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EXCLUSIVE: In many states, including California, texting or emailing while driving could get you a fine. If you’re a Disney employee, it may also get you fired. That’s according to a companywide memo that went out yesterday. The so-called “distracted driving,” which involves mostly people using their mobile devices while behind the wheel, is a serious problem that caused 5,474 deaths last year. But a private company enforcing the ban on the use of such devices is a little odd even for Disney, considered to be the most buttoned-down and regulated entertainment conglom. According to the memo, Disney “is enhancing its 
vehicle safety policy effective immediately.” That includes prohibiting Disney employees from sending or reading texts or emails while driving company cars or their private cars while performing duties related to their Disney jobs. “Failure to comply will lead to disciplinary actions up to and including termination,” the memo said. While the intention is noble, the bureaucratic way it was handled has raised eyebrows, evoked Big Brother references and has mostly puzzled Disney employees as to how exactly would Disney enforce its new rules. Nevertheless, the new policy may affect business as most people working in the entertainment industry in LA do a lot of work on their blackberrys while driving. With its ban, Disney joins the Obama administration which has prohibited federal employees from texting while driving on government business and banned commercial truck and bus drivers from texting behind the wheel. Thirty states and the District of Columbia prohibit drivers from texting behind the wheel; at least eight states have passed laws barring drivers from using hand-held cell phones.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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Uh-oh, should have read this after pulling over.
Hello…Nikke…Isn’t it a bit obvious that this is a legal pre-emptive strike so that when a Disney-related homocide (G-d forbid) occurs, they can say in court, “See it’s against company policy to kill people while texting and driving.”?
Mmmhmm. Look forward to reading the headline “DISNEY CEO FIRED FOR SENDING COMPANY E-MAIL WHILE DRIVING TO WORK”. Oh wait, that will never happen.
Right, just like the Disney CEO driving himself to work will never happen.
A bit much agreed, but seems like Disney is just attempting to address liability concerns. Note that the prohibition as written only applies in cases where the employee is acting on behalf of Disney, and where Disney could conceivably be sued for damages if an accident happened.
It doesn’t say they will fire Disney employees who text while commuting for example, or otherwise in their private cars doing personal business, like going to get their hair cut on Thursday afternoon.
As a first year law student who just learned about vicarious liabilty, I figured that avoiding that was the reason Disney sent this memo out.
As a first year law student, you’d do well to stop reading entertainment news websites and get back to reading your casebook, especially this close to finals. Also, no one cares what a 1L “figures” after learning about vicariously liability…we have enough real attorneys to ask if we want to know.
Wow there princess, maybe you should spend less time reading comments on a blog article and get a job.
Wow–that was just blazingly hostile. And for what?
What? I’m fired? QUAAACK!! That’s settles it. I’m calling my Uncle Scrooge! QUAAAAAAAAACK!!
It is a liability concern issue. If someone in a company vehicle gets in an accident, and they are texting and driving, there is a legitimate concern as to the liability due to employer.
Several insurance brokerages have been pitching this all summer to mid-levels, so it doesn’t surprise me that someone adopts.
Uh, it isn’t “so called” distracted driving – it IS distracted driving. It is just as bad as DUI in terms of taking your attention from the road. Thousands of deaths each year are attributable to this juvenile behavior – behavior that is not limited to juveniles.
Disney is absolutely right to do this, as long as they apply it uniformly and vertically across the entire company. That means ANY Disney executive caught driving and texting should be subject to discipline, per the policy.
Distracted driving, like reckless driving and DUI, does not only affect the person behind the keyboard. It also causes billions in property damage, injury, and death to those drivers unlucky enough to be in their path.
It is NOT “so called”. It IS a distraction.
Obviously it won’t apply to the upper rungs of the company, which Nikki pointed out are likely prime suspects – Disney would prefer to just pay the fine.
Case in point: Maria Shriver’s (Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife) continued disobeyance of the law, which only earned her tiny slaps on the wrist, despite the numerous times she ignored the policy.
Two words: Respondeat Superior. Expect this to be the norm, just as it should be.
I thank my lucky stars that I’m self-employed. My friends who work for corporations have grown more miserable by the year. At what point are people going to get sick enough of being micromanaged and begin to rebel?
So are you defending employye’s “right” to put not only themselves but every other driver in danger. That’s not being micromanaged that abiding by the law of the state in which they live and good, common sense for any company who doesn’t want to held liable for the stupidity of their employees.
Let the government/law enforcement write you a ticket and deal with the offense. There is no reason to lose your job because you got a freaking ticket. Speeding, texting behind the wheel are things we get tickets for but if it is a victimless situation you shouldn’t become the victim by losing your job.
I would never text while driving but it disgusts me to think of someone losing their job if they are caught doing it. Just give them a ticket and let them pay the fine or get a point on their license or something. I’m sure the wealthy and powerful employees will somehow be exempt but if an assistant or low wage worker gets caught all hell will break loose.
You’re missing the salient point… the memo states “while driving company cars or their private cars while performing duties related to their Disney jobs”
Disney has every right to terminate you if you’re engage in dagerous behaviour while on company business… They have to pay if you fuck up, they have the right to shit-can you.
Wrong. The fear of getting a ticket doesn’t stop the idiot texting. Loosing his job will.
“Let the government/law enforcement write you a ticket and deal with the offense. (text omitted) I would never text while driving but it disgusts me to think of someone losing their job if they are caught doing it. Just give them a ticket and let them pay the fine or get a point on their license or something.”
If that was all there was to it, I bet Disney would not enact this policy. I don’t think the law enforcement aspect is the motivating factor. Civil liability and the potential for civil suits and large damage awards is the primary motivation here. Insurance companies are “advising” client companies to do this. The implication is that at some point their insurace rates are going to go up if they don’t. It’s about economy, not good citizenship.
Bah! Anyone who texts while driving should lose their license. I don’t care if you want to cry government intrusion: cry it over the graves of those killed by STUPID SELFISH SELF-ABSORBED people who have no right behind the wheel of a deadly weapon.
Its “micromanaging” to demand that your employees not drive recklessly (and break the law) while conducting company business?
Yes, wouldn’t we all prefer to be self-employed and paying our profits back for uber expensive health insurance.
Dumb-ass.
Wow, must be a REAL slow day on the actual entertainment news beat…
But you know, thanks for updating on us some of Disney’s personnel policies. Be sure to let us know when they change their sick day policy too…
Yeeeeeeah, right! Do they have any idea how many executives are completely helpless in the car without being on the phone with their assistants? There is absolutely NO way this will change any habits of an executive doing business.
This has nothing to do with being “on the phone”–most specifically it has to do with texting and emailing. Please go back to school and learn to read, so you’ll know how to text and crash your car while doing it. K, thanks, bye bye.
This is true. Many executives that have this need now use wireless headsets to avoid breaking the law.
interesting my innocuous comment to another post was censored off this board, but this comment wishing someone’s car to crash remains intact
@Veteran Assistant,
Actually … this policy will just lead to MORE executive-to-assistant phone calls. The policy doesn’t ban TALKING … so, if an exec wants to text or e-mail a message and not violate the policy, they’ll just get their assistant on the phone to do it.
Given that it’s disney, I would expect a memo early 2011 Q1 telling you whom you cannot call on your on phone even when you’re not on the company clock.
Good Call, mulligan: as plausible an explanation as any.
This rule makes total sense. Disney probably has a policy that requires its employees to check their blackberry’s/emails every hour or two.
If a Disney employee got in an accident while texting causing death or serious injury to himself or another party. That person will sue disney by arguing that Disney’s policy was the proximate cause of the accident by requiring the person to read emails even while driving. This could expose them to massive liability
Expect this policy to come to ALL companies with mandatory email reading policies.
WTF are you talking about? Are you really this bored?
It is not uncommon for people @ agencies and studios to get grief for being out of text/e-mail contact for more than 15 minutes during the day, and 45 minutes or so at night. (Yes, you are expected to check your smart phone during restaurant meals and movies, and to sleep with it near your head.) This is not a printed policy, it is just the reality of life in the entertainment industry.
So, while it’s great for Disney to emphasize that it doesn’t want its employees breaking the law, by formalizing the prohibition against texting/e-mailing without also formally increasing acceptable response times, Disney is putting its employees between a rock and a hard place. It won’t be the first time, and it won’t be the last, but it’s still senseless.
Okay – it all comes down to: it’s illegal in CA to text/not be hands free while driving! I don’t blame Disney for trying to reduce their liability. And yes, it may affect the LA industry folks. Oh well – they don’t have to follow the laws?
Guess we can cross off the iPad dash mount for our Disney friends… and they would have loved seeing their tweets, emails and rushes dailies while sitting on the 101…
… Seriously, it is a good policy.
Disney in their usual way is establishing a policy that all studios will eventually follow. It will be just another document you have to sign to be employed. But if you get past the manner in which it was done, and look at the fact most people will do not police themselves texting. The one young production assistant who crashes her car while going to get food for a production office-then we would say there should have been a rule. Over all it is a good idea. But on the flip side why then do they schedule their films where crews work unreal hours day after day. Driving from one end of the county to the other flipping from a nightime to daytime schedule. This is exhausting over a short term period, and it is so surprising that a major accident hasnt occured. Years ago there was a young cameraman driving from Long Beach back to the valley or maybe Santa Clarita. He crashed his car and died. Directors, Producers, Actors all signed petitions saying something had to change with that particular working condition. That change never saw the light of day…back to 14 hour days for Location Managers, Drivers, Asst Directors and God knows who else. But the good thing now-is you can’t start the day texting on your way to work. But you can die from exhaustion on your way home.
The legal dept. at Disney has been busy. They get paid big bucks to protect the company and their jobs.
Disneyland: the most miserable place on earth!
They also face termination for chewing with their mouths open or watching movies released by Warners. This is nothing.
Bill,
Now THAT was funny!
I am,
The Hollywood Republican
It’s all about reducing damages and hopefully avoiding punitive damages altogether. (That is until the government succeeds in removing the ability for anyone to sue-I think that they call it tort reform.)
I can’t wait to see Andrew Breitbart turn this into a rant on the evils of Hollywood Liberalism. Long bow? You bet, but I’m sure he’ll find a way…
What brought this up out of the blue? Did something happen?
I challenge each and every employee of the Mouse Box to use your fancy smartphones to snap pictures and video of Disney execs texting while driving.
While I know the crystal tower execs have drivers, this will only start a war.
Here’s the first volley. Start uploading your pics & vids to YouTube and use your social media skills to leak it to the Hollywood press.
God I love Hollywood!
I am,
The Hollywood Republican
Hey, we could turn this into a job-making opportunity…Just hire the unemployed to drive Disney employees around to meetings, to/from home, etc. and then the employees could talk, text, email and surf to their heart’s content! It’s a win-win for the Mouse House!
Anyone who texts while driving should lose their license. If they do it on company business for Disney, then they should lose their jobs.
Texting while driving is the act of an unconscionable idiot, who has no regard for others and no ability to make rational decisions. As one who was almost killed by such a moron, I totally support strong laws and policies that punish such egregious behavior.
Bravo Disney!
…..is the act of an unconscionable idiot, who has no regard for others and no ability to make rational decisions……
Pretty much sums up a Disney exec.
Although people are making light of texting/talking on cells while driving, think of all the people interconnected to those over 5400 deaths feel: the emotional cost alone is devastating. I don’t agree with all Disney (haircuts and mustaches rules), but I do feel something should be done about the texting and talking when people should be driving.
Schmuck – the haircut and facial hair rules are at the Theme Parks if you’re in a specific role. I have worked at the Burbank lot for over 14 years and that has NEVER been an issue.