As the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) renewed its urging for stricter federal bans on cell phones for commercial drivers, a Hartford, Ct., school bus driver was accused this week of talking on his mobile device while driving and causing a 2010 crash that killed one teenager and injured several more.
Attorney Andrew Groher filed an amended lawsuit against bus driver Paul Burns, of Autumn Transportation and Specialty Transportation, that cites Burns for “using a hand-held mobile telephone or other electronic device…while operating a moving school bus.”
Connecticut state law prohibits school bus drivers from talking on a cell phone while driving, whether or not a hands-free device is used. Texting while driving is currently banned in 34 states, while using a hand-held device in any way — including as a telephone — is banned in nine states (see the state-by-state list).
NTSB recommended on Oct. 12 that all remaining states and the District of Columbia implement the same law to prohibit commercial drivers from using mobile phones when behind the wheel. Under the proposal, lawmakers in each state would have to enact this legislation, which critics say will be difficult to do. Some in the industry, including the American Trucking Association, support a ban on hand-held devices only.
“This is not going to be popular. But, we’re not here to be popular. We’re here to do what needs to be done,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman, who is scheduled to speak at both the NAPT and NASDPTS annual conferences in Cincinnati next week.
Recommendation H-06-28, which specifically targets Kentucky, arose from a crash investigation into a 2010 median cross-over collision between a truck-tractor semi-trailer and a 15-passenger van in Munfordville. The truck driver, van driver and nine van passengers were killed in the crash. According to the NTSB, the driver of the semi-trailer had been distracted by his cell phone before he lost control of the truck and crossed the highway median.
The NTSB said the only exception to its latest recommendation is when drivers find themselves in an emergency situation (see full recommendation here).
In September 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a final rule prohibiting texting by commercial drivers but did not go so far as to ban phone conversations on either hand-held or hands-free devices. Three months later, FMCSA published an NPRM that would restrict the use of hand-held cell phones by commercial drivers. If finalized, that rule would specifically target phone conversations.
A recent study by the Texas Transportation Institute revealed that reading or writing a text message behind the wheel can more than double a driver’s reaction time. The NTSB said that fatal consequences often occur when drivers are distracted by texting or chatting on their cell phones.
Texas does not currently have a law banning the use of handheld devices statewide, but bus drivers with passengers under the age of 17 are prohibited from texting on cell phones while driving. Additionally, most cities in North Texas have banned any kind of cell phone use in school zones.
