On Tuesday, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a ban on text messaging while driving for all commercial truck and bus drivers. The ban goes into effect today, 27 January 2010, and is the result of an administrative interpretation of 49 CFR 390.17.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has provided regulatory guidance on this issue; read the rule in the Federal Register.
Transport Topics Online quoted American Trucking Association (ATA) President Bill Graves as saying, “ATA supports DOT’s action to ban the use of handheld wireless devices by commercial drivers to send or receive text messages while driving.”
Landline Magazine Online quoted Owner Operators and Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) Executive Vice President Todd Spencer, whose review was not as positive:
“We support where they are going, but not how they got there…. Making their action effective immediately bypasses normal regulatory rulemaking processes. Those processes allow actions to be vetted for unintended consequences, as well as potential implementation and enforcement problems.”
The fine for texting while driving will be up to $2,750.00
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