New Department of Transportation rules that take effect today prohibit truck and bus drivers nationwide from sending text messages while behind the wheel. The new rule is the latest step in a growing effort by state and Federal highway safety officials to combat distracted driving and thereby reduce highway accidents and deaths.
In 2008, nearly 6,000 people were killed, and more than 500,000 injured, in accidents linked to distracted drivers. Research studies have shown that texting drivers take their eyes off the road for five seconds -- enough time to travel the length of a football field at highway speeds. A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute also revealed that truckers who text are 23 times more likely to have an accident or near-accident than those who do not.
Truck and bus drivers caught texting while driving will be fined $2,750 under the new rule.
The new rule is part of a broader effort by the Transportation Department to crack down on distracted driving by commercial vehicle operators nationwide. At a summit on the subject held last October, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the effort would not only combat texting while driving but also truck drivers' use of dashboard computers to communicate with drivers - a practice some trucking companies already discourage.
LaHood told reporters while announcing the new ban, "We're gonna set the highest bar possible. ... Any distraction that takes two hands off the wheel and eyes off the windshield should not be allowed." The department is still working on rules governing onboard computer use and cell phone conversations while driving.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws forbidding any driver to text while driving. Some safety advocates also argue for restrictions on cell phone calls as well, saying that even calls using hands-free cell phone devices cause too much distraction. Jackie Gillian, vice president of Advocates for Highway Safety, which has been pushing both Federal and state officials to implement bans on texting and onboard computer use, called today's action "a welcomed first step," but continued that more needed to be done.
Written by Sandy Smith
For HULIQ.com
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