Whilst the focus of most public awareness campaigns and legislation has revolved around the issue of Distracted Driving, it seems that the Dept. of Transportation is going to widen the net to address the problem of “Distracted Operating”.

We have blogged previously about cases where Airline pilots, boat crew and train drivers have been involved in distraction related incidents – some causing fatalities – and Ray Lahood’s department is now looking to introduce legislation that specifically addresses such incidents.

The NHTSA and NTSB hope to influence public opinion about distracted operating in the same way as has been done with drink driving and distracted driving. Their approach would involve a combination of public education, regulation, and commitment from transportation companies to create and enforce policies against distracted operating.

Any effort on behalf of government to address this issue is to be applauded, and employers should ensure they have appropriate policies and technologies in place to meet potential legislation. The U.S. coastguard and Northwest airlines are among various bodies that have policies relating to distracted operating – but the real problem lies in finding a suitable way to enforce such policies.

Blank-IT helps your business enforce policies covering computer use in vehicles of all types, by disabling or limiting computer functionality when movement is detected. Blank-IT doesn’t rely on GPS or other 3rd party input, is easily installed and can be calibrated to suit different working environments.