Crash Bytes (Feb. '10)

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Head’s Up!  Federal Ban on Texting while Commercial Driving

In a press release dated January 26, 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced new federal guidelines that prohibit texting by drivers of commercial vehicles.

Relying on a safety study concluding that “the odds of being involved in a safety-critical event is 23.2 times greater for drivers who are texting while driving than for those who do not,” the DOT is targeting drivers who text while driving a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce.

 A “commercial motor vehicle” includes vehicles used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle:

Has a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more, or

Is designed or used to transport more than 8 people for compensation, or

Is designed or used to transport more than 15 people not for compensation, or

Is used to transport certain hazardous material.

The guidelines do not affect the laws of the local jurisdiction in which the commercial vehicle is being driven.  Drivers of commercial motor vehicles must still comply with those laws.  In fact, if a driver subject to the federal guidelines violates a state or local provision that also deals with texting while driving, then the driver will also have violated the federal guidelines.

These new federal guidelines are aimed at banning texting on cell phones by commercial drivers.  The guidelines do not prohibit the operation of other fleet devices (such as dispatch or fleet management systems) by commercial drivers.  Curiously, the guidelines state that they are not targeting the use of cell phones for purposes other than text messaging.  So while it seems that talking on a cell phone is still allowed, presumably, e-mailing while commercial driving would be banned under the guidelines.

The text of the new guidelines is found at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-1573.htm.  More formal regulations that build upon these guidelines are forthcoming.

This article is intended for general information only.  It should not be construed as legal advice with respect to any particular situation.

By Roger Owers, Ph.D., P.E., J.D.,

Regional Manager,

Property & Casualty Investigations Division