Truck & Bus Drivers Banned From Texting While Driving

Posted by | Sep 23, 2010 | Filed under U.S.

Truck & Bus Drivers Banned From Texting While Driving

Reports from yesterday spoke of a bus driver in Portland, Oregon, who was pictured reading his Amazon Kindle while driving a moving vehicle full of passengers. Accident waiting to happen? Last year alone, over 5,500 deaths were reported on roads and at least half a million injuries were caused by drivers at the wheel being distracted.

According to Chris at Autoblog, new laws have now been introduced banning commercial truck and bus drivers from texting while driving. In its latest “National Distracted Driving Summit”, The Department of Transportation (DoT) will not be focusing on teen drivers and commuters, but on those who drive trucks, buses, trains and drivers moving hazardous goods. It seems that some 1,600 companies will now be joining in with this latest ban which could potentially affect 10.5 million drivers.

In some states, police have already started to issue tickets against those who choose to use their mobile handset while driving, be it texting or talking. Law enforcement officers in Hartford, Connecticut issued at least 4,956 tickets, and in Syracuse, New York, police there have given out 4,446 cautions.

What are your thoughts on this recent ban? Do you fit into one of these sectors? Please feel free to leave your comments here at ONLY KENT. To check out more on this and to look at DoT’s press release, log onto Autoblog

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  • http://twitter.com/OTTERapp @OTTERapp

    Business people need to 'hit the ball over the net'. Teens consider it rude not to reply immediately to texts. Home schedules would grind to a halt without immediate communication. We are conditioned to pursue this level of efficiency but we are all supposed cease this behavior once we sit in our respective 5,000 pound pieces of steel and glass. Anyone can win an argument in a forum like this by saying "Just put the phone away" – but we can see its just not happening.

    I just read that 72% of teens text daily – many text more 3000 times a month. New college students no longer have email addresses! They use texting and Facebook – even with their professors. This text and drive issue is in its infancy and its not going away.

    I decided to do something about it after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver . Instead of a shackle that locks down phones and alienates the user (especially teens) I built a tool called OTTER that is a simple app for smartphones – low cost, no recurring fees. I think if we can empower the individual then change will come to our highways now and not just our laws.

    Erik Wood, owner
    OTTER LLC
    OTTER app
    Footnote:
    - http://www.prlog.org/10871927.html

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