USSS tightens rules on driving government cars after drinking

US Secret Service staffers are no longer allowed to drive government vehicles within 10 hours of drinking alcohol, and violators would face adverse actions, including removal from service, weeks after two allegedly drunk agents drove into a barrier next to the White House.
The Secret Service has issued new guidelines on the consumption of alcoholic beverages and the operation of government issued vehicles, US media reports said.
"Effective immediately, employees may not operate Government Owned, Leased, or Rented vehicle (GOV) within ten hours of consuming an alcoholic beverage. All previous policies regarding the consumption of alcohol and the operation of a GOV are rescinded," an internal memo said.

"Employees who violate this policy are subject to the full range of available disciplinary and adverse actions up to and including removal from employment," the memo issued by new Deputy Director of Secret Service Craig Magaw.
"Secret Service employees are responsible for conducting themselves in a manner that reflects the highest standards of the US Government and must maintain an appropriate state of awareness and mission preparedness," says the memo to staff.
The move came as the Secret Service is looking into two senior agents, including a top member of President Obama's protective detail, after a car crash at the White House this month.

The probe is into what happened on March 4, when two agents drove a government vehicle into a White House security gate.

The Washington Post first reported on the investigation, saying the agents had been drinking at a party for a retiring Secret Service spokesman.
The newspaper reported that officers who were on duty at the White House wanted to arrest the agents and conduct sobriety tests, but they were told by a supervisor to let the two go home.
The investigation has been turned over to the Homeland Security Department's inspector general's office.
At the time of the incident, the officers at the White House were investigating a suspicious package on the White House grounds.

The agents arrived using their emergency flashing lights - which also may have been a violation of Secret Service regulations.
The Secret Service has been hit by a series of embarrassing security lapses of late, including a breach of the White House by a knife-wielding intruder, forcing Julia Pierson to resign as chief of the elite force.