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According to autoblog.com, the U.S. Department of Transportation has made it a crime for inter-state truck drivers and drivers of coaches carrying more than eight passengers to text or use handheld cell phones while driving. The penalty for being caught doing so is a fine of up to $2,750.

Last year a study by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that when the truckers texted, their collision risk was 23 times greater than when not texting. The study also measured the time drivers took their eyes from the road to send or receive texts. According to the study, in the moments before a crash or near crash, drivers typically spent nearly five seconds looking at their devices — enough time at typical highway speeds to cover more than the length of a football field.

The lawyers at McIntyre Law are pleased that the U.S. Department of Transportation has implemented this long needed rule. Texting while driving is indicative of a systemic problem on our highways. Not only does the time texting take away from attention on the roadway, but the time spent looking at your phone to see if a response text has been sent also causes inattentiveness.

4 Comments

  1. Gravatar for Facebook User
    Facebook User

    I am a truck driver and I don't have a problem with this law. BUT! What I do have a problem with is the fact that the Government would place that law on truck drivers and not include the everyday person driving their cars. If these people would do their studies correctly, they would see that truckers have a lower accident rate than automobile operators. And the highest cause of car wrecks is by people that were texting or using their cell phone. Of course why would anyone make a law that would affect them, because not one of them drives a truck.

  2. Gravatar for Steve Lombardi
    Steve Lombardi

    Bob: I haven't read the law yet, but I will. I'm in agreement with you about banning all texting while driving. The law should prohibit all people using the Interstate Highway System from texting. Beyond the interstate highways there may be a Constitutional issue with the commerce act that doesn’t allow the Congress to do the legislating. It may have to come from state legislatures. So I don’t think they are picking on truck drivers, but I’m sure it feels that way. Keep on truckin!

  3. Gravatar for Mike Bryant
    Mike Bryant

    Steve is correct that like the speed laws the federal government could only link state funding (or something like that)to make state's do something. Where they have the federal regulations of the trucking industry to enforce this, the same way they passed the law against all federal employees texting and driving. Hopefully, more states will look at this.

  4. Gravatar for Truckie D
    Truckie D

    I agree with this -- it just needs to be extended to ALL drivers.

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