Look, Ma, No Hands

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Daryl Knee
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F.E. WARREN AFB, Wyo. --  Glad to finally complete an excruciatingly long grocery-shopping list, Mr. Smitty walks toward his vehicle in the parking lot. 

As his journey nears completion, a pregnant raindrop plunks atop his brow, confirming the possibility of rain this morning. Mr. Smitty looks with a frown at his two buggy loads behind him. 

He owns a single-cab pickup truck. 

Later, elbows up, grocery items piled from the passenger seat foot space to across his lap, he quickly drives to Warren. 

After passing through the gate, the cramped Mr. Smitty hears a familiar jingle from his pocket, and he almost does the worst thing in the world he could possibly do. 

Cell phone use while driving a vehicle inside the base is prohibited, said Troy Weaver, 
90th Missile Wing Safety. 

"You already have enough distractions with the antelope, children and traffic," Mr. Weaver said. "Why add another one?" 

While driving and talking is legal off base, he said, as soon as a person enters Warren, hands-free cell phones must be used to adhere to the law. 

"When the call is so important that you have to take it," he said, "just pull over. You're not going to get in trouble parked on the side of the road. 

"[However,] you will get in trouble if you're pulled over by the police," Mr. Weaver said.
A hands-free cell phone means just that, he continued. Hands-free. Either a wireless headset or the speaker phone option on most phones is acceptable. 

"As a general rule, I always say no to talking on any type of phone while driving," he said. "Sometimes, even with hands-free communication, attention is focused on the phone instead of on the road." 

As Mr. Smitty's fingers brush the chirping cell phone in his pocket, a thought alien to his own arose: "It's raining so hard I can hardly see, my reaction time is increased from space, and I'm about to answer a phone call. Maybe I should rethink this." 

And, like how all ominous thoughts seem to have reason, Mr. Smitty drove over a pothole. With both hands, he properly corrected his vehicle from a dangerous careen. 

"Keep your eyes on the road, buckle up and stay off the cell phones," Mr. Weaver said. "You don't want to get a ticket, and you definitely don't want to cause an accident."