was made in collaboration with the National Safety Council

3. Crashes are No Accident
6,420,000 auto crashes in the United States in a year
98% of crashes are caused by human error
Every...5…seconds.. a car crash occurs

4. Costly in Dollars $230 Billion dollars annually in the US
The average company pays $740 for every employee each year in off-the job injuries including coast associated with absenteeism, health care and productivity and unscheduled work interruptions

5. Costly in Lives
115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States
- one death every 13 minutes.
Leading cause of death ages 1-44
Driving is your most dangerous daily activity- treat it that way

6. Top Six Human Driver Errors
Failure to wear a seatbelt
Excessive speeding
Distraction/inattentiveness - eating, drinking, smoking, radio, cell phone..
Incorrect assumptions about other drivers
Tailgating/not leaving enough space between vehicles
Not checking traffic before pulling out or crossing lanes
Seatbelt- you are 25 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured when thrown clear into the air
50% of people who die in motor vehicle crashes could have been saved had they worn a seatbelt
Driver distraction is one out of 6 we have here, but it’s one we need to focus on because of the growing danger of driver distractions
According to the Trauma Society, distracted driving is a national epidemic that killed more than 6,000 people in 2008

7. Three Types of Driver Distraction
Visual – eyes off the road
Crash risk up to 1.5x
Mechanical – hands off the wheel
Crash risk up to 1.6x
Cognitive – mind off driving
Higher risk due to brain overload and selective attention.

8. Combining Distractions
Combination of visual and mechanical
Crash risk up to 3.8x
Combinations of visual, mechanical and cognitive
Generally highest risks 3x-23x
Reading 3.4x
Reaching for a moving object 8.8x
Turning around in seat 8.8x
Texting 8-23x
Cell phone conversations 4x

9. Distraction Risk vs. Duration
Most are low risk - eating, drinking, listening to radio, passengers
High frequency and duration
Some are higher risk - reading, putting on makeup, reaching for something
Infrequent or for short durations
Cell phone use causes the most crashes since it’s high risk and a lot of people are doing it for an extended period of time.

10. Cell Phones: A Distraction Like No Other
Talking on cell phones increases crash risk 4x
More than 100 million people are talking while driving
11% of all drivers at any moment
Result: 1.4 million crashes/year
(25% of all crashes)
are caused by cell phone use.
©National Safety Council 2010 10

11. Brain Overload The parietal activation associated with driving
National Safety Council
Brain Overload
The parietal activation associated with driving
decreases by 37% with sentence listening.
Brain imaging scientists liken this to plugging in an iron and a hairdryer at the same time, causing brownout.
Cell Phone Use While Driving 11

12. Inattention Blindness
National Safety Council
Inattention Blindness
What a driver in a simulator saw when
not using a phone.
What the same driver saw while on a phone conversation.
Cell Phone Use While Driving 12

13. Frame of vision of drivers not using a phone.
National Safety Council
TUNNEL
VISION
Frame of vision of drivers not using a phone.
Frame of vision of same drivers during phone conversations.
Cell Phone Use While Driving 13

14. No Such Thing as “Multitasking”
National Safety Council
No Such Thing as “Multitasking”
Driving and talking on a phone requires the brain to
switch back and forth between these tasks.
There is a “reaction-time switching cost”
One task “primary” and the other “secondary.”
When driving is a secondary task for the brain, driving becomes impaired.
Cell Phone Use While Driving 14

15. Hands-free Devices do not Reduce the Risk
National Safety Council
Hands-free Devices do not Reduce the Risk
23 studies reported negative effects of cell phone use on handheld phones. (Horrey & Wickens, 2006)
33 studies found effects in reaction time, speed, headway and lateral lane position, for hands-free phones. (Caird, et al., 2008)
Cell Phone Use While Driving 15

16. Isn’t it just as dangerous talking to a passenger?
FAQ
Isn’t it just as dangerous talking to a passenger?
With a passenger:
You can rely on many non-verbal cues to understand the other person
Passengers can see your driving environment
Passengers can serve as an additional lookout for hazards
As a result, passengers actually reduce crash risk for adult drivers
– not true for novice teen drivers

17. Texting while Driving
Texting while driving = 6 times more likely to result in an accident than
driving while intoxicated
Texting while driving brings eyes off the
road an average of 4.6 out of 6 seconds
At 55 MPH, one would travel the length of
a football field, including the end zones,
without looking at the road

18. Executive Order 13513 October 1, 2009
FEDERAL LEADERSHIP ON REDUCING TEXT MESSAGING WHILE DRIVING
Prohibits federal employees from texting behind the wheel while working or while using government vehicles and communications devices

20. Solutions to Change Behavior
New policies and laws and strong, visible enforcement of those laws.
Cell phone bans in organizations to reduce work-related risks.
Development of technologies to prevent calls and messages from being sent or received from moving vehicles.
Widespread education to change social acceptance.
Make it meaningful to each individual
©National Safety Council 2010 20

21. Implement Enforced Policy (or Exposed to Liability)
Dykes Industries: $20.9 million
International Paper: $5.2 million
State of Hawaii: $2.5 million
Dykes Industries of Little Rock, Ark., lost a $20.9 million personal injury suit in which its employee was using a cell phone when involved in a crash
An International Paper company employee was using her company-supplied cell phone when she rear-ended a vehicle driven by another woman, resulting in a crash that cost the company $5.2 million
The State of Hawaii agreed to pay $2.5 million as its share of liability in an accident involving a state employee who was talking on her cell phone when she hit a tourist
©National Safety Council 2010 21

22. Technology Solutions Cellcontrol
OBD trigger device, commercially available
Key2Safe Driving
An in car device that wirelessly connects with a cell phone through Bluetooth
iZup (Illume Software)
Launching soon, handset solution
Zoom Safer
Downloadable app currently available for RIM devices.
Try Safety First
A chip in phones similar to V chip in Televisions
Guardian Angel
Announced in April 2009
Jamming technology – FCC challenges
DriveAssist (Aegis Mobility)
Wireless network solution using GPS and WiFi
Partnered with Nationwide Insurance

23. Providing Education Increase understanding of the research
Parents educate teens.
Organizations & leaders educate employees.
Peer-to-peer viral strategies for teens.
Wireless industry reach customers and public.
Legislators enact laws.
Develop strategies to change the culture and make it socially unacceptable to use a cell phone while driving.
Use emotion and personal stories.

25. What this means to you personally
If all the people in the cars around you were your loved ones, how would that change the way you drive?
Everyone in the cars around you is somebody’s loved one- let’s look out for each other.

26. We all Have a Story..
Sept 27, 2009, Randy and 3 friends decided to take a motorcycle day-trip.
They rode most of the day thru Virginia and southern Maryland, stopping for lunch on Solomon Island.
Toward the end of the trip, as they neared each members home, they dropped off of the group, Randy was the last, and headed home alone.
After he exited the interstate near his home, while approaching a green light at an intersection, he saw a car coming from the right that wasn't going to stop.
He began slowing and steering to avoid a collision, and altered his path to pass behind the vehicle.
What he didn't count on, was the driver, after realizing her error, performing a U-turn in the center of the 4-lane intersection to avoid hitting other cars...
That maneuver put her vehicle directly back into the path of Randy on his motorcycle....there wasn't enough time to make another correction to avoid the car.
The crash sent Randy flying over the handlebars of his motorcycle, and over the car that he struck broadside.
He suffered a severely broken right hand, a dislocated left thumb, a shattered left tibia plateau (knee), and broken left fibula just below the knee.
Only 2 months before, he and his wife had celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary, fortunately them, they were able to celebrate their 28th this month.
The cost, $182, in medical bills, $14, for the motorcycle. 3 months off work recuperating, and countless hours of physical therapy.
Intangible costs include lost productivity at work, the mental strain on the family and friends, and his son having to retake a college course because he was at his fathers bedside at the hospital, and missed an exam.
May 9, year old Chad Wood a popular student and talented baseball and football star at Belleville East High School, in Belleville Illinois was looking forward to graduation in two weeks. While driving to school on a rain slick road in his 1998 Ford Mustang he went off the road into a deep ditch, hit a telephone pole, and died as a result of injuries. Witnesses following him stated they saw a deer run across the road in front of him. Several factors left his parents (Ray & Penny Wood) with a list of what ifs: What if he had worn his seat belt? The lack of external injuries, indicate there may have been a secondary collision of internal body organs. The air bag deployed but lack of restraint allowed him to be thrown around inside the car. What if he had traveled another 30 feet? He would have hit a guard rail that would have surely damaged the car, but he would have walked away? What if he had hit the deer instead of swerving? It is an unnatural reaction, but hitting the deer would have saved his life. This nightmare left his parents and older brother and sisters devastated. Unfortunately, around Mother’s day every year they are reminded of this horrible moment in their life.

27. No call is worth a life. Bailey, Merideth, Hannah, Sara and Katie
Cady, 16
Erica, 9
Jean and Jay, 58
No call is worth a life.
Jason, 38
Lauren, 17
Matt, 25
Frances, 13
Jordan, 18

28. What You Can Do Don’t talk on the phone or text while driving
Enact a policy covering your employees
Support legislation to enact bans on cell phone use while driving
Implement life-saving technology for yourself, workplace, and families
Educate people you care about
©National Safety Council 2010 28 28

29. Questions for Us?