From Harford County government:
Revised policy affects both county and personal vehicles
(Bel Air, MD) – – Harford County Executive David R. Craig has announced the establishment of a policy affecting the use of wireless communication devices while driving. The policy restricts the use of cell phones and other wireless communication devices to those with a hands free headset to transmit or receive calls.
“Distractions to drivers, including the use of cell phones and wireless communication devices are a major cause of motor vehicle accidents,” remarked County Executive Craig. “Our goal is to reduce the potential for such accidents by restricting the use of these devices by county personnel who operate county vehicles or their personal vehicle while on county business,” stated the county executive.
As of October 1, 2009, it is a violation of Maryland State law to write or send a text message while driving. Additionally, in an effort to reduce the risk of property damage and personal injury by Harford County employees, the new county policy also prohibits the use of cell phones or other wireless communication devices while driving. When using a wireless communication device without a hands-free headset, the operator of the vehicle must move out of traffic to the shoulder of the road, and stop the vehicle before transmitting or answering a call.
Furthermore, the policy prohibits the use of wireless communication devices when refueling county vehicles or equipment or in the vicinity of the fueling process.
“Safety is our goal and to that extent we believe this policy will enhance the safety of both of employees and citizens we serve by reducing the potential for accidents” stated County Executive Craig.
The wireless communication policy is one of several policies that have been developed or revised by Harford County Government recently under the direction of the Director of Administration to improve efficiency of Harford County Government operations.
i drive my own car for county events and community meetings, if i chose to use my vehicle, i’d like to see them fire me for using my cell phone while i am driving.
As long as it is not during work hours or you are not applying for reimbursement of any of these travel expenses or writing any of it off of your taxes, I agree.
phil,
this policy is nothing but a headline grabber. I don’t even bother to submitt an expense report, because it is time consuming..it asks you ten questions just to get $2.00 back and you have to wait 2 weeks to get it. In addition, the county depends on me to use my vehicle, because they don’t have enough cars in my dept to service the workload and if I need a car I have to fill out another form (shocker!!!) and reserve the darn thing two weeks prior to needing it. That is fine, but sometimes you need to be somewhere with less than 2 days notice, so reservating the vehicle is not very practical.
If they really cared about safety they would service their vehicles much sooner than they do…some of them are not safe, and my car is kept safe at all times. I take my life and others in my hands when using some county vehicles!!!, but somehow using my cell phone in my car while working for the county is now unsafe?
No, it’s always been unsafe.
I agree that talking while driving can be distracting at times. i don’t do it often, nor will the policy really change my behavior anyway, just talking about a policy that is made to grab headlines and paint the county as thinking safety first, when i don’t think that you can really correlate if you knew the state of the county fleet.
Regardless, this is something that’s almost impossible to enforce
Why is it that this policy has just been enforced, do to cell phones, and other wireless communication devices, such as GPS systems?
Why are the things considered different than changing a radio station, searching through your satelite radio, lookining for a cd to put in your stereo, or more so these days, going through your I-Pod to choose music to listen to.
Let’s not also forget even the simpler things, such as looking for your auto window button to turn down your window, changing the heat or AC temporature or choosing the settings. How about eating or even opening or drinking a soda while your driving, or getting and lighting up a cigarette.
EVERYTHING that requires the use of our hands and/or our eyes, such as, staring at a car crash while driving a vehicle is just as dangerous.
You are correct.
In the United Kingdom it has always been illegal to eat or drink while driving, and since 1984 it has been illegal to use a cell phone without hands free equipment.
I served as a traffic cop in England for a few years, and you would be amazed at how many accidents are caused by this nature of distraction.
It would be nice if they told us where to report those not following this policy. And do police fall under this?? I have been in this county over 5yrs now and nearly everytime I see a cop driving down the road, they have a phone stuck to their ear.
The day after the state made txting illegal I saw the Delta/Cardiff ambulance driving down 165 and the driver had his cell phone in his hands on the top of the wheel, while he was driving half on the road and half on the shoulder. What is that, trying to drum up clients??