Transportation Secretary bans truckers from texting
In a move designed to prevent deadly tractor trailer crashes, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has banned commercial truck and bus drivers from texting behind the wheel.
The rule goes into effect immediately and drivers caught texting can face penalties of up to $2,750. It is unclear how the new rule will be enforced.
This ban fits with the trend as the nation tries to control distracted driving and prevent the car and truck accident injuries that it causes. 19 states already have some sort of texting ban for drivers, according to a CNN report.
The dangers of texting and driving are clear. Two recent train accidents, one in California and one in Massachusetts, have been blamed on engineers missing signals due to texting. In the St. Louis area, there have been a couple high profile cases of tractor trailer drivers being distracted by their cell phones.
According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration statistics cited in a CNN report, drivers have their eyes off the road for 4.6 out of every 6 seconds while texting. Texting drivers are 20 times more likely to cause an accident and eighty percent of all accidents are related to driver inattention.
