of course they excluded COPS from the cell phone ban! Original Article Chandler tells its workers not to phone while driving Policy is toughest among Valley cities Edythe Jensen The Arizona Republic Mar. 25, 2005 12:00 AM Hang up and drive. Chandler is sending a no-excuses message to employees that phoning while motoring a municipal vehicle could cost them their jobs. The city is the Valley's first to disconnect its traveling workforce from their cellphones, following a national trend among safety-conscious businesses and insurance industry recommendations. Phoenix and Mesa tell employees they "should not" drive while talking on cellphones, and Phoenix sanitation workers are prohibited from using cellphones while operating machinery. Arizona commercial vehicle regulations prohibit school bus drivers from talking on cellphones. "It's better to be safe than have an employee or citizen injured," said O.D. Burr, Chandler's risk manager, who helped draft the policy that took effect this month. The policy exempts police officers but encourages them not to talk and drive. Claims against the city for accidents caused by employees on cellphones spurred the change, Burr said. Earlier this year, a Water Department worker ran a stop sign while he was on the phone and was hit by another motorist. In the name of safety, businesses nationwide are taking steps to stop workers from talking while driving, said Loretta Worters, vice president of the non-profit Insurance Information Institute in New York City. "If you're engaged in a lively conversation on the phone, you're not keeping your eyes on the road," she said. Government and businesses are wise to halt driving while phoning to reduce accident risks when work-related conversations tend to be long and technical, said Robin Olson, research analyst for the Dallas-based International Risk Management Institute. However, Olson said he doesn't support state laws that ban cellphone use by all drivers because research on the device's ties to accidents is inconclusive and enforcement would take resources away from proven dangers like drunken driving and speeding. "There are so many distractions for drivers that singling out one as the cause of an accident is difficult," he said. New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., ban all motorists from driving while talking on the phone, but efforts to bring such a law to Arizona failed this year. Rep. Tom Prezelski, D-Tucson, who introduced the failed cellphone bill, praised Chandler's ban. "I don't drive safely when I'm on a cellphone," he said. "People seem to believe when they're in their car, they can do anything they want and the safety of people around them is not important." Ray Dubois, Chandler water distribution superintendent, tells his workers to pull off the road and stop before answering calls and advises them to create a voice-mail message that says they don't answer calls while driving. Paul Ahlas, a senior inspector for Chandler construction projects, said he and other employees who spend most of their time on the road must now interrupt trips to park and return messages from contractors or city offices. "Personally, I think it's a good thing," Ahlas said. "I see how people drive when they have cellphones stuck in their ears." Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria and Surprise do not ask workers to refrain from talking on cellphones while driving. Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman, who has owned cellphone stores, prefers to let employees decide if they can talk and drive. "My concern about employees using cellphones is whether they're running up town bills with personal calls," Berman said. "Talking on a cellphone while driving is not terribly different from talking to someone next to you." Staff reporters Ginger Richardson, Justin Juozapavicius, Jahna Berry, David Madrid and Charles Kelly contributed to this article.