Ban on Texting for Commercial Truck Drivers
Tennessee truck accident lawyers know the facts
A rule was recently proposed by United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that would prohibit texting by interstate commercial truck and bus drivers. According to a press release by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the proposed rule would permanently implement an already-existing interim ban on texting that is currently being applied under existing safety rules.
How will this impact trucking safety?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that there were nearly six thousand fatalities in the United States in 2008 due to crashes involving a distracted driver, as well as over half a million injuries. Commercial drivers can be distracted by a number of different items and occurrences inside their vehicles. Talking to a passenger, changing a radio station, using a cell phone, and eating or drinking are all potential distractions in additional to texting. However, the act of texting is thought to be especially dangerous, because when it happens, drivers not only take one hand off of the wheel, they stop concentrating on the roadway in front of them for significant periods of time.
According to the FMCSA, research has shown that drivers who text take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds that they are driving. These drivers are more than twenty times more likely to get in an accident than those who are not distracted while operating a vehicle.
It is easy to imagine the magnitude of a truck accident that could be caused by a commercial truck driver while texting. It is hoped that, if implemented, the new federal rule will reduce driver distraction, and therefore, deadly accidents.
For more information on the proposed ban, you may go to the website of the Office of the Federal Register. If you want to learn more about how the United States government is working to combat driver distraction, go to www.distraction.gov.
Contact a Tennessee truck accident lawyer today
The Tennessee truck accident lawyers at Gilreath & Associates want to help resolve your legal issues. You can count on our compassion, experience and skill to pursue a positive outcome for your case. Call us, toll-free, at 800.637.7024, or contact us using our quick form.
