Error parsing XSLT file: \xslt\FacebookOpenGraph.xslt Graham Hurdle's blog: 29 November 2012 - US naming and shaming - could it work here?
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Graham Hurdle's blog: 29 November 2012 - US naming and shaming - could it work here?

Date: 29 November 2012

Graham Hurdle is managing director of E-Training World

If you haven't yet seen the YouTube footage it's incredible to see Shena Hardin's driving.

She was caught by police in America driving on a sidewalk to avoid a school bus that was loading and unloading kids.

But perhaps most interesting is her punishment. She's been ordered by a judge to wear a sign marked 'Only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.'

The unflattering declaration is punishment for a third degree misdemeanor for the dangerous stunt which was captured on video by a shocked bus driver. She has also had her licence suspended for 30 days.

This made me wonder if such a naming and shaming tactic would work in the UK corporate sector.

Perhaps a poster on every company notice board with photos of drivers caught using their mobile phones at the wheel, or a badge that has to be worn by drivers who have lazily reversed into a post in the car park and caused expensive, and needless, damage to their company vehicle.

I'm sure many fleet managers out there would welcome the idea - especially if they are weighed down with the arduous task of processing invoices for minor vehicle damage or finding drivers being stopped by police for breaking the law, and the company's clearly written policy, on mobile phone usage.

But is it a realistic punishment or does it actually belittle road safety to treat people like children?

It's fine to make a child stand in the corner and face the wall but can we really see a finance director complying?

And has this action in America made people fearful of the law, or has it turned the whole episode into a bit of a laugh and another reason to voyeuristically watch some sensational YouTube footage?

I personally fear the latter. The idiot sign overshadows the severity of this lady's actions and the very lenient punishment. After all, a child could have been killed.

Yet I still can't deny that if at an annual company conference, where the managing director is reporting on results and performance, that if there was a slot naming the drivers who had flouted the law through their own reckless driving, it may put a shiver through the bones of those who still think it's OK to phone, text or drive at excessive speeds whilst in their company vehicle.

The problem is that its unlikely to happen as we worry far too much about upsetting people.

Perhaps more than we do about the lives of the people these drivers are threatening.

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