Braintree Mayor Bans Cellphones While Driving For Town Employees

BRAINTREE, MA — Town employees are no longer allowed to use their cellphones or any other hand-held devices, while driving a town-owned vehicle, Mayor Joseph Sullivan's office announced.

According to the mayor's order, distracted driving is the leading cause of motor vehicle crashes. He said there was a bill in the statehouse that would have banned using a cell phone wile driving, but it failed to pass both houses.

"I don't want them (town employees) to be distracted into their duties," Sullivan said. We were hoping the state would pass it. When that didn't pass, we felt we had to take the issues into our hands."

There are only two exceptions to this rule. Employees can only use their cell phones if they are responding to an emergency or are on the phone with law enforcement or emergency officials. The rule also allows for town employees to use hands-free devices, such as blue tooth as an alternative. Sullivan said the point is that it's only safe if town employees have both hands on the wheel.

"If someone were to get in an accident it would cause a liability to the town or unfortunately bodily-harm," Sullivan said.

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