The mobile phone has revolutionised the way we communicate. It has not only permeated every facet of our lives — work, personal and social — but has brought them together into the one space. And because our mobiles are always within arm’s reach, they have the potential to impact everything we do, including our ability to drive a car safely. Using a mobile phone while driving is a growing and concerning behaviour for organisations. There is a large body of road safety research that shows mobile phones can be a distraction and have the capacity to divert a driver’s attention away from the road. And the evidence is clear: taking your eyes o? the road poses the most dangerous and greatest risk when driving a vehicle. Organisations have a responsibility to provide their employees with a safe working environment, which also extends to when they are driving vehicles. Therefore it is critical that processes are put in place to ensure that the demands of an organisation’s operations are not a catalyst for employees to use mobile phones illegally or in an unsafe manner. This document will help organisations answer the following questions: * Why implement a Mobile Phone Use Policy?; * What evidence is there on mobile phone use while driving?; * What’s the risk to employees?; * What is the risk to an organisation?; * Why invest the time in developing a Mobile Phone Use Policy?; and * How does an organisation successfully develop a Mobile Phone Use Policy? (Author/publisher)
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