Hanging it up

Time to push the universal end button on distracted driving

In late November, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration formally banned commercial drivers from using handheld cell phones and other communication devices while driving. It went into effect Jan. 1. The U.S. Department of Transportation had already banned truckers from texting while driving.

Randy Grider is editor of Truckers News. Write him at rgrider@randallreilly.com.

The new regs have spawned a great deal of response from truckers — mainly concerning how they were being unfairly singled out by regulators. They point to drivers of four-wheelers who in sheer numbers pose the biggest public threat with distracted driving, especially cell phone use.

Truckers regularly report witnessing drivers who are texting and swerving and dialing the phone and drifting across the center line or off the road. It has gotten to the point that it’s almost impossible to drive one mile without seeing someone using their cell phone in some unsafe fashion.

Unfortunately, truckers have a target on their backs in any accident no matter who is at fault.

The truth is no one should be texting while driving. It is extremely dangerous. And it’s pretty hard to argue that having both eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel is not the safest way to drive. This tried-and-true method harkens all the way back to high school driver’s education for many of us.