Sarah Lawson/St. Joe Now

Missouri Department of Transportation employees make asphalt repairs to the Platte River bridge on U.S. Highway 36 on Thursday.

Missouri Department of Transportation officials are saying “no” to texting while on the job.

MoDOT put a policy into place Nov. 1 that prohibits its employees from texting while operating department vehicles and equipment. The rule also applies to texting while driving a personal vehicle when performing department business.

In August, a law banning drivers under 21 from texting and driving went into effect in Missouri. MoDOT’s policy, however, doesn’t discriminate. It applies to all employees, regardless of age.

Tony McGaughy, MoDOT’s assistant district engineer, said, “We wanted to make sure that their focus is on driving and not being distracted while driving. We don’t want them to endanger themselves or the traveling public.”

Mr. McGaughy said MoDOT has not had any problems in the past with its employees texting, but he said, “with today’s society, where everyone wants information right now, there’s a proliferation of cell phones, BlackBerries, things like that. So we’re just trying to get out in front of it and anticipate that people could be tempted to do that. We wanted to send a message to our employees that it’s unacceptable.”

Charles Buckles, a senior crew member who has worked for the agency for 12 years, said MoDOT’s new texting policy is a good idea. He said he doesn’t text, but he does have a cell phone on him in case his vehicle breaks down and the radio in the vehicle doesn’t work.

“It’s just safer not to worry about it. If you don’t text, then you don’t have to worry about it,” he said.

If an employee is caught texting while on MoDOT’s clock, penalties are put in place. Mr. McGaughy said.

“It would be one of our safety policies, and generally ... it would start out as a written warning, which could have some impact to that individual’s career, such as, they may not be eligible for certain positions,” he said. “We always take a look at each case individually, and it could be more severe, depending on the circumstances.”

Mr. McGaughy added that he hopes motorists will take MoDOT’s message to its employees and apply it when they get into their vehicles.

“It only takes a second for you to lose control or to run into the back of somebody,” he said. “Hopefully, people will follow our motto and not text while they’re driving.”

Sarah Lawson can be reached

at slawson@npgco.com.