The National Safety Council is a global leader in motor vehicle safety. This reputation has been earned through our leadership in Defensive Driving, our advocacy for transportation and highway safety, and our commitment to establishing and following best practices that make driving safer.
As employees of NSC, we must embrace safe driving practices and hold ourselves to a higher safety standard while driving or riding in motor vehicles. Safe driving practices include adherence to all traffic laws, using safety belts and maintaining focus by limiting distractions, including those caused by the use of cell phones and other mobile electronic devices.
Since the NSC originated the concept of defensive driving more than 40 years ago, studies have consistently shown that graduates of defensive driving courses are safer drivers. As a result, we are requiring that NSC employees successfully complete an NSC Defensive Driving Course (DDC) every three years. In addition, we will be offering our on-line DDC to employees’ family members free of charge.
Of increasing concern to the National Safety Council and other traffic safety advocates is the proliferation of mobile electronics. Numerous studies have demonstrated how the use of cell phones and other wireless devices while driving pose a significant safety risk to motorists, their passengers and others on the road. In fact, scientific studies have shown that cell phone use while driving increases the risk of being in a crash 4 to 5 times.
Other studies have compared the risk of slower reaction times caused by cell phone use to those of driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08, which would constitute a drunk driving violation in all 50 states. Researchers have also found that hands-free devices do not remove this risk because they do not reduce the distraction associated with a cell phone conversation. Studies show that the level of attention blindness during a cell phone conversation is the same with hand-held and hands-free devices.
Accordingly, the attached policy requires that NSC employees refrain from taking these life-threatening risks while on the job
In addition, NSC employees are encouraged to adopt safe driving practices whenever behind the wheel, and to extend the encouragement of safe driving practices to family members and friends.
When driving, NSC employees are encouraged to:
•Turn off wireless phones or other devices before starting the car. If a call must be made while on the road, signal your intentions to pull over, pull off to a safe place, put the vehicle in “Park,” and then make the call.
•Modify your voice mail greeting to indicate that you are unavailable to answer calls or return messages while driving.
•If appropriate, inform your clients, associates and business partners of this NSC policy as an explanation of why calls may not be returned immediately.
•Do not make any adjustments to a Global Positioning System (GPS) or other navigation devices while driving. If you must adjust a GPS, pull over to a safe place and put the vehicle in “Park.”