NTSB Recommends Total Ban on Cell-Phone Use by Truckers

Truck drivers should be prohibited from using cell phones while driving, even if the devices are hands-free, the National Transportation Safety Board said last week.

The recommendation marks NTSB’s strongest criticism of cell phone use among commercial drivers, and follows earlier advice the board gave to ban phone use by bus drivers.

“Unfortunately, we see distractions being more prevalent on our roadways,” NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman told Transport Topics after the board’s Sept. 13 vote to adopt the recommendations and send them to the agencies that could order such changes.

NTSB is recommending the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ban all phone use by commercial driver-license holders while they are engaged in commercial operations, except in emergencies. It will send the same suggestion to all state transportation departments and the District of Columbia.

NTSB cannot regulate or legislate; it can only make recommendations.

FMCSA spokeswoman Candice Tolliver declined comment on whether the agency plans to act on the NTSB report.

“Enacting bans on these behaviors will go a long way toward reducing crash risk for all of us,” Bill Graves, president of American Trucking Associations, said in a statement.

He said ATA has sought a prohibition on the use of handheld cell phones to talk or text by all motorists, not just commercial drivers.

However, Graves said ATA has not called for a prohibition on hands-free cell phone use.

“The research really kind of goes both ways,” explained said Boyd Stephenson, ATA’s manager of safety and security operations. He cited a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute that found that hands-free cell phone use while driving did not increase crash risk.

“There’s just not really anything conclusive there,” he said. “We think it’s a great place for further research.”

NTSB said the advice came after an investigation of a March 2010 crash in Kentucky in which a truck driver lost control of his vehicle and crossed into the opposing lanes. A passenger van smashed into the truck, killing the truck driver and 10 of the van’s passengers.

“We know that this driver was on his cell phone,” Hersman said. The investigation by NTSB staff found that the driver had placed a call just before losing control of the truck on Interstate 65 near Munfordville, Ky.

“This is the clearest evidence we have that this driver was distracted at the time of the accident,” Hersman said.

Distraction was ruled the primary cause of the crash, NTSB said. The agency said the driver had made four cell-phone calls in the minutes before the 5 a.m. crash, and 69 calls while he was driving during the 24 hours preceding the accident.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has fought for distracted-driving bans for much of his time in office.

“Texting or talking on the phone while driving can turn deadly in a matter of seconds, particularly when a big rig or a bus is involved,” LaHood said in a statement responding to NTSB’s report.

FMCSA banned texting while driving by truckers and bus operators in September 2010 (9-27, p. 3). Drivers caught texting can be fined up to $2,750.

Three months later, FMCSA proposed a ban on all handheld cell-phone use by truck and bus drivers. The White House Office of Management and budget started to review the rule Sept. 13, according to its regulatory agenda. DOT expects to issue the regulation Oct. 12.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance agrees with NTSB’s recommendations about distracted driving, said Executive Director Stephen Keppler.

“Any technology devices in the cab need to have an in-motion mode that basically does not allow them to function while the vehicle is in motion,” he said.

But tackling distracted driving must go further, Keppler said.

“There’s a whole host of other distractions that need to be minimized,” he said. “There’s a lot more we need to do, and DOT is certainly spending a lot of energy on this, and it needs to continue.”

Hersman recognized that other forms of distraction are dangerous, but the recommendations focus only on specific crashes NTSB investigated.

“We are in an environment that is really becoming inundated with a lot of electronic devices, both in-cab and handheld that are brought into the cab,” she said.

NTSB also faulted median barriers in its investigation, recommending that the Federal Highway Administration look at the issue and consider upgrading barrier standards.