Cell Phone driving ban by employers doesn't reduce productivity

Employees Embrace Cellphone Driving Ban

Employees feel talking on the phone while driving makes them more productive. In reality, this myth is false as discovered from a one year ban of the practice by AMEC, the international project management and engineering services company.

A new Canadian survey conducted by the Mustel Group on behalf of AMEC found that 46% of respondents believed that productivity is affected if workers are banned from using cell phones while driving. However, 90 per cent of the respondents stated that talking on a cell phone impacts a person's ability to drive safely.

"The findings of the survey demonstrate the conflict that people face in trying to ensure they are meeting all the demands placed on their harried and busy lives," said Evi Mustel, President of the Mustel Group. "They know that safety is paramount but they'd like to meet the demands placed on them at work."

The findings of the Mustel survey are in contrast to what AMEC found when it polled its employees this September. What made the results of AMEC's employee survey more significant was the fact that it marks the one year anniversary of an internal AMEC corporate policy prohibiting employees from using wireless devices while driving during work.

AMEC surveyed its employees across North America and found that more than 95 per cent of respondents did not experience a decrease in productivity as a result of the ban during work hours.

"We were pleasantly surprised to see that what we found was the opposite from the Mustel survey," says AMEC's Michael Jolliffe, Vice President, Government Relations and Communications, Oakville, ON. "Our employees did not feel that the cell phone ban affected their productivity."

When AMEC first told employees that they had to turn off their cell phones, pagers and PDAs before getting into their cars, they received a lot of mixed feedback. However, over the course of the year, the company found that the policy has been favourably received by employees.

"When I was first told about the cell phone ban I was skeptical," said AMEC's Terry Knysh, P.Eng., General Manager, Stony Plain, AB. "Once I consciously stopped using the cell phone while driving during work hours I became more aware of the hazards and started seeing a correlation between poor driving habits and cell phone usage. Now, I rarely use my cell phone while driving at anytime."

Following the positive feedback and the success of the cell phone ban with its employees, AMEC is prepared to share its model with other companies. "This is all about safety and the research shows that in practice, AMEC's cell phone ban could be a model for other companies across North America," says Jolliffe. "This policy reinforces our commitment to ensuring we create the safest possible work environment for our most valuable asset - AMEC employees."

The AMEC employee survey also reported that more than 97% of respondents agreed that talking on a cell phone impacts a person's ability to drive safely. 96 percent felt that responsible companies should discourage employee use of wireless communications devices while driving. Furthermore, 83% of respondents said that they have reduced or quit using wireless communications devices while driving outside of work hours.

Not only are corporations focusing on safe driving, but yesterday Oakville Member of Provincial Parliament Kevin Flynn introduced a Private Member's Bill in the Ontario Legislature to limit the use of portable equipment by novice drivers, including cell phones.


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