Even when not strictly prohibited below, employees are strongly encouraged to bring vehicles they are operating to a complete stop if they need to use electronic wireless communication devices or engage in any activity that may distract their driving. 

• Employees may use electronic wireless communication devices any time a vehicle they are operating is stopped or when they are a passenger in a vehicle. 

• Supervisors and employees shall refrain from communicating any critical information by text message or email to any employee who may be operating a vehicle. Police radios shall be used for communicating critical information. Critical information is information that is expected to be read or responded to in less than 30 minutes.

• Employees will not be penalized for reasonable delays in reading and/or responding to a text or email or in answering or returning phone calls they receive while operating a vehicle. 

While operating a vehicle in motion (including a town vehicle whether on or off duty and a town or personally owned vehicle for town business), employees shall not:

• Use a cellular phone in any mode other than hands-free nor for any purpose that is not strictly work related.
• View, search or otherwise try to manage body-worn or in-car videos.
• Eat, read printed material, perform personal grooming, smoke or engage in any other activity that significantly limits the use of one or both hands and is not directly work related and/or cannot be avoided until their vehicle comes to a complete stop.
• Engage in writing, sending, searching, replying, using an application (app) or reading any text-based communication on electronic wireless communication devices. 

Employees shall not alter, change or disengage any device designed to reduce distractions that is installed in a town vehicle.

• Operation and use of portable and vehicle-mounted radios and radio detection and ranging (RADAR) units. 

• The activation and deactivation of in-car and body worn video cameras.

Additionally:

• Employees may use a mobile data computer while in motion when one-button or one-touch responses are needed to activate an emergency button or to indicate an officer is en route or arriving on scene. 

• Using a wireless communication device in a manner inconsistent with the prohibitions in Section C (Prohibitions While Operating a Vehicle) is permitted only when emergency or significant circumstances with a justification for immediacy exist and no reasonable alternative is available. 

• Employees may not use any electronic wireless communication devices (other than a police radio and activation of in-car or body-worn cameras) when operating a vehicle that has lights and/or siren activated or when operating outside the normally expected rules of the road.