Across the country, a patchwork of state laws govern texting and other cell phone use by ordinary citizens while driving. But truckers, bus drivers, and other commercial motor vehicle operators are also governed by federal laws, and those laws are getting tougher on distracted driving issues such as texting and talking on a cell phone.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which regulates the trucking industry, has already instituted a ban on texting while driving by commercial drivers in September of 2010. Recently, the FMCSA issued new preliminary rules that would prohibit commercial drivers from reaching for or holding a cell phone while driving.
Perhaps surprisingly, one trucking industry group, the American Trucking Associations (ATA), supports the proposed new rule, but says that truckers should have leeway to hold the phone long enough to press a few buttons and engage hands-free operation of the phone. As the rule was initially drafted, a driver would have to have any hands-free cell phone devices already set up before driving, so that no fumbling for buttons is required to talk.
The ATA also said it supports a ban on the use of hand-held phones by all motorists, not just commercial truckers. The ATA's support came as the deadline for comments on the proposed ruling closed in late February. The FMCSA will take the suggestions of the ATA and other groups into account and eventually publish a final rule.
Just what form that final rule takes remains to be seen, but such a ban has support. The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent governmental agency that makes safety recommendations to the other federal agencies, has favored a ban on cell phone use by commercial drivers since 2006, and since 2008 has had such a ban on its "Most Wanted" list.
If the proposed rule is eventually adopted by the FMCSA, it would likely prevent truck accidents and increase safety for all drivers on the nation's roads.
