On May 24, 2010, Kansas Senate Bill 300 was signed into law. The new law prohibits drivers from writing, sending, or reading a text message while driving. The ban on text messaging goes into effect on January 1, 2011. The fine for violation of the new law is $60.

People who send text messages while driving are three times more likely to crash than other drivers, and distracted driving accounts for 80% of all accidents, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study.

Kansas employers should adopt and consistently enforce a written policy prohibiting violation of Kansas’s no-texting law. This policy should put employees on notice that the entity takes the new law seriously and requires compliance. Also, it should give the employer greater latitude to discipline or terminate an employee who violates the policy. Perhaps most significantly, a policy could protect the employer from liability should an employee, while driving for company business, injure someone as a result of conduct prohibited by the law. A written and consistently enforced no-texting-while-driving policy would give the employer a stronger argument that any accident, injury, or death caused by an employee while texting was in violation of company policy and, therefore, occurred outside the scope of employment.

To not only protect your employees from harming themselves or others, but also to offer some liability protection in the case of an accident, employers should implement a policy which prohibits texting or surfing the web while driving. This requires three steps:

1. Prohibit the use of texting devices while driving. Spell it out in a written policy in your employee handbook.
2. Train your employees. Include instructions to either turn off their devices or prevent them from receiving messages until drivers pull over.
3. Enforce your policy. Having a policy but ignoring it can be worse than having no policy at all. Spell out disciplinary measures violators will suffer, and make sure employees understand the consequences of violating the policy.

If you would like assistance in drafting a policy for your entity, please contact Dave Lunzmann with Lewis, Hooper & Dick, LLC at (620) 275-9267.

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