As of September 1st 2017, in Texas, you can only use a cell phone while driving if you have a hands free device.
It is against XPAT policy to send or receive phone calls or texts while the vehicle is moving.
Be honest. When was the last time you texted while driving? Just like all the other bad things that can get us in trouble, we all do it, and we know it’s wrong!
Texting while driving facts:
- You keep your eyes OFF the road for 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds. At 55 mph, you just covered more than a football field without looking at the road.
- You have a reaction time WORSE than someone with a 0.08 blood alcohol content. That means a drunk has a better reaction time than you do.
- 9 people a day, (over 3,200 a year), DIE from injuries due to texting while driving and over 1,000 people a day, (over 365,000 a year), are injured.
- Texting drivers are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash than non-texting drivers.
- Texting while driving is 6 times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated.
- Texting while driving is the leading cause of death among teenagers.
No one is advocating driving while intoxicated, in fact we all know it’s wrong and do everything in our power to prevent it. But as a passenger in a vehicle, why do we allow the driver to text and/or be distracted with phone calls?
If you need help breaking the habit of texting while driving, there is an app to help you.
DriveSafe.ly is an app for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone. There is both a free version and a paid version for personal use.
XPAT Fleet Safety Policy is “No texting while driving”. If you need to text, pull the vehicle safely off the road and then text. Same goes for talking on your cell phone. Distracted driving is just that …..DISTRACTED DRIVING. People think that using “hands free” devices keeps them from being distracted, when in truth it does not. This is why companies like Conoco Phillips have banned “hands free” devices on all their locations.
Conclusion:
Texting while driving is dangerous and is against XPAT company policy. Save your life, your passengers lives, and the lives of the other folks on the road and DON’T TEXT & DRIVE.