The government’s fight against distracted driving in order to prevent car crashes and thereby save lives keeps moving forward on both the state and federal level.
What is distracted driving? Distracted driving is whenever someone operating a motor vehicle is also talking on the phone, texting, or otherwise taking action that competes with the focus needed to drive their car, truck, or van.
Recently, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis and OSHA representative David Michaels announced new federal steps aimed at drivers who text while driving. OSHA will now be investigating and issuing citations and penalties against employers that are requiring their workers to text while driving.
The federal agency is also implementing a Distracted Driving education program, helping employers to create effective driving policies for their companies and educating younger employees, who text more than their older co-workers, with the dangers of distracted driving.
“It is imperative that employers eliminate financial and other incentives that encourage workers to text while driving,” said Secretary Solis. “It is well recognized that texting while driving dramatically increases the risk of a motor vehicle injury or fatality.”
