Cell phone use while driving restricted on base

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Angela Blazier
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  If your cell phone rings while driving on base, you might want to think twice before answering, or the next sound you hear may be a patrol car siren. 

According to a new Department of Defense joint-motor-vehicle regulation that took effect in February, drivers are prohibited from using cell phones on installations unless it is a hands-free phone (i.e., speakerphone) or the vehicle is safely parked. Ear pieces are allowed for cell phones, as long as it is in only one ear. Otherwise, headphones, hands-free ear pieces or other listening devices are prohibited, according to the 509th Security Forces Squadron. 

“Use of those devices impairs driving and masks or prevents recognition of emergency signals, alarms, announcements, the approach of vehicles and human speech,” the regulation states. 

Violating the regulation is a primary offense, which means that violation alone is enough to warrant a stop. Three points will be assessed to the driver’s record. 

“The winner here is the base populace,” said Master Sgt. Gloria Ornelas, superintendent of law enforcement for Air Force Security Forces, in an Air Force Print News article. “They will have more mobility while driving, a greater range of view -- in short, a safer driving environment for all.”