Texting while driving? Think again

  • Published
  • By Erin Tindell
  • Public Affairs
DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. --  Effective Oct. 1 all federal employees, including Airmen and Civilians here at Dobbins, are prohibited from text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or while driving on official business.

The move comes more than three years after the Air Force implemented a policy to prevent drivers from talking on their cell phones while driving unless they used a hands-free device such as a Bluetooth connection.

In an executive order President Obama signed Oct. 1 he states, "With nearly 3 million civilian employees, the Federal Government should demonstrate leadership in reducing the dangers of text messaging while driving."

The executive order goes on to say the ban "will help save lives, reduce injuries and set an example for State and local governments, private employers and individual drivers."

According to Ron Durant, Ground Safety Chief with the 94th Safety Office, "Operating a vehicle is a full-time job. Text messaging is a distraction, as it causes drivers to take their eyes off the road and at least one hand off the steering wheel, a danger to themselves and others."

There is also data available that shows cell phone use, whether talking or texting, approximates the same slowed reaction times that occurs with drunk drivers, said Lt. Col. Walther Koelln, 94th Safety Office chief.

In 2006, a University of Utah study found that motorists who talked on either a handheld or hands-free cell phone drove slightly slower than when they weren't using a cell phone, were 9 percent slower to hit the brakes and were 19 percent slower to resume normal speed after braking and were more likely to crash. Motorists who drove at the 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level almost had identical statistics.

"I think it is important to make that connection," said Colonel Koelln. "We don't tolerate drunk driving and for the same reasons we shouldn't tolerate cell phone driving or texting while driving."

While Dobbins doesn't have an official base policy on the texting ban yet, employees are still encouraged to not text while driving. An inclusive policy is underway on both using a hands-free cell phone and the texting policy.