Cell phone use restricted in state vehicles

Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration has scrapped a plan that would have banned all cellphone use for state employees driving government-owned vehicles, after several agencies complained it would have hurt productivity. 
Instead, the General Services Department will continue to allow workers driving state vehicles to talk via hands-free devices, but will bar such drivers from texting, typing or reading emails while behind the wheel. 
The proposed ban on cellphone use while driving was one of 48 new rules for state vehicle usage rolled out by the General Services Department in October. Other proposed rule changes included stricter oversight of fuel credit cards, the requirement that the Governor’s Office must sign off on any out-of-state trips and language that would explicitly bar employees from using state vehicles for personal reasons. 
A total of 221 accidents in state-owned vehicles occurred during the most recently completed fiscal year, though the agency said it’s unclear how many of those involved cellphone use.


Share/Bookmark

0 comments:

Post a Comment