Posted on 01/05/2006 4:10:11 PM PST by SandRat
WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2006 – Defense Department installations have begun implementing new cell phone restrictions for drivers on military bases. The new regulation, published in the Federal Register in April 2005, states that anyone driving a motor vehicle on a DoD installation cannot use a cell phone unless the vehicle is safely parked or the driver is using a hands-free device.
Many installations already have implemented the new restrictions, and the rest will implement the rules on their own schedule, said John Seibert, assistant for safety, health and fire protection for DoD. There is no deadline for installations to implement the restrictions, Seibert said, but he expects most will do so this year.
"We have not issued an implementation schedule," he said. "But it's definitely getting everyone's attention."
The law enforcement policy offices for each military department are putting together policies and procedures for the implementation and enforcement of the restrictions, Seibert said. He explained that this regulation is a minimum requirement, and installation commanders still have the authority to put stricter rules in place. Each installation will determine the punishment for violation of the rules, he said.
As the installations implement the restrictions, they have a responsibility to notify the public by putting up signs or putting notices in base newspapers, Seibert said. Many installations are allowing a grace period in which motorists in violation of the rule will be warned and not ticketed.
This regulation was developed based on information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which studied driving distractions as the cause of motor vehicle accidents, Seibert said. The study found that cell phone use is the fastest growing and most visible distraction that leads to accidents, he said.
The DoD regulation follows suit with many regulations that states and cities have already imposed. Currently only Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and the District of Columbia ban hand-held cell phones for drivers, but many cities have imposed their own rules, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
"We are in front of the majority, but we certainly are not the first ones to do this," Seibert said.
This cell phone regulation will increase traffic safety on installations, Seibert said, but more importantly, it will encourage safe driving habits.
"Our intent is that this will drive an increased attention to the importance of safe driving and that we'll see a change in driving behavior, both on military installations and off," he said.
...about damned time.
The NHTSA needs to be cut off at the knees. The NFPA can go to hell to.
At any rate, I hate talking on my cell while driving particularly since I drive a stick shift but it never fails that once I pass the front gates my cell rings with a call from a fellow shipmate asking me to let everyone know he's running a little late this morning.
> The study found that cell phone use is the fastest growing
> and most visible distraction that leads to accidents, ...
But as I understand it, there's no appreciable decline in
the accident rate if the driver is celling hands-free.
Makes me wonder if this isn't a cover for some other reason
to restrict cell driving on base.
I would think the main reason is for security, with bombs being detonated in London and elsewhere by cell phones.
Personally, I would like to see cell phones banned entirely. They are a nuisance and the ultimate in rude behavior, with people receiving calls in churches, restaurants, concerts, and mostly users don't watch where they are driving.
Last week, sitting in a Food Lion parking lot, I counted 16 out of 20 drivers using their phones. Most were oblivious to their surroundings.
But as I understand it, there's no appreciable decline in
the accident rate if the driver is celling hands-free.
I don't know how it is in Florida, but bizarre new rules appear in Yokosuka every day. At Yoko, I use my personal cell to contact people in the shipyards, SRF, Family Support Center, and just about everything else I need to do professionally on the base. There's only one phone line off my ship, and it's usually being used. Having a cell to get all of those important little things done is just a lot easier.
A few months ago, I had one of the Chief's Mess Loungers (you know, the ones that never come out of the mess for any reason short of complete disaster) approach me out on deck and ask me for my cell phone. Figuring he needed to make a call, I fished it out of my pocket and handed it to him, only to have him tell me he was confiscating it because using a cell phone on the ship was "unprofessional." For those not in the know, "unprofessional" is a code word meaning "there's no rule against it, but I personally don't like it."
Turn out he was full of it. I had to go through the CMC to get my phone back, and even then it took two days and the massed complaints of everyone the Lounger confiscated cell phones from.
Also, the City of Chicago passed such an ordinance just this year. It gave me the excuse to buy a bluetooth device for my Treo. ;-)
As an addition, it is also banned using cell phone off base (excluding hands free headphone unit. I wonder if use of headphones are accepted on-base as well) during driving. If the police off base finds you using it, they could ticket you, or at least rip off some of your points from the military personnel driver's license card (However, I don't really know the penalties for violations of law off base applied on military personnel driver's license today).
I've been on a number of military bases, and they all have tons of these silly sort of nanny rules. Makes our big tough military look like a bunch of delicate-flower ninnies.
There should be an exception for people with ADD, since they can do lots of things at the same time and still be alert for the import things going on around them.
It's been like that in Ft. Campbell, KY since last Spring
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.