The District is implementing a “How am I driving?” campaign for all D.C. government vehicles under the premise that employees perform better when their behavior is under a microscope.
The program, part of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s 100 Days and Beyond action plan, follows up on a similar drive established two years ago by City Administrator Dan Tangherlini when he was director of the D.C. Department of Transportation.
“I launched it at DDOT because I wanted everyone who’s driving a government car to know they’re being watched,” Tangherlini said Wednesday.
The bumper stickers ask: “How’s my driving? Call 727-1000.” They are to be stamped to roughly 6,000 vehicles operated by agencies under the executive branch, including the public schools. Officials are considering whether to lump police cruisers in the effort.
“It makes excellent sense to make sure that those people who are responsible for public safety are models for safe driving here in the city,” said Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations. “It’s a sign of a more responsive government when we do that.”
About 1,000 stickers were distributed earlier this month Fenty spokeswoman Dena Iverson said, and has received 37 reports to the Mayor’s Citywide Call Center have been received. When a person calls to complain, Iverson said, the Department of Public Works’ fleet maintenance follows up with the appropriate agency to relay the message.
Directing the public to the call center is an attempt to produce a “Hawthorne effect,” Tangherlini said, referencing a theory that productivity increases when people know they’re under observation. The campaign is not in response to a rash of accidents or speeding government vehicles, though the city administrator does recall admonishing an employee for “stupid” driving.
“You’re an ambassador,” he said he remembers telling the member.
