- March 28, 2024
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We all know it's now against Florida law to text while driving.
But starting Oct. 1, one engineering firm has banned employees from speaking on the phone too, even hands free.
“It's all about safety,” says Richard Lewis, principal engineer at Conestoga-Rovers Associates in Fort Myers, which coincidentally banned all phone use while driving on the same day that the texting and driving law became effective in Florida. Lewis cites research that shows that talking on the phone impairs a driver like alcohol.
Lewis travels quite a bit for work, so he can't make or receive phone calls on the road from colleagues or customers. “It does interfere with business a little bit,” says Lewis, particularly on long drives to distant locations such as Miami.
But Lewis says he's budgeting his time so he has plenty of time to answer calls when he parks his car before a meeting. “You have to arrive 15 minutes so you can answer calls,” Lewis says. “You can't arrive five minutes before the meeting.”
One benefit is that because he plans to arrive earlier, he doesn't get aggravated when traffic slows him down because he knows he won't be late. And he won't speed to get to his destination, either.