Police in Dartmouth, N.S. have told employees of a Hooters restaurant not to practice calisthenics outside because their bouncing bodies have been deemed a major distraction for nearby drivers.

The Hooters restaurant chain is famed as much for its young waitresses in low-cut tops and short shorts as it is for its hot chicken wings.

At the restaurant in Dartmouth, the employees begin their shifts with a number of outdoor exercises to help prepare them for their work. They have been performing the outdoor exercise routine since April 5 of this year, when the restaurant opened.

But there was an accident linked to the Hooters' ladies about a month ago.

"We were cheering to the cars, waving (and) people were beeping," bartender Bryana Doyscher explained to CTV Atlantic. "One guy kept his eyes on us and kept going down (the street) and a bus stopped to let a passenger out and the guy smacked into the back of the bus."

On Friday, another rear-end fender bender occurred during their morning exercises and police told the employees not to exercise on the sidewalk. They have since moved their routine to the parking lot.

"We attended Hooters and we had asked them to move their staff away from the roadway to another parking lot where they wouldn't be distracting drivers," Halifax Regional Police spokesperson Theresa Brien said.

But Hooters' manager feels that his employees should be able to use the sidewalk on one of Dartmouth's busiest streets.

"I can understand safety but we're not doing anything wrong," store manager Scott Samways said. "It's a huge marketing ploy, pretty women can sell pretty much anything they want."

Employees say they, and the restaurant, benefit from a little outdoor jumping and stretching.

"I think we should be out here promoting ourselves," waitress Amy Randell said. "It gets people in the restaurant and a lot of people enjoy it."

Not everyone in the neighbourhood agreed with that assessment.

"I'm a guy but I don't think it's proper to do that out here," one area-man said. "Like you seen, a fender-bender right off the get go."

But then there are those who recognize the benefit to the community that Hooters provides.

"I can understand it causes distractions for the drivers, however they shouldn't be looking at pretty girls," an older gentleman said.

As for him?

"I'm not driving," he said with a smile.

With a report from CTV Atlantic's Lindsey Deluce