- Redmon discusses ‘Ice Road Truckers’ 100 comment(s)
- Rule bars handheld cell phone while driving Jan. 1 54 comment(s)
- Forecast: Driver shortage looming 48 comment(s)
- FMCSA posts hours proposals 39 comment(s)
- Dave Redmon fired from one IRT show, quits other 32 comment(s)
- Rand McNally unveils Intelliroute TND 700 23 comment(s)
- Truckers News to host sleep apnea webinar 15 comment(s)
- Bank sues Arrow Trucking 13 comment(s)
- Trucks and women, then and now 10 comment(s)
- Does less equal more? 9 comment(s)
FMCSA seeks handheld cell phone ban
December 17, 2010
| by: Jeff Crissey
Making good on its promise to curb distracted driving practices, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would prohibit interstate commercial truck and bus drivers from reaching for, dialing or holding handheld cell phones while operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) in interstate commerce.
The announcement comes three months after FMCSA issued a final rule banning commercial vehicle drivers from texting while driving.
The proposal would fine drivers up to $2,750 in federal civil penalties for each offense and disqualify their commercial driver’s license for repeat offenses. Additionally, states would suspend a driver’s CDL after two or more violations of any state law on handheld cell phone use. Carriers that allow their drivers to use handheld cell phones while driving would face a maximum penalty of $11,000.
According to research by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute cited by FMCSA, using a handheld cell phone while driving significantly increases the likelihood of an accident or safety-critical event. In particular, reaching for an object while driving triples the crash risk, and dialing a phone number into a handheld phone while driving increases crash risk six times.
“Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cell phone, even for a few seconds, the driver places everyone around them at risk,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This proposed rule will go a long way toward keeping a driver’s full attention focused on the road.”
While the VTTI study showed increased crash risks for using handheld cell phones while driving, the same research showed that having a conversation on a handheld or hands-free mobile device was a low-risk activity that only requires a driver to look away from the road for a brief period. Recognizing this distinction, FMCSA says “it is not clear if simply talking on a mobile telephone presents a significant risk,” and the proposal doesn’t prohibit hands-free phone use while driving, as was recommended to the agency by the National Transportation Safety Board.
15 Comments
Leave a Reply
- Randall-Reilly™
- ©2012 Truckers News Magazine | Trucking News |
- Privacy Policy |
- Terms and Conditions
I am far beyond irate at yet another assanine and pathetic move by Lahood and company based entirely on the opposite conclusion of every crash study ever done.
Once again the ring leader of this ring under the big top circus that is DC has devised another inane move that will do little to reduce the true danger on the highways but solely serves for him to back pat himself and bow before the alter of the special interest groups that spew stupidity in the name of safety and whose sole purpose is self-promotion.
The idiocy of Lahood and his moronic comrades defys countless pages of fact and relies only on egos searching applause to promote worthless, expensive and deadly mind-numbingly ludicrous legal gestures. AGAIN!
THIS CRETIN SHOULD BE LITERALLY THROWN OUT OF OFFICE AND HIS BOSS WITH HIM!!
Real change on this issue is going to come from the end user – the delivery man, the car pooling mom, or the teen driver deciding to change their habits. From truckers to moms to teens that I spoke with on the issue of text and drive – there was one common thread. If presented with a Big Brother type lock down alternative, they will immediately seek “to get around it”. This does not constitute change on our highways. Let’s change behavior and we will see those violent crash rates plummet…now.
I decided to do something about it after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver. Instead of a shackle that locks down phones and alienates the user (especially teens) I built a tool called OTTER that is a simple GPS based, texting auto reply app for smartphones. I think if we can empower the individual then change will come to our highways now and not just our laws.
Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
OTTER app
[...] Origionally published at http://www.truckersnews.com/fmcsa-seeks-handheld-cell-phone-ban/ [...]
yeah if this passes,it will give a DOT OFFICER
legal rights to check QUAILCOM MESSAGES sent by drivers on line 3!! texting while driving is illegal, in most states,texas already calls
roadside reast areas TEXT AREAS just for us
quailcom users!! p,s, the emergency lane is not a texting lane,, its for emergency mechanical stops,
i have a bluetooth headset that i had for going on 3 years now. have very little problem with it usahe out on the road and hope they dont take that away com[eletly. have trained headset to dial numbers for me. it is a MT-BT-109 bought it 3 years ago and still working.
when I was driving the company I drove for made the Quallcom’s unable to be read when the truck is moving. My dispatcher would send me a message to call him right away. then he would call me on my cell phone and want to know why I hadn’t called him. DUH! I can’t read my messages while the truck is moving. I have to be at my destination at a certain time and the more time I take to stop and read a message the less time I have to make my destination. Never could figure that one out. Oh yeah we weren’t supposed to use our cell phones while driving either per the company.
How much is enough? before drivers realize we have them by the gonads. We start parking trucks, in protest of these BIAS laws they keep hitting us with. They will understand we can cripple an already bad economy. This is the only way these people and the rest of the general public will learn. Back in the 70′s, 80′s truckers stuck together covered each others backs, NOW it’s just about ME ME ME the individual. It’s time to band together. WE THE TRUCKERS ARE ENGINE OF THE ECONOMY.
It’s all about Revenue! Next It Will Be A Fine For Holding Your CB Mic In Your Hand. Then it will be a fine for operating your AM FM CD Player.
It seems to me that instead of constantly imposing more restrictions on the commercial driver, maybe the FMCSA should implement a national compaign to educate and make the general public more aware of the appropriate motoring behavior that should be conducted while in the presence of a commercial vehicle. The end behavior of All motor vehicle operators should be dictated by common sense.
The entire burden of road safety should not fall entirely on the shoulders of the commercial vehicle operator.
I agree with this writer!!!
If Ray LaHood and the rest of the so-called do gooders would impose the same fine and penalty on the four wheelers, then they would see a drastic reduction in highway crashes. Last time I counted and calculated the odds of cell phone use between four wheelers and commercial drivers, the odd were four wheelers 60, commercial drivers 3. So Mr. LaHood, why don’t you do something about the massive amount of car and pickup driver holding a cell phone to their heads or texting while driving, after all they are the one’s that are causing the crashes between four wheelers and commercial trucks.
CAN YOU LET US DO ARE JOBS, AND KEED YOUR HANDS OUT OF ARE STUFF. ……NO, BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT LET US BE THE PROFESSIONALS
Fellow drivers better wake up and smell the coffee. It’s About time we pull together and show these safety oriented nitwits who they are dealing with. Shut em down.I am for safety but split rules do not work. I have read the statistics time and time again about trucks are safer nowadays than they have ever been. Look at wrecks of four wheelers verses truck wrecks and then look at the cause. If they are going to ban cell phone use completely and looks like were headed in that direction, then ban it on four wheelers too. The government better realize u can only beat a dog for so long before it snaps. Just keep pushing america around, with bias, unfair, and unnecessary rules and see what happens.
if there going too banned us they should do the same for 4 wheelers too there just as many accident with cars too
More and more regulations for what? I would first like to see Mr. La Hoods cell phone records sopenaed. Alaong with all those that ruled in favor of this. Texting while driving I agree is dangerous.
What about all the hyw signs that say ” dial 511 for emergency, to report DWI, for weather?”.
One has to know his limits. We have had CB’s for years. Now we or some of us have QualComs’ in our trucks, which we use while driving. We for the most part have years of expereince driving.
How many times have I had a state patrolman pass me with his/her cell phone in their ear and they are going to give me a ticket for using a hands free system?