Use_of_Official_Headquarters_Motor_Pool_Vehicles (1).pdf

ADMINISTRATIVE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

USE OF OFFICIAL DEPARTMENT OF

EDUCATION HEADQUARTERS MOTOR

POOL LEASED VEHICLES

DEPARTMENTAL DIRECTIVE ACSD-OFO-046

Distribution:

All Department of Education Employees

Approved by:

Denise L. Carter Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Finance and Operations

Approved on:

07/09/2019

History of Changes

Approved by Notes Date Denise L. Carter Acting Assistant Secretary Office of Finance and Operations

Supersedes OM: 4-111, Use of Official Headquarters Motor Pool Vehicles, dated 09/08/2016

07/09/2019

Vanessa Tesoriero Directives Management Officer

Renumbered per new ACS numbering system; 508 compliance updates

08/11/2022

For technical questions regarding this directive, please contact the Transportation Services Representative on 202-401-3861 or via email at OFOMSTransportationservices@ed.gov

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Table of Contents

I. Purpose

II. Policy

III. Authorization

IV. Applicability

V. Definitions

VI. General Responsibilities

VII. Eligibility for Use of Official Motor Vehicles

VIII. Requirements

IX. Procedures

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I. Purpose

This Directive establishes policies and procedures for the use of official motor vehicles leased by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Office of Finance and Operations (OFO), for official Government business.

II. Policy

The policy herein refers to the motor pool fleet of leased vehicles under the responsibility of OFO and maintained at ED’s Washington, D.C., offices (collectively, ED Headquarters). Other vehicle leasing offices at ED, such as the Inspector General (IG), Federal Student Aid (FSA) and/or Office for Civil Rights (OCR) are encouraged to follow this policy or incorporate it into their own.

Motor vehicles leased by ED shall only be used for official Government business. Under 41 C.F.R §102-34.200, the official use of Government vehicle is used to perform agency mission(s), as authorized by the Department.

Employees of ED are prohibited from driving any of OFO’s leased vehicles. All ED Officials, as defined herein, and/or approved passengers using OFO’s motor pool services will use the professional, contract drivers provided by OFO for transportation to and from official or ED-approved events.

The following guidelines, regulations, and laws also apply to the use and operation of motor vehicles leased by ED:

A. Executive Order 13513

All drivers of motor pool vehicles shall adhere to the policy set forth in Executive Order 13513 signed by the President of the United States on October 1, 2009, entitled “Federal Leadership on Reducing Text Messaging While Driving”. This policy establishes a Government-wide prohibition on the use of text messaging while driving on official Government business or while using Government-supplied equipment.

Federal employees and contractors shall not engage in text messaging when driving Government-owned, Government-leased, or Government-rented vehicles (collectively, GOV) or when driving privately-owned vehicles.

‘‘Texting’’ or ‘‘Text Messaging’’ means reading from, or entering data into, any handheld or other electronic device, including for the purpose of SMS texting, e-mailing, instant messaging, obtaining navigational information, or engaging in any other form of electronic data retrieval or electronic data communication.

B. Federal Management Regulation, Part 102-34 – Motor Vehicle Management

41 C.F.R. part 102-34 governs the economical and efficient management and control of motor vehicles that the Government owns, leases commercially, or

ACSD-OFO-046 Page 2 (MM/DD/YYYY) leases through the General Services Administration Fleet. 41 C.F.R. 102-34.5. ED will incorporate the appropriate provisions of the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) into contracts offering Government-furnished equipment in order to ensure adequate control over the use of motor vehicles.

C. Use of Seat Belts

Motor pool vehicles approved for use by OFO for official Government business shall be operated in a safe and prudent manner and in adherence to all established safety guidelines, including the use of seatbelts while the vehicle is in motion and refraining from any task or activity that would cause safety devices the vehicle is equipped with to malfunction or be disabled.

Operators of motor pool vehicles and passengers must follow local and state traffic regulations as applicable.

D. Distracted Driving Safety Act of 2004: Cell Phone Use, Other Distractive Activities While Driving Are Prohibited

The Distracted Driving Safety Act of 2004 (the DDSA), D.C. Code Ann. § 50- 1731.01, et seq., prohibits operators of motor vehicles from using a mobile telephone or other electronic device while operating a moving motor vehicle in the District of Columbia except when the telephone or device is equipped with a built in speaker or a hands-free accessory. D.C. Code Ann. § 50- 1731.04(a): The DDSA does not prohibit the use of a mobile telephone for emergency use, including calls to 911 or 311, a hospital, an ambulance service provider, a fire department, a law enforcement agency, or a first-aid squad. D.C. Code Ann. § 50- 1731.04(b)(1): Other activities covered by the DDSA include reading, writing, performing personal grooming, interacting with pets or unsecured cargo, or engaging in any other activity which causes distraction. See D.C. Code Ann. §§ 50-1731.02 and 50-1731.03: The penalty for violating the DDSA is a fine of $100. D.C. Code Ann. § 50- 1731.06(a).

III. Authorization

This Directive is based on the FMR, 41 CFR part 102-34; Executive Order 13513; and the DDSA.

IV. Applicability

OFO has oversight responsibility for managing the ED Headquarters motor pool. OFO only maintains an official motor pool at ED Headquarters, so the procedures of this Directive apply solely to ED-leased motor vehicles at ED Headquarters. This policy does not apply to the Secretary, the Secretary’s protective detail, the Security law enforcement vehicle or any vehicle leased outside of OFO.

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V. Definitions

A. Motor Vehicle. A vehicle that is designed and operated principally for highway transportation of property or passengers not including military vehicle.

B. Commercial Lease. Obtaining a motor vehicle through procurement by contract or other arrangement from a commercial source for 120 days or longer.

C. GSA Fleet Lease. Obtaining a motor vehicle from the General Services Administration Fleet (GSA Fleet).

D. Motor Pool Vehicle Operators. ED Federal employee or contractor trained professional drivers responsible for operating motor vehicles in a safe and sensible manner; having knowledge of and complying with applicable Federal, State, and local government motor vehicle laws and regulations.

E. Authorized User. Special cases where employee driven-transportation is needed by Principal Officers to use motor vehicles to fulfill job-related obligations.

F. Authorized Passenger(s). Department dignitaries; Deputy Secretary; Under Secretary; Senior Staff; Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration;

Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics; and Secretary’s Chief of Staff.

G. Dispatcher. ED Federal employee or contractor responsible for receiving and communicating reliable information, tracking vehicle and equipment, and recording important information.

H. Senior Staff Assistant. Authorized personnel responsible for communicating transportation request between Senior Staff and motor pool Dispatcher.

VI. General Responsibilities

The Transportation Services Branch (TSB) in OFO’s Logistics Services Division (LSD), is responsible for implementing the policies and regulations within this Directive pertaining to the use of official motor vehicles leased by ED. The dispatcher is responsible for scheduling passenger service and establishing priorities for the use of vehicles assigned to the motor pool. ED dignitaries and their designees (collectively, ED Officials) and approved employees that request the use of OFO’s motor pool vehicles must ensure that their use of these vehicles is for official Government business only. Use of these vehicles for personal business or pleasure is prohibited.

VII. Eligibility for Use of Official Motor Vehicles

Authorized passengers in order of preference are:

1. Deputy Secretary;

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2. Under Secretary;

3. Heads of Principal Offices;

4. Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration;

5. Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics;

6. Secretary’s Chief of Staff;

7. Other Senior Staff; and

8. Other ED staff who are accompanying one or more of the foregoing.

VIII. Requirements

Official motor vehicles may be used, if authorized by the Principal Office, to provide the following services for official Government business (for example, attending meetings or events, performing the duties of the office in which the official serves, or otherwise serving the needs of the Department):

A. Passenger service provided by motor pool vehicle operators for ED Officials and approved employees.

B. Official motor vehicles may not be used for the following services:

1. Transportation of ED Officials or approved employees between their residence and place of work;

2. Transportation of ED Officials or approved employees to and from functions other than for official Government business as described above.

Transportation of the spouses and dependents of Authorized Users and Authorized Passengers.

3. Motor pool vehicles, or any other Government-owned or leased vehicles, are not to be used to attend partisan political meetings or events, except in the case of Presidential Appointees with Senate confirmation, in which case the use of the vehicle must be cleared in advance with the Ethics Division in the Office of the General Counsel so that arrangements may be made to reimburse ED.

IX. Procedures

Official motor vehicles and drivers are available for passenger service each workday between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Requests may be made only by a designee of the Principal Officer to ensure that unauthorized individuals do not use official motor vehicles

The procedure to request use of these vehicles is as follows:

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A. Authorized Passenger(s) or Senior Staff Assistant will send necessary travel details to OFOMSTransportationservices@ed.gov to schedule service and provide trip information, including contact phone number at time of pick-up. All requests should be received with as much advance notice as possible to ensure availability;

B. The dispatcher will schedule service on a first-come, first-served basis.

Passengers will be contacted and rescheduled if an order-of-preference issue develops;

C. The dispatcher will schedule two or more passengers to the same vehicle when they are going to the same location or nearby locations, as determined by the sole discretion of the dispatcher. The dispatcher will notify the Senior Staff Assistant or Authorized User of the change and provide them with the appropriate information;

D. Drivers are not permitted to wait for more than 15 minutes at departure or destination locations. It is the responsibility of the passenger or his/her designee to contact the driver or dispatcher if there is a delay or if a pickup is no longer required;

E. If a passenger’s plans change unexpectedly at his or her departure or destination locations, such passenger shall call the driver’s cell phone or the dispatcher as soon as possible, but in no event less than 30 minutes before his or her scheduled pick up time.

F. During the trip, passengers may not alter or change the route or destination of a trip as this may cause a conflict for the driver’s next scheduled trip;

G. Vehicles are not to be used outside of the Washington, D.C., and standard metropolitan geographical area, namely a radius of 50-miles from ED Headquarters; and

H. Whenever possible, such as for an airport pickup, ED Officials or approved employees are encouraged to use commercial transportation including, but not limited to, Metrorail, Metrobus, and commercial taxi service. ED’s shuttle bus service is also available at regularly scheduled intervals between ED Headquarters. The use of these readily available options helps ensure the availability of our vehicles for travelers who have no other means of reaching their destination.