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Hard-charging business people don’t like to waste time. They feel compelled to multitask. Put them behind the wheel of a car, and they can’t resist the temptation to grab the cell phone.

You need to ask yourself whether that’s really a wise investment of time for yourself or your employees.

Last week, The New York Times reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “decided not to make public hundreds of pages of research and warnings about the use of phones by drivers – in part, officials say, because of concerns about angering Congress.”

Two alarm bells ring in those few words. One is that we can’t rely on the government to protect us, because the government runs on money, not morality. The other is that we have plenty of research warning us not to phone and drive.

The Times story quotes Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, as saying, “We’re looking at a problem that could be as bad as drunk driving.”

He means that literally. “Research shows that motorists talking on a phone are four times as likely to crash as other drivers,” the Times reported, “and are as likely to cause an accident as someone with a .08 blood alcohol content.”

Does that sound like a good way to transact business?

The Iowa Legislature looked at five bills related to this situation last winter but didn’t enact any of them into law. But laws aren’t going to resolve this matter anyway.

Drivers are likely to flout a law, but they might listen if their company managers make it clear: We understand that you want to get as much done as quickly as possible during your work day, but we can’t afford the risk of cellphone distraction. Driving while distracted is not only a danger to you and other drivers, but also to the best interests of our company.

After all, when employees are good at making things happen on the telephone, you want them to return safely to the phone on their desk after every trip.