The Definition of Distracted Driving

Definition of Distracted Driving

Distracted driving is driving while attention is diverted from the driving task to something else. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) treats distraction as a form of inattention and includes not only phone use but also eating and drinking, talking with passengers and adjusting the radio, climate or navigation controls.

For employers, distracted driving is a workplace hazard whenever employees drive for work, whether they operate commercial trucks, service vans, company cars or their own vehicles on company business. NHTSA reported that 3,275 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2023. Because a vehicle can be a worker's main workplace, distraction belongs in every vehicle safety program and driver policy.

How Distracted Driving Happens

Types of Distraction

• Visual: Taking eyes off the road, for example to read a message or look at a delivery app.
• Manual: Taking hands off the wheel, for example to hold a phone, eat or reach for an object.
• Cognitive: Taking the mind off driving, for example during a stressful phone call or while thinking through the next job.

Texting and handling a phone are especially dangerous because they combine all three types at once. Hands-free calls remove the manual element but can still create cognitive distraction.

Work-Related Drivers of Distraction

• Dispatch pressure: Expectations to answer calls or accept jobs immediately encourage phone use while moving.
• In-cab technology: Navigation screens, electronic logging devices and job apps can draw attention away from the road.
• Tight schedules: Eating, paperwork or planning done while driving to save time.
• Fatigue: Tired drivers lose focus more easily, which ties distraction to shift work fatigue.

Regulations and Standards

FMCSA Rules for Commercial Drivers

For drivers of commercial motor vehicles, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules ban two specific behaviors:

• Texting, 49 CFR 392.80: Drivers may not text while driving, and motor carriers may not allow or require their drivers to do so.
• Hand-held phones, 49 CFR 392.82: Drivers may not use a hand-held mobile telephone while driving, and motor carriers may not allow or require it. Under FMCSA definitions, this includes holding a phone, dialing by pressing more than a single button, or reaching for a phone in a way that takes the driver out of a normal seated, belted position.
• When the rules apply: "Driving" includes being temporarily stopped in traffic or at a light. It does not include being pulled off the road and safely parked.
• Emergency exception: Both rules allow use when needed to contact law enforcement or emergency services.
• Disqualification: Violations count as serious traffic violations for CDL holders under 49 CFR Part 383, and repeat violations can lead to loss of driving privileges.

State Laws and Employer Duties

State and local laws on phone use vary, and many states ban hand-held phone use for all drivers. There is no OSHA standard for distracted driving, but employers have a general duty to protect workers from recognized serious hazards. An employer policy or practice that requires or expects employees to text or handle phones while driving can create legal and safety risk.

Good Practices for Preventing Distracted Driving

• Write a clear policy: Ban texting and hand-held phone use while driving for all employees driving for work, and explain whether hands-free calls are allowed.
• Remove the pressure: Tell dispatchers and managers not to call drivers who are moving, and make it acceptable to respond later or after pulling over.
• Set up before moving: Have drivers program navigation, review job details and secure loose items before starting the trip.
• Plan trips: Use journey management to build in breaks and realistic travel times.
• Use data carefully:Vehicle telematics and driver-facing cameras can flag harsh braking and phone handling for coaching, when used transparently.
• Check in safely: Schedule any check-ins for lone or mobile workers at stops, not while driving.
• Lead by example: Leaders who never call or text drivers on the road send the strongest message.

Example of Distracted Driving

A home services company noticed several minor rear-end collisions involving its technicians over six months. Reviews showed a pattern: technicians were reading and replying to job updates on their phones while stopped in traffic and then pulling away without looking up. Dispatchers routinely expected a reply within a few minutes.

The company updated its driving policy to ban phone handling while the vehicle is in traffic, including at red lights. It changed dispatch practice so job updates are sent but not expected to be read until the technician is parked, and it installed phone mounts with automatic driving modes. Supervisors reviewed the changes in team meetings, and the collisions stopped over the following quarter.

Frequently Asked Questions: Distracted Driving

Is hands-free phone use safe while driving?

Hands-free use avoids manual distraction and is allowed for CDL drivers under FMCSA rules, but conversations can still cause cognitive distraction. Many employers limit calls to short, necessary ones or ban them entirely.

Can a motor carrier be penalized if its drivers text?

Yes. 49 CFR 392.80 and 392.82 prohibit motor carriers from allowing or requiring drivers to text or use hand-held phones while driving a commercial motor vehicle.

Does stopping at a red light count as driving?

Under the FMCSA rules, yes. Being temporarily stopped in traffic or at a traffic control device is still driving. Drivers must pull off the road and park safely before using a hand-held phone.

What counts as distracted driving besides phones?

Eating, drinking, grooming, talking with passengers, reaching for objects, adjusting controls and being lost in thought all count, because they pull attention away from the road.