Feds Ban Texting by Commercial Truckers

Thursday, 28 January 2010 13:37

Truckers and drivers of other large commercial vehicles will have to pull over in order to send and receive text messages, according to a new measure announced by the United States Department of Transportation on Jan. 26, 2010. The ban on texting by commercial drivers, which took effect immediately, is another development aimed at combating distracted driving, the department said. It follows in the wake of a national summit on the issue in September 2009.

"We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe," said Federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement. "This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving." The action is the result of the Department's interpretation of standing rules. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750, the department said.

Some trucking advocacy groups have voiced their support for the measure. Most Indiana truck accident lawyers do as well.

"Texting on a hand held phone while driving substantially elevates the risk of being involved in a crash," American Trucking Association (ATA) CEO Bill Graves stated in response to the announcement. "To promote highway safety, and further improve the trucking industry's continually improving safety record and that of all commercial vehicles, ATA supports DOT's action to ban the use of handheld wireless devices by commercial drivers to send or receive text messages while driving."

"America needs strong laws that apply to all drivers, but legislation alone will not solve the problem," said Graves in an earlier statement on ATA's views on distracted driving. "Unsafe behaviors like text messaging while driving have become socially acceptable, so we need to change the attitudes toward and perceptions of these actions." But Graves noted that texting by commercial truck drivers is only a part of the issue, adding that the ATA also supports states' efforts to ban texting by private automobile drivers.

According to research compiled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration(FMCSA), which recommends policy to other federal agencies, drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting. For a driver traveling at 55 miles per hour, the distance covered without looking at the road is equal to the length of a football field, including the end zones, the agency said. In addition, the FMCSA claims research show that drivers who text while driving are more than 20 times more likely to get in an accident than non-distracted drivers.

Commercial drivers join federal employees in the texting while driving ban. A similar order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment has been in effect since December 30, 2009, issued as an executive order by President Barack Obama.

The public can track developments by the U.S. Department of Transportation to curb distracted driving at www.distraction.gov.