Fleets refocus on safety of drivers

REGION

Fumbling with a cell phone to talk with or text someone while steering a fully loaded service van through city streets bustling with people and cars can cause an accident, something companies with fleet vehicles want to avoid.

Transportation trade groups, states, cities and even the U.S. Department of Transportation have taken hard stances against distracted driving in recent years. That gives more companies pause to think about how they can comply with such regulations without breaking the bank.

Some companies said they've been out in front of the issue for months and years, using technology and clear policy to keep fleet drivers safe on the road.

New laws, such as Maryland's ban on cell phone use while driving and the potential forasimilar law in Pennsylvania, shouldn't affect drivers or business despite the proliferation of computers and other technologyin today's fleets, companies said.

Pennsylvania American Water Co., the Deny Township, Dauphin County-based water and waste-treatment company, in August 2009 adopted a policy that bans use of cell phones and computers while driving, spokesman Terry Maenza said.

The firm keeps tabs on changes to state and local regulations, he said. But for the most part distracted driving shouldn't be a problem for Pennsylvania American Water because its driver training stresses safety, he said.

"Technology is only going to get more advanced and sophisticated," Maenza said. "You're only going to have more opportunity to be distracted, and that justmeansyouhave an opportunity to train people to be safer."

The focus on avoiding distracted driving could be viewed as a constraint on technologies that make companies more efficient. But a benefit of technology is that it can help companies overcome distractions and limitations, executives said.

Lancaster-based Triangle Communications Inc. has 11 trucks and cars its engineers and technicians drive around Central Pennsylvania to install and repair communication and security systems. The employees use computers and cell phones often, but stepping back a bit helped them work safer and more efficiently, President Roy Smoker said.

"We went back to using two-way radios," he said. "Cell phones are nice to talk to people, but we lost focus with them."

Today's radios are more sophisticated, too, he said. Encrypted radio frequencies allow the company to talk only with their drivers and limit the conversation to one or two of them, he said. But the option of talking to all drivers simultaneously allows the company to sort out which technicians are closest to emergency calls, saving time and gas, he said.

Radios also keep drivers from fumbling with smaller cell phones and dialing long numbers while driving, he said.

Professional-grade two-way radio systems can cost thousands of dollars, depending on brands, signal strength and range, features and the size of a company's fleet.

"It wasn't that we were saving that much more on cell-phone calls," Smokersaid. "It was just that it's safer, and everyone can react faster to situations."

For safety reasons, Mechanicsburg-based electrical contracting firm BBEC Inc. has had a distracted-driving policy for about 10 years, President Todd Duffie said. The company asks its drivers to stop beside the road before using a company phone to call the office or clients, he said.

The company provides cell phones for about 30 employees, so recent local laws banning their use while driving are a concern, Duffie said. If the state legislature went the same route and banned use of cell phones while driving, it could be a significant cost for BBEC, he said.

"It is a level of concern, because if guys will be able to use their phones, we'll have to buy hands-free devices," Duffie said.

Hands-free cell phone devices range in price from $30 to more than $130 retail for Bluetooth devices, depending on brands, phone compatibility and device sophistication.

Companies can find deals on hands-free devices from online retailers, such as Overstock.com, where the most basic earphone sets cost between $4 and $11. However, there's no guarantee on availability for larger quantities.

Depending on how important it is for a driver to be talking on a phone while out in the field, the investment might be worthwhile for some fleets, Duffie said.

BBEC also is considering whether it can afford to install GPS devices in its vehicles. They would help the company trackits vans and cars for driver safety, proximity to calls and for fuel usage.

But over time it's important to add technology to a fleet of vehicles to improve the safety and efficiency of a business, executives said. While it is prudent to avoid technology that clearly distracts drivers, companies need to watch for technology that can boost efficiency without compromising safety, they said.

"When it comes to safety, we don't view it through tinted glass," Duffie said. "Technology that will improve our driver's safety is usually worth the cost."

[Sidebar]

"When it comes to safety, we don't view it through tinted glass."

Todd Duffle, BBEC Inc.

[Author Affiliation]

BY JIM T. RYAN

jimr@journalpub.com