US proposes cellphone ban for truck drivers

[Grid]

I think that cell phones shouldn't be banned for truck and bus drivers. I don't think we should discriminate against someone just because they drive a truck. However, I believe that the trucking companies should be allowed to decide whether or not they want to permit their truckers to use cell phones while driving or not.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. government on Friday proposed prohibiting commercial truck and bus drivers from using cellphones while behind the wheel.

The Transportation Department rule would affect approximately 4 million drivers, who are already banned by the government from texting while working.

The proposal is the latest move in Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's stepped-up campaign against distracted driving in which he has questioned cellphone use in passenger cars and "hands free" communications technology.

"Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cellphone, even for a few seconds, the driver places everyone around them at risk," LaHood said in a statement.

Nearly 5,000 people were killed and another 500,000 were hurt in crashes of all vehicles involving a distracted driver in 2009, government safety figures show.

Inattention was a factor in 9 percent of large truck crashes, which fell overall in 2009 from the previous year. Most truck crashes involve collisions with other vehicles.

[Kazikli Bey]

Yes, they should be banned, and not just for truck and bus drivers but for all drivers behind the wheel. Driving whilst talking on a cell-phone has been proven to cause a distraction large enough to actually be a hindrance to one's ability to drive. From memory, drivers using a cell-phone whilst driving are comparable to drivers who are over the legal limit of blood-alcohol levels. Here's some further reading.

http://www.psych.utah.edu/lab/applie.../cellphone.pdf