Do you have phones you are not using?
If you have phones that you will not be using for a period of time, call the RPA Group helpdesk (866-433-6687) or email to have your phones put on standby.
In an effort to help you save additional dollars, let us help you put your phones on standby. There is a nominal fee involved per month, rather than the full rate. Your contract for that phone will be suspended for the time that phone is on standby, but the savings make if very worth while. There are other possible solutions that your helpdesk representative can help you with, if you want to know more, give us a call.
Six months is the maximum time Sprint will allow for standby, at which point you will start being charged the normal rate plan.
If you place a phone on standby, please let us know when you receive the notification from Sprint that this has been done.
Mobile phones and driving: not a good mix
Is your company at risk?
The controversial subject of how cell phone use may contribute to motor vehicle accidents has received a lot of attention recently. Most studies agree that cell phone use does, in fact, contribute to accidents. The question is not whether it’s a factor, but how much of one.
The cost to your company of a vehicle-related accident could be enormous. In addition to the vehicle repair costs, there is also potential liability and lost hours due to employee injury and recovery.
A 1997 American study1 and a 2005 Australian study2 found that the risk of collision when using a cell phone was four times higher than when not using a cell phone. A 2003 study3 by the University of Utah Psychology department concluded that cell phone drivers showed greater impairment than intoxicated drivers.
In response, many states and municipalities have implemented legislation making it illegal to use a cell phone while driving. The Governor’s Highway Safety Association maintains a list here of the different laws in each state, which change frequently.
Company Policy
Regardless of the legality in your state, it’s a good idea to prepare a company policy on cell phone use, and to make sure your employees are following it. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Provide remote employees with hands-free equipment. While not a guarantee of safety, hands-free kits do reduce the distraction.
- Post notices in company vehicles that remind the driver of his primary responsibility- arriving safely at their destination. Employees should not be penalized or reprimanded for not answering their phones while driving.
- Forward calls to voicemail or another number. Establish a policy of turning cell phones off while driving, and instruct the driver to let calls go to voice mail, or set the calls to ring to another number.
- Let your caller know you’re driving. If you must take a call while driving, tell the caller that you may need to abruptly stop the conversation to pay attention to the road. Don’t think twice about dropping the phone and grabbing the steering wheel if you need to.
- Don’t dial while driving. Some studies show that dialing is twice as distracting as talking.
For more information, and to stay current on legislation in your state, visit the following web sites:
- http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html
- http://www.aaafoundation.org/resources/index.cfm?
button=cellphone
References
- "An Investigation of the Safety Implications of Wireless Communications in Vehicles". National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 1997. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/wireless/.
- Redelmeier, Donald; Tibshirani, Robert (February 1300, 1997). "ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CELLULAR-TELEPHONE CALLS AND MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISIONS" (PDF). The New England Journal of Medicine 336 (7): 453–458. doi:10.1056/NEJM199702133360701. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-13/driver-distraction/PDF/5.PDF.
- Strayer, David; Drews, Frank; Crouch, Dennis (2003) (PDF), FATAL DISTRACTION? A COMPARISON OF THE CELL-PHONE DRIVER AND THE DRUNK DRIVER, University of Utah Department of Psychology
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50% Off Hands-Free Headset
Regularly $39.00, we are offering the Jabra C500 Hands-Free Headset for $19.50 for a limited time only.
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