Personal Injury Law

Federal Trucking Regulators Propose a Ban on Hand Held Cell Phones in Moving Trucks

By Jeffrey Lowe

As a St. Louis semi truck accident attorney, I have long believed that talking on the phone while driving is a bad idea for anyone ? but especially for truckers in charge of multi-ton vehicles. That?s why I was pleased to see a Feb. 23 article saying that the American Trucking Association has expressed limited support for a proposed federal rule banning the use of hand-held cell phones by truckers on the job. The ban was proposed in December by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and Transport Topics Online reported Feb. 23 that the ATA has filed papers supporting a ban for all traffic, including but not limited to heavy trucks. Another trucking industry group, the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, filed comments Feb. 22 opposing the rule.

The FMCSA has already banned the practice of texting while driving a tractor-trailer. Fines for violating that rule are $2,750 per driver and up to $11,000 for the driver?s employer. The proposed rule on cell phones would use the same fines to penalize use of a cell phone in the cab of a moving truck. As it currently stands, the rule would only ban hand-held use of the phones; hands-free headsets would still be allowed. In its statement, the ATA asked the FMCSA to allow the headsets, saying phones are an important way for truckers to communicate with their dispatchers as well as family and friends they?re away from for long periods. It also said drivers should still be permitted to push some buttons to start a call. OOIDA, by contrast, said cell phones are no more dangerous than CB radios or GPS devices, and existing reckless driving laws should be enforced.

Here in the St. Louis area, we have firsthand recent experience with the consequences of truckers? cell phone use. In 2008, a trucker named Jeffrey Knight plowed into stopped traffic on Highway 40, killing three people and injuring 14 others. He told investigators that he had been reaching for his phone at the moment of the crash. It?s possible that Knight?s mistake was taking his eyes off the road rather than the cell phone as such. But as a Missouri tractor-trailer accident lawyer, I wonder whether he would have been tempted to reach for the phone if he were required to use a hands-free system, such as the voice-activated systems available in some new cars. Those systems are pricey, but even if trucking companies don?t feel that saving lives is worth the cost, it should consider the tens of millions in legal claims awarded to Knight?s many victims.

Full post as published by Trucking Accident Attorney Blog on February 25, 2011 (boomark / email).