Distraction-Free Driving
During Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, let’s work together to create safer roads. Get free resources from the National Safety Council and work to strengthen your safety culture through education and training.
Due Diligence
Review your company-wide safe driving policy during a team meeting or implement a new policy as part of your commitment to reduce crashes involving employees and their family members.
- Need help getting started? Use this free safe driving policy
Lead by example: Never use drive time to catch up on phone calls, even using a hands-free device. The cognitive overload of engaging in a phone conversation can impact your ability to focus on the road. Be sure to discuss the three primary types of driver distraction and how to avoid them:
- Eyes off the road (looking at a screen to locate nearby takeout options)
- Hands off the wheel (eating or personal grooming)
- Mind off driving (mental distractions, often caused by stress or fatigue)
Texting is especially dangerous because it combines all three types of distraction – and texting while driving is illegal in 48 states, including Ohio. At 55 mph, looking at a phone for just five seconds is like driving the length of a football field blindfolded.
For workers who drive as part of their job, whether occasionally or every day, the risks increase. Busy schedules and tight deadlines can cause distraction and tempt you to multitask. Even just a quick glance at a screen can have lasting consequences. What if you miss an exit or stop sign? What if you’re unable to quickly react to a driver suddenly braking right in front of you?
Safe driving is more than a personal choice. At work, safe driving is a professional responsibility. Each trip reflects your organization’s values and commitment to protecting employees, their families and the people living in the communities you serve.
Set Expectations
Small changes in driver behavior can make big differences in safety. Share these tips:
- Silence or stow your phone; use this free tutorial to ensure everyone on your team knows how to set their phone to Do Not Disturb before driving
- Set GPS, climate controls and playlists before starting the car
- Avoid eating or drinking behind the wheel
- Pull over safely if you need to make a call or send a message
- Stay mentally present – stop for a break if you’re stressed, rushed or fatigued
- Speak up as a passenger if the driver becomes distracted
Go the Extra Mile
Enhance your safety initiatives with these free tools:
- Assign employees to take our free distracted driving course (search the catalog); use the group delivery function in our new learning management system to track completions
- Take the Distracted Driving Myth vs. Fact Quiz
- Encourage everyone at your location to take the NSC Just Drive Pledge by incentivizing participation
- Download and display infographics and safety posters from our Safe Driving Toolkit to raise awareness of safety risks
Creating a distraction-free culture starts at work, but the results can be far-reaching. When employers lead with expectations, education and engagement, employees are more likely to bring safe behaviors home and share them with the people they love.
Science Project
Join us Thursday, April 16, for a FREE online webinar: Your Brain on Distraction – The Science Every Driver Shoulder Know.
What You Can Expect
Many people think they can handle quick tasks while driving – like checking a message, adjusting the GPS or grabbing something to eat. But science shows the brain can only focus on one thinking task at a time. When we try to multitask, our attention drops, our reaction time slows and we miss important things on the road.
In this webinar, National Safety Council Program Manager April Ramos will explain in simple terms how the brain works while driving and why even short distractions make crashes more likely.
You will learn:
- How distraction slows reaction time and makes it harder to notice hazards
- The difference between visual, manual and cognitive distraction and why all three are risky
- Why multitasking behind the wheel doesn’t work, even if you feel “focused”
- Simple steps anyone can use to stay more focused and reduce distraction
This session is helpful for anyone who drives – and anyone who supports safe driving at work or at home. Register to attend now.
Tracy Talk
National Safety Council Program Manager Tracy LeMaire will introduce the 2026 Ohio Employer Traffic Safety Award winners during a luncheon at noon Tuesday, May 19, at the Ohio Traffic Safety Summit.
During a brief presentation, Tracy also will speak about the vital yet often overlooked role employers can play in traffic safety. She will showcase a variety of FREE resources provided by Our Driving Concern in its Safe Driving Toolkit. The toolkit is intended to help Ohio employers and safety leaders address two statewide focus areas – distracted driving and seat belt use – through ongoing education and training efforts.
Finally, Tracy will steer attendees to FREE online learning options made available through Our Driving Concern’s new learning management system. The system is designed to make it easy for users to access and complete traffic safety training courses. By taking advantage of the group-delivery format, workplace supervisors and managers can assign courses to employees and track completions.
Be sure to make plans now to attend the Ohio Traffic Safety Summit and hear Tracy speak! The Summit is May 19-20 at the Ohio Union on the campus of The Ohio State University, 1739 N. High St., Columbus. Registration is free.
It’s a Date – for Safety!
April 20, commonly known by many as 420, is widely associated with increased marijuana use. For safety leaders, this presents a timely opportunity to remind employees and community members about the very real dangers of driving while impaired.
Why Marijuana and Driving Don’t Mix
Marijuana affects the body in ways that directly undermine safe driving. Research shows cannabis use can:
- Slow reaction time
- Impair judgment of time and distance
- Reduce coordination and control over the central nervous system
- Affect hand‑eye coordination
- Hinder a driver’s ability to maintain lane position
These impairments make responding to changing traffic conditions difficult, a critical requirement for safe driving.
According to a U.S. Department of Transportation trauma‑center study, 56% of drivers involved in serious injury or fatal crashes tested positive for at least one drug. Driving while impaired by any substance – alcohol, marijuana, opioids, methamphetamines or even certain prescription and over‑the‑counter medications – is illegal in all 50 states and puts everyone on the road at risk.
Empowering You
Take advantage of free Workplace Impairment Training – available in person or online. This training helps supervisors and employees understand:
- How impairment affects workplace and roadway safety
- Factors and situations that cause impairment
- Common signs and symptoms to watch for
- Appropriate steps to take when impairment is observed
- How impairment impacts productivity and a company’s bottom line
- Resources to help address impairment in your workplace
Participants engage with realistic scenarios to recognize all types of impairment, including fatigue, mental distress, over‑the‑counter medication misuse and alcohol or other drugs.
Use tools in our new learning management system to train your entire team. Assign free driver safety courses, track team‑wide progress and build a culture of safety.
One featured course highlights how prescription drugs, cannabis, over-the-counter medications, stress and fatigue can all impair reaction time, focus and judgment.
Get free resources from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to share timely safety messages on your social media channels and create engagement in the community where your team works and lives.
Your Objective
Help employees make safer choices, protect one another and prevent impaired-driving crashes.