Truck Drivers Latest to be Banned from Texting and Driving

Federal Government Taking Action against Distracted Driving

Early this year the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) announced it had passed a texting ban for all commercial vehicles, including semi-truck drivers and bus drivers, involved in interstate commerce. Commercial drivers found in violation of the regulation face up to $2750 in fines. US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood had promised such a ban was coming back in September when the federal government held a summit on the dangers of texting and driving.

The texting ban on commercial drivers is the latest effort by the federal government to lower the number of deaths caused each year by distracted drivers. Late last year, President Obama issued an executive order prohibiting federal government employees from texting not only while operating government-owned vehicles, but also while driving their own vehicles while conducting official federal government business. The executive order went into effect on December 30, 2009.

These two measures are unlikely to be the last that comes out of Washington, D.C. Many expect that a national texting while driving ban will be the next big measure passed. In fact, legislation that would withhold federal highway money from states that did not pass a texting ban was introduced on the same day as the commercial texting ban. Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia have passed texting bans. New Jersey was one of the first states to prohibit the activity.

Others believe the texting ban is not enough and that the federal government also should push for a national cell phone ban, with some championing a ban that would prohibit all cell phone use while behind the wheel. While several states (including New Jersey) have passed hands-held bans, no state has passed a complete ban on cell phones while driving. Recently, studies have come out indicating that hands-free devices do not make cell phone use any safer and that laws that do not ban cell phone use entirely are ineffective at decreasing the number of distracted driving crashes and fatalities.

Recent Studies Reveal True Danger of Texting While Driving

According to the US DOT, as many as 6000 people lost their lives and more than 500,000 were injured in car accidents attributed to distracted drivers in 2008. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 80 percent of all car accidents and as many as 65% of all near-crashes involve distracted drivers.

Within the last year, national attention has been focused on the dangers of texting and driving. Several significant studies have come out finding that texting and driving is the most distracting and dangerous activity that a driver can perform while operating a motor vehicle.

For example, a study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) found that drivers who text have a 23 times greater likelihood of being involved in a crash than non-distracted drivers. In comparison, the study also found that drivers who talk on a cell phone or who drive after drinking alcohol have a four times greater chance of being involved in a car accident than non-distracted drivers.

A study conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found that drivers who text take their eyes off of the road an average of 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds. If the driver is traveling at 55 miles per hour, this is the equivalent of driving the length of a football field without ever looking once up at the road.

The University of Utah recently published the results of its study on the reduced reaction times of drivers who text. According to the study, texting drivers have a 30 percent reduced reaction time while drivers who talk on a cell phone have a 9% reduced reaction time. The study found that the difference between the two reaction times was largely attributable to the inability of drivers to divide their attention between texting and driving. Unlike talking on a cell phone, which allows drivers to divide their attention more equally between the two activities, texting requires drivers to devote more of their attention to typing or reading a message than operating the motor vehicle.

Conclusion

Even though the majority of states have not taken action to ban texting while driving, it is likely that drivers living in these states will not be able to enjoy their texting rights for long. Many states without a ban are considering one and it appears only a matter of time before the federal government passes a national ban.