Columbia Alderman-at-Large Edward Hough
By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher
Columbia Alderman-at-Large Edward Hough wants to add language to the city employee handbook regarding driving while talking on a cell phone.
Hough said city employees should be prohibited from talking on a cell phone while driving a city vehicle. Hough spoke about the proposed cell phone policy this afternoon after a Board of Aldermen work session on the city employee handbook. The aldermen are going through the handbook doing housekeeping work on the 21-year-old document. When the handbook was created in 1989, cell phones were rare.
Updating the entire handbook is expected to take months, and sometime during the process, Hough said he will try to get the cell phone rules added. He does not know if he will be successful, noting that he needs support from his fellow aldermen.
During his time in office, Hough said he has seen city employees driving city vehicles while talking on a cell phone. There are private companies that prohibit their employees from talking on a cell phone while driving a company vehicle, Hough noted.
City employees should pull over to the side of the road if they need to take a cell phone call or just not answer, Hough said, adding that it is proven that driving and talking on a cell phone at the same time is a dangerous practice. Hough does not know at this time what the punishment should be for violating the cell phone rule if it is added to the handbook.
I hope the other Aldermen will support Hough in this issue.
A policy long overdue.
Kudos to Hough.
City employees be banned from cellphone use while in motion the question will ALL employees will follow it espcially the PD. Why stop with city employees and pass a ordinance for the whole city.
City employees be banned from cellphone use while in motion the question will ALL employees will follow it especially the PD. Why stop with city employees they need to pass a ordinance for the whole city.
i see the POPO do this all the time and most of the city workers can hardly drive when not on the phone
I know that sometimes the police officers in all counties not just Marion discuss sensitive info over cell phones instead of over there radio.
How many accidents has been caused by city employee driving while talking on the phone?
Will the new change include ALL City Employees or just the low-man on the totem pole? If the higher-ups are still allowed to drive and talk, it will be hard to enforce the “no driving and cellphone usage” policy. A City employee could refer to “so-and-so” driving while talking and not being reprimanded which could lead to issues in itself. I know I have personally seen Police Officers driving while talking on Cell Phones. If the rule exists, then ALL City employees should be held to the same standards.
Will the use of hands-free accessories be allowed for employees as an option? Hands-free devices such as Blue-tooth earpieces allow for safe driving and talking. In fact, many states require all citizens to use hands-free accessories for drivers of vehicles.
Will the Board of Aldermen, Mayor, Police Chief, etc all be held to the same “no cell phone usage while driving” a City Vehicle policy right along with other City employees? Fair is fair!
i hope that means also the Mayor,the Alderman(ladys too),the police ,forsure!
like it says,Banned All City employees. that means all of you folks.
From the bottom,To the top!
WE Will keep our eyes open,for those cant go by the rules(new rules).
TIME WILL TELL !!
~~~
while they are at it they need to ban tobocco use in city vehicles. I have seen drivers in city vehicles on the phone and smoking at the same time. Really made me nervous….. seemed too much like a juggling act to be safe.
I am sure Mr.hough has Never been a Police Officer or this idiot would know that sometimes you have to pass information on to officer that can’t be put on the radio and I would like to see him have to Explain to a crime victim of my officer would have been here on time but he had to stop to answer his phone. I bet that would be just another fired officer
What’s with calling Hough an idiot? STtTA you must not know anything about Hough if you truly think he’s an idiot.
Ever seen the studies on driving while on the cell phone?
Come to find out, more wrecks are caused by cell phone usage than by drunk drivers now.
You must not know much about the current radios the Police and MCSO use either. They can go into “scramble” mode anytime they want to pass on touchy information.
Looks to me that the term “idiot” refers to you too citizen 1961 because if YOU knew anything about the radios the police use you’d know that you can buy a descrambler for your own personal scanner…that means that when ever the police need to put something over the radio that nobody needs to hear and they switch over to “scramble”, any average joe can hit their scramble button too an hear everything. And that’s why police use cell phones a lot of times instead of the radio…so you need to check the facts before you get on here calling anybody an idiot!
To just sayin:
just sayin says:
June 16, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Looks to me that the term “idiot” refers to you too citizen 1961
so you need to check the facts before you get on here calling anybody an idiot!
Evidently you can’t read and/or comprehend the words I posted in reply to YOU calling Hough an idiot.
I have called no-one an idiot or other name in any post I have ever made.
Evidently, you’ve never had anyone pull out of a parking lot in front of you while they used a cell phone almost causing an accident with yourself and a loved one in your vehicle before like I have experienced many times.
OH WAIT, by your comments posted it ’s probably been you who is the guilty party on their cell phone all the time while driving causing people to learn better DEFENSIVE DRIVING SKILLS!
What did the Police Officers do in such situations of keeping information off the radio BEFORE the invention of cell phones? You act as if cell phones have been used by Police departments forever. I am sure that 90% of the time when a Police Officer is seen driving while talking that he/she was not on a job-related call!
If the Officer is rushing to a crime scene, the last thing he/she should be doing is holding a cell phone to his/her ear in order to obtain any additional information!
I know that if some infomation may not need to be broadcast over the radio, BUT driving while using a cell phone is equivalent to someone drinking and driving. I do NOT know how you feel about being in a car accident. Personally, I would rather live than possibly be killed in a head on collision due to someone not paying attention due to a cell phone!
Heres the “dealio”, the Aldermen may pass this requirement onto it’s employees of the city for the reasons they have stated… “safety issues” but, as far as I know the aldermen do not drive city issued cars and therefore would not be subject to their own rule… the Mayor, I think, does drive a city car and WOULD be subject to the rule… but, I’d bet you $5 to a hole in a DayLight Donut that he would not adhere to the policy and would not suffer any consequence from breaking it… and remember how he lets Chief Kinslow bend the rules to suit himself… no reprimands their either for failure to comply, I would be guessing! I agree with an earlier comment where someone said, “write an ordenance that covers anyone in the City of Columbia driving a motor vehicle from talking and driving at the same time…” You know it would make state and local news because… The State of MS lets the same bill die in committee each year in Jackson… So why cant a City take up such an issue for the safety of it’s own citizens…Look how many wrecks we have in Columbia and look how many people, including children, have died in those wrecks!… I Urge the council to pass such an ordinance and not B***H about the police stopping them and issuing them a citation when they are caugt breaking the law if they get caught doing so, of course we could all pull a Barney Fife and holler, “CITIZENS ARREST… CITIZENS ARREST…” AND AT LEAST CALL THEM OUT FOR THEIR HYPOCROCY!
****Get after it Aldermen… I DARE YOU TO PASS THE LAW!!!!***
I believe it was Gomer instead of Barney Fife that hollered “citizen’s arrest”.
Still one of the best shows ever on tv. Each episode taught a life lesson.
How about the school bus drivers??? Blows my mind when I see one on the cell phone with a bus load of children. Really??? Its that important? I see this quite frequently when school is in.SCARY!!!!
I was just going to bring that up. I saw a bus driver at the new 4 way stop in Foxworth, talking on a cell phone, in morning bumper to bumper trafic with the early morning sun in people eyes. She is just 2 min from a school house. That call could have weighted!
FWIW and M2C, If you see a bus driver doing wrong or driving carelessly, call the appropriate Central Office. I am sure that the County School District will immediately get a handle on it, (just dreaming). If they don’t, just remember, the Superintendent works for the people and also elections are coming up for various offices. I believe that the county school district does have a policy concerning use of a cell phone while on school property, which buses are school property and the guilty driver is still “on the clock”
good info to know! Thanks.
Am back on you Columbia finest police Department the are always on there cellphone and smoking in the cars we as military personal can’t smoke are use our phone. I am for banding the celphone and to include the smoking also
Yep partner, I remember the time I was trying to roll a smoke and ride my hoss through downtown at the same time. Missed a turn and my hoss threw a shoe through the window of the old Auto Zone building. Whewie. I don’t know how the local fuzz can smoke, talk n sip their coke driving 60 mile an hour. I run off the dang road ever time I meet one comin my way!!!!!
LOL.
I think no one should be allowed to talk on a cell phone while driving a car.I can’t tell you how many times I have had to slam on the brakes to keep from getting hit or hitting some idiot that was on a cell phone and trying to drive at the same time.The people in Coulmbia are allowed to drive ridiculous…don’t stop for stop signs,run red light and speeding…unreal! 99.9% of them have cell phone glued to their ear.But I guess what really iced the cake for me was my last trip to Wal Mart at the 4 way stop by Ace there was a woman on the phone she didn’t stop for the sign …just slowed…with an officer behind her and he didn’t pull her over! Please!!!!I was flabbergasted.WAKE UP PEOPLE….Whats it going to take!!!
He was probably on his cellular telephone too and didn’t see her running the stop sign. I’m not a young ‘un anymore and won’t use my cell phone when driving because I realize how much my attention is divided and I’m not safe driving while talking on the phone. Perhaps younger people can multi-task but I’ve talked using hands-free speaker phone and that is dangerous in my case as well; it’s strange that a conversation with a passenger doesn’t distract me like using hands-free telephone communication but that’s the way it is so I defer telephone conversations AND TEXTING when driving.
I can understand the OCCASIONAL use by law enforcement but it should be logged as radio communications are and no social calls. This, like safety belts is for the protection of the vehicle operator as well as other vehicles using the roads.
While I’m on the subject: Does Mississippi law allow an exemption for law enforcement operating a vehicle without safety restraints?
It probably does, just like the tinting of windows on vehicles.
yes i do know about the radio’s the police and sheriff dept. use ans while you think scramble is a great thing let me tell you something Mr. its Not .Do you know 90 percent of the the law breakers have scanners with descramble in it so switching to scramble don’t always work and as for smoking in city vehicles if you don’t ride in them why complain or then again maybe you have rode in one
I have to say there was nothing wrong with scramble when there were no cell phones.
Ummm… the logic by some astounds me. If there wasn’t cell phones back then, then it would stand to reason that there probably would not have been scanners in citizen homes then either. Even if you did not know when scanners went into production or when scramble was added to public scanners, you should be able to use some logically deduction.
this is possibly one of the dumbest comment sessions so far. it is obvious cell phones cause wrecks. the fire dept already follows its own rule about not using cell phones while driving, the city can enforce this with all its employees. the reason it is illegal to operate a vehicle “under the influnce” is because it hinders your ability to drive, don’t these phones do the same thing. as to smoking, it is illegal to smoke in gov buildings why not in the vehicles also.
Tickets..Tickets..Tickets is the answer along with all public offical depts. following the rules and enforcing laws instead of turning a blind eye.This slapping on the wrist crap in this town is just not working!
I commend Mr Hough for his efforts to make our city a better and safer place to live. It is sad when our city officials try to improve our local government, only to be blasted by local “idiots”. Driving while talking on cell phones has been proven to be dangerous and this ordinance should be passed. Anyone opposed to this suggestion is the “idiot” and can’t see beyond the numbers on their cell phone. This issue has been discussed before now and I again commend Alderman Hough for his persistance in addressing this issue. Stand tall Alderman Hough!
Addressing and taking actions are two totally diffrent things.Calling everyone idiots for expressing their opinions doesn’t say much for your intelligence either.I take it you must be one of the local idiots also!
To: Just my opinon
I never called everyone an idiot. I was just trying to make a point. I will admit it was a bad choice of words for people like you who read these post to find fault in the wording of the comments themselves and make a habit of commenting never to address the issue at hand. Alderman Hough has addressed the issue and he has also taken action. It is not “my opinion” about the safety of cell phone use while driving. It has been proven that cell phone use while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving. Have you ever lost a loved one from a drunk driving accident? I will say that anyone opposing this rule is a feeble-minded idiot not aware of the hard cold facts. The data is there to make my opinion valuable and correct.