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The ExxonMobil Cell Phone Initiative 

A Global Road Safety Project

August, 2004

Eddie Wren, of Drive and Stay Alive, talked to Lauren Kerr, spokesperson for ExxonMobil, to find out more.

She told us ExxonMobil employees and contractors driving on company business collectively cover 1.5 million miles per day -- a lot of driving. 

"Because numerous studies have found that drivers talking on cell phones are at substantially greater risk of becoming involved in vehicle accidents," said Lauren, "we engaged in a lively internal debate on whether a cell phone policy would truly help to reduce risk and improve safety. As ExxonMobil has a strong science and research base we asked some of our scientists to do a thorough study of the available research on the topic. 

"The results were compelling. 

"In nine studies on the effects of cell-phone use on driving, researchers found that talking on a cell phone significantly degrades driving performance." 

These are some of ExxonMobil's findings: 

• Talking on a cell phone, regardless of whether the phone is hands-free, results in a braking response time that is three times longer than that of drunk drivers. 

• The relative risk of an accident while talking on a cell phone is similar to that of driving with a blood alcohol level at the legal limit. 

• Drivers talking on cell phones change lanes and weave through traffic without full awareness of their surroundings and are less likely to maintain safe following distances. 

• Overall awareness of potential hazards and situations is reduced by cell phone conversations. The risk is less severe in conversations with passengers in the vehicle because those conversations tend to ebb and flow according to traffic conditions. The person on the other end of a cell phone conversation is completely unaware of those conditions. 

The full ExxonMobil study is available on the US National Safety Council's website -- www.nsc.org

Lauren than said: "With mobile phone use increasing globally we felt that we needed to put some requirements in place for the good of our employees and the communities in which we operate. We've communicated the new procedures via email newsletters, our intranet site and in face-to-face employee meetings. We've also encouraged our employees and contractors to take the message home to their loved ones, as well, because of the severity of the impairments that talking on a cell phone causes. 

"Employees are not required to turn off their cell phones while driving but are expected to allow incoming calls to be answered by voicemail and to wait for a safe stopping place before making outgoing calls or checking messages. 

"Safety and productivity are both important at ExxonMobil - and 99 percent of the time drivers can find a safe place to pull over and return a call within five or ten minutes of receiving it."

END

Source: Exxon Mobil Corporation

Related information:

• Study Finds "Inattention Blindness" in Behind-the-Wheel Cell Phone Users

• Does Cell Phone Conversation Impair Driving Performance?

• The Risk of Using a Mobile Phone While Driving (RoSPA, UK)

• Cell Phone Use and Traffic Accidents, Revisited

• Cell Phones and Driving Research Bibliography, 1997-2004, NSC

Also:

          Stopping Distances  (Drive and Stay Alive)

          Following Distances (Drive and Stay Alive)

          International Road Safety in the News