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.
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