New State Distracted Driving Laws Could Impact Employee Driving Policies
Author: Ashley Shaw, XpertHR Legal Editor
With the rise of texting-related accidents, texting and driving has become a hot topic lately; and more and more states are adding distracted driving laws or adding on to current laws on the subject. Recently, Alabama, Ohio, and California have passed laws regarding distracted driving, which could affect employers who have staff who spend any amount of time driving for work-related purposes.
Ohio's law, which will begin on August 31, 2012, will ban drivers for texting while driving. Alabama has created a similar law that began earlier this month. Employer driving policies in these states might need to be updated to reflect these new laws.
On the other hand, California has taken a step off from their former position on texting and driving. In a new law signed last month, which will take effect on January 1, 2013, Californians will be allowed to text as long as they are using a hands-free, voice activated system.
Texting while driving has long been a potentially finable concern of OSHA, so even without state texting bans, or even under California's new law, employers might want to consider implementing workplace bans on texting or handheld phone use for work-related drivers.
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