So much recent attention has been focused on distracted driving that even Oprah Winfrey has gotten in on the act.

Despite state and federal laws banning the use of hand-held communication devices while driving, risk and fleet managers are challenged to enforce policies that ban the use of wireless devices while driving.

Data showing the hazards of distracted driving does exist. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says nearly 6,000 people died and more than 500,000 were injured in 2008 crashes involving a distracted driver.

Further, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into a crash.

So far, seven states and the District of Columbia have banned hand-held devices while driving. In addition, 19 states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving. In January, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood imposed a federal ban on texting on commercial truck drivers.

The message has caught mainstream appeal, with Oprah Winfrey partnering with the Governors Highway Safety Assn. in an awareness campaign called “No Phone Zone,” which asks drivers to discontinue cell phone use while driving. She also hosted an April 30 show with interviews of government officials and families of victims of distracted driving crashes.

But in a business climate with people always on the go and emphasis on productivity, risk and fleet managers are relying on their drivers and employees to be responsible and not talk, text, check e-mail or surf the Internet while driving.

“You have to institute a policy that doesn't allow hand-held devices while driving,” said Nancy Bendickson, St. Paul, Minn.-based senior consultant with Chicago-based Aon Corp.'s global risk consultant group, who specializes in private fleets and nontrucking fleets. “Typically, fleet managers and risk managers are not going to find out a driver is using them until there is a crash. It's something that is difficult to monitor and companies are struggling with ways to do so.”

Her colleague, David Mitchell, director of risk control and safety management with Aon's trucking division in Little Rock, Ark., said voluntary driver cooperation is needed to make the policies work.

Many companies, including United Parcel Service of America Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., already have a broad, zero-tolerance policy on using cell phones and other hand-held wireless devices while driving. Fleet managers from both companies said that if drivers need to make a call, they should pull off the road, stop safely and then place it.

“We operate by the code of no distractions in the cab,” said Emilio Lopez, UPS fleet safety risk manager, who oversees about 102,000 drivers who drive 3.3 billion miles per year. “We comply with all federal and state rules when it comes to this.”

According to Verizon's policy, the New York company “prohibits the reviewing or sending e-mails, texts, videos, pictures, note-taking, checking calendars with wireless devices...to conduct Verizon business while driving regardless of whether it is a company-owned or personal device.” Verizon's policy notes that if a driver makes a call while driving, it must be on a hands-free device.

James Noble, senior risk engineering consultant for Schaumburg, Ill.-based insurer Zurich North America, co-authored a white paper, “Cell Phone Liability for Employers,” which states that having a cell phone policy in place helps reduce exposures and improves safety, but it is not a catchall.

“Unless the enforcement is strong enough, it is not likely to discourage drivers from using a cell phone while driving,” the white paper states. “The prudent practice for a company is to consider developing a cell phone use policy and implementing it uniformly in order to manage this risk proactively in their fleet operations.”

Dave Melton, director of transportation and technical consulting with the Boston-based Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, said in light of the information available about the dangers of distracted driving, the problem boils down to a “management and culture issue.”

“In service organizations especially,” Mr. Melton said, “they are required to perform at a certain level and maintain a certain level of productivity.” That could result in some drivers thinking that productivity during driving time is more important than observing company policy.