The entire month of April has been designated as a time to educate everyone about the dangers and risks of distracted driving. The problem of distracted driving continues to lead to traffic fatalities, accounting for 8.5 percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2019.
The theme for distracted driving awareness month in 2021 is simple: U Drive. U Text. U Pay.
This effort is aimed at all drivers on the road today, including those who drive professionally. Everyone needs to be more mindful of their activities behind the wheel, where their focus is while driving, and the power of the vehicles they are driving to do harm to other people and property.
Department of Transportation Rules and Regulations
DOT has very specific rules in place to promote an end to distracted driving among commercial motor vehicle drivers. Among the requirements set forth in these regulations include the following:
- Drivers cannot test while driving.
- Drivers are prohibited from reading or typing text messages while driving CMVs.
- Drivers may only use mobile phones while driving if they use an earpiece of the speakerphone function, if the driver can operate the phone while properly restrained in his or her vehicle, and the phone features a voice-activated or one-button feature for initiating, answering, and terminating calls.
PeakPTT Push-to-talk two-way radios are not mobile phones. However, they offer an opportunity for trucking companies and fleets to comply with Department of Transportation Regulations related to distracted driving while helping your entire organization step up its communications game.
Because you can initiate, terminate, and answer calls with the push of a single button when using push-to-talk two-way radios, these are a perfect solution for fleets that need to stay in touch while on the road.
In addition to raising distracted driving awareness, there has been a concerted effort on the part of safety organizations, insurance companies, and government agencies to apply harsher penalties and heftier fines to commercial entities that do not comply with distracted driving policies and regulations.
Since push-to-talk two-way radios are fully compliant with DOT standards, using them for your organization keeps everyone in the know without risking costly DOT fines that could cost your business thousands of dollars each year otherwise.
Peak PTT can help your business celebrate distracted driving awareness month all year by creating a communication system for your organization that is compliant with all current distracted driving regulations. This means you can move forward with an eye on safety without sacrificing productivity in the process.
Contact us here at Peak PTT to learn more. Call: 855-600-6161