New Federal Regs Ban Texting By Commercial Operators
The United States Department of Transportation announced today new measures to restrict the use of cellphones and banning texting by operators of commercial motor vehicles. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood pointed out that there is convincing and compelling research that wireless electronic devices dramatically increase the risk of truck and bus crashes. The Secretary said that this action action to stop the dangerous practice of truck and motorcoach drivers texting while driving as well as restricting cell phone use will reduce crashes, save lives, and avoid thousands of injuries to commercial operators and motorists sharing the same roads.
This past week Secretary LaHood and senior transportation officials, elected officials, safety advocates, law enforcement representatives and academics convened in Washington, DC to discuss ideas about how to combat distracted driving. Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes, according report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use, and drowsiness.
Over the last several months I have blogged about this problem on a number of occasions, the worst tractor-trailer/car collision is addressed in my August 7, 2009 Blog where a distracted trucker was texting and ran into stopped interstate traffic killing 4 and seriously injuring eighteen people. I think that this is a big step that eventually will lead to a reduction of deaths and serious injuries but it will take time and a strong educational and enforcement effort by federal state and local law enforcement, with the cooperation of the trucking companies, to make it happen.
If you or a loved one is injured in a Tennessee tractor-trailer collision contact our experienced accident attorneys at Phillip Miller & Associates
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