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City Workers Banned From Using Phones While Driving

Cyd Hoskinson
/
WJCT News

Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown announced Friday he’s cracking down on distracted driving by city workers.

Brown says from now on employees are not allowed to talk on the phone, much less send texts or check emails, when they’re behind the wheel of a city vehicle.

The move is part of a wider effort to raise awareness about distracted driving and how dangerous it is.

“Here in Jacksonville, it’s responsible for roughly 14 percent of all crashes in 2013 and 2014," Brown said.

In fact, Brown says, the risk of being in an accident goes up fourfold when someone talks on the phone while driving.

He says he’s signed the pledge not to drive while distracted, and he’s urging everyone else to do the same.