INDEPENDENCE, MO - Driver safety organization Drive by Example has launched the Drive by Example Corporate Protection Program, a national driver safety initiative designed to help businesses and corporations address the serious risk and liability issues created by employee cell phone and smart phone use while driving on the job.

The new employee training and education program is designed for easy integration by human resource managers as an enhancement to existing corporate wellness programs.

"Recent multi-million-dollar judgments against corporations whose employees killed or injured other drivers and/or their passengers, while using cell phones, have forced companies to come to terms with the new universe of risk created by employee on-the-job distracted driving," said Douglas R. Horn, corporate protection consultant and founder of Drive by Example. "To mitigate this new universe of risk, we have developed and implemented a comprehensive program, which enables businesses and corporations to effortlessly inject driver safety into their corporate wellness environment in keeping with their use of best practices."

In an effort to limit risk and liability, Horn said that many companies have proactively enacted policies, procedures and protocols aimed at governing employee cell phone use, but such policies, although well intentioned, often do not produce the desired results.

"Issuing a policy to regulate cell phone use but then failing to reinforce that policy with a comprehensive and sustained driver safety program not only will likely prove ineffective in changing employee behavior on the highway, it may actually heighten corporate liability should a distracted employee cause an accident," Horn said. "In such cases the company is admitting it recognized employee distracted driving was a problem, but it chose not to take further steps to ensure distracted driving did not take place."

Horn said the Drive by Example program is designed to interact with employees through Lunch 'n' Learn programs, email alerts and by presence at corporate events, including company picnics and fairs. 

"The Drive by Example message is branded and reinforced on an ongoing basis through signage and displays, internal and external corporate communications, and a variety of other awareness initiatives," Horn said.

Horn said the Drive by Example Corporate Protection Program offers the flexibility necessary to effectively assist companies of any type or size -- from locally based businesses with a single office, to national enterprises with sales, delivery and service personnel in all 50 states. 

"Our mission is to keep driving safety high on the agenda of the business or corporation and to make the existing company cell phone policies more effective," Horn said. 

Horn said despite company policies and new state and federal laws, the demand for ever-increasing business productivity will act as a continual temptation for employees to multitask using cell phones and smart phones while driving.

"A comprehensive drivers’ education program, such as the one developed by Drive by Example, is a smart way for any business to enhance its corporate wellness objectives while effectively limiting the risks and liabilities created by employee distracted driving."

Drive by Example is a driver safety organization dedicated to promoting driver safety awareness, integrating driver safety into the corporate and business environment and keeping driver safety high on the public agenda.

Founded by corporate protection consultant and distracted driving expert Douglas R. Horn, Drive by Example’s primary objective is to advance driver safety by encouraging drivers to model the habits and behaviors that protect themselves, their passengers and others on the roadway.

Through Drive by Example, Horn develops and implements driver safety initiatives for a variety of corporations and other organizations, including schools, parent groups, safety advocates and community leaders.