Truckers Continue to Text & Drive Even Though It’s Illegal

06 Mar Truckers Continue to Text & Drive Even Though It’s Illegal

While not everyone knows this, texting and driving is banned for ALL truck drivers across America.

Regardless of your state’s distracted driving laws, it is illegal for commercial truck drivers to text while driving. Texting and driving is a recipe for disaster. Data shows that a distracted driver is 23.2 times more likely to crash.

Sergeant Bryan Witt of the Texas Department of Public Safety was recently quoted in a news segment for NewsChannel 6 saying that they were still issuing citations for both marked and unmarked units.

FMCSA Texting Ban

The FMCSA, the federal body which governs commercial trucking, banned texting and driving for ALL truck drivers in America five years ago. This, however, hasn’t stopped drivers around the country from continuing the dangerous practice. In one recent example out of Arizona, a police officer died when a truck driver who was looking at photos on his phone crashed into police and emergency cars, resulting in multiple victim injuries and one fatality.

It’s estimated that more than 16,000 truck drivers were ticketed last year alone as a result of texting while driving.

WABC Investigation Into Distracted Driving

Investigations recently carried out by the ABC affiliate in New York revealed some worrisome details into how pervasive the problem of distracted driving has become. The news station set up cameras along major New York highways which caught numerous truckers using their phones while driving. In one instance, a truck driver was caught having multiple conversations on two phones while behind the wheel, putting other road users in serious danger.

When the WABC investigative officer asked a National Transportation Board Member if the fines levied on individuals who drove distracted were effective enough to curb the vice, he intimated that enforcement of these rules isn’t as strong as it should be.

Here are some disturbing statistics highlighting how common the problem has become:

• More than 500,000 injuries as well as 6,000 deaths happen due to distracted driving each year in the US.
• The number of lawsuits targeting trucking companies due to injuries and deaths arising from distracted driving keeps increasing on a year-on-year basis.

Some truckers are trying to abide with these regulations by using hands-free devices. This at least keeps the driver’s eyes to where it matters the most: the road. It’s estimated that a driver reaching to use his phone or another electronic device is 6.7 more likely to be in a car accident. Some companies, in an effort to curb cellphone use, are now installing cameras in the driver cab to monitor driver behavior and convince them to focus on the road and not their cellphones.

Was Your Accident Caused by Texting & Driving?

If you were a victim of someone else’s distracted driving, you may be eligible to receive compensation so make sure to hire car accident attorneys.  An experienced personal injury attorney and auto accident attorney will know how to fully investigate the cause of your accident and help prove liability for your injuries and losses. You may also need to be choosing reliable process servers to ensure that the legal documents are delivered to all parties involved in the case.