This week the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a nationwide ban that prohibits commercial truck and bus drivers from texting while they’re on the job behind the wheel.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made the announcement about the ban, which is aimed at preventing accidents caused by distracted truck and bus drivers. The ban took effect immediately.
“We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe,” LaHood said in a press release, http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2010/dot1410.htm. “This is an important safety step, and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving,”
News of the ban was widely reported by the national media, including The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/technology/27distracted.html, and CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/26/trucks.texting.ban/?hpt=T1.
Truckers or bus drivers who violate the new guidelines will be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750.
Right now 19 states bar drivers from texting behind the wheel, according to the Ventura, Calif., County Star, http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/jan/28/an-obvious-direction-to-go/?print=1.
Its story points out that a tragic 2008 Metrolink commuter train crash, which killed 25 people and injured 135, was mainly blamed on a train engineer texting just prior to the crash.
That story also cites a July study by the Virgina Tech Transportation Institute, which determined that drivers are six times more likely to get in an accident if they are talking or texting on their cell. That survey also found that truckers using a mobile device are 23 times more likely to have a collision.
DOT this week cited Research by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which found that 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.
“At 55 miles per hour, this means that the driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road,” the DOT press release says. “Drivers who text while driving are more than 20 times more likely to get in an accident than non-distracted drivers. Because of the safety risks associated with the use of electronic devices while driving, FMCSA is also working on additional regulatory measures that will be announced in the coming months.”
During the September Distracted Driving Summit, LaHood announced that DOT would pursue regulatory action, as well as rulemakings, to reduce the risks posed by distracted driving.
President Obama also signed an Executive Order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment. Federal employees were required to comply with the ban starting Dec. 30.
The regulatory guidance the DOT texting ban are now in the Federal Register.
DOT also has a Web site, http://distraction.gov, where it warns drivers about the perils of driving while using their cell phones, eating, adjusting their radio or text messaging.