NTSB Recommends Banning Truck Driver Cellphone Use

Truck drivers should be prohibited from talking and texting on phones while driving, no matter whether they use hands-free devices, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

“Distracted driving is becoming increasingly prevalent, exacerbating the danger we encounter daily on our roadways,” NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said in a statement announcing the board’s vote to recommend the regulations.

NTSB, an independent government body, made the phone-use recommendation to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and states, as the board cannot set regulations itself.

NTSB investigators determined that cellphone use was one of the main factors in a March 2010 crash in Munfordville, Ky., between a tractor-trailer and a van holding 11 people, nine of whom died along with the truck driver.

Driver fatigue and the failure of cable barriers along the highway’s median also contributed to the crash, the board said in its report.