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No texting for the long haul
VALDOSTA, Feb 06, 2010 (The Valdosta Daily Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
The advent of cell phone technology has increased the ability to communicate, but some lawmakers think it is also contributing to an increase in traffic accidents.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has targeted texting while driving commercial trucks and buses in a sweeping new rule issued on Jan. 26, according to the Associated Press.
Jerry Kennedy, tester for the Commercial Truck Driving program at Valdosta Technical College, said he has seen people do a lot of strange things while driving.
"I was a driver for Roadway Express for 32 years before retiring in 1998," Kennedy said. "I have seen people putting on makeup, taking curlers out of their hair, reading the newspaper, magazines, road maps. I won't let a student sip on a Coke while driving. Being safe on the road is a full-time job."
Kennedy said he supports the ban.
"Texting while driving a truck, bus or car is very dangerous, and I would like to discourage anyone who does it," he said. "I think it's also unsafe to use cell phones while driving any vehicle. It's not a question of whether you are going to have an accident, it's just a question of when. It's a shame it took a train wreck in California that killed 25 people and injured 130 to open our eyes to how tragic sending text messages or using cell phones can be."
Kennedy is referring to the Metrolink commuter train that plowed into a Union Pacific freight locomotive on Sept. 12, 2008, in Chatsworth, Calif., killing 25 people and injuring 135, the worst train accident since 1993, according to a Reuters news report.
Cell phone records show that the Metrolink train's engineer, Robert Martin Sanchez, received seven text messages and sent five between 3 p.m. and the time of the accident. Federal investigators concluded that Sanchez was sending and receiving text messages seconds before his crowded commuter train skipped a red light and collided head-on with a freight train, the news story states.
"The driver never applied his brakes. He had four minutes to stop the train but didn't," Kennedy said.
Following the accident, California authorities temporarily banned railroad workers from using cell phones on duty.
The new DOT prohibition applies to drivers of interstate buses and trucks over 10,000 pounds. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties up to $2,750. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia already prohibit all drivers from texting behind the wheel, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Another 10 states restrict texting by novice drivers.
Valdosta Police Chief Frank Simons said he's not sure the legislation adds anything new.
"It's common sense that if drivers are texting while driving, they're going to be distracted, but there's already a law on the books that covers driving while distracted, so I'm not sure how much good this new legislation is going to do," Simons said.
For example, if the ban still allows drivers to use hand-held devices, how will law-enforcement officers be able to tell whether a driver is texting or checking a calendar, Simons asked.
A spokesperson for the trade association for the wireless industry, CTIA, said it support the ban, the AP story said. Clayton Boyce, a spokesman for the American Trucking Association, said the prohibition doesn't apply to onboard devices that allow dispatchers to send text messages to truck drivers. Most of those devices have mechanisms that prevent their use while a truck is in motion, he said.
Gordy Wright, spokesman for the Georgia State Patrol said, "Anything that can deter distractions while operating a commercial vehicle is a positive for traffic safety. Texting while driving takes your eyes off the road and while traveling a considerable distance in a short amount of time. For example, in just four seconds, a commercial vehicle traveling at 55 miles per hour would cover the entire length of a football field including the end zones, so looking away from the road to read or send a text can result in a significant crash."
A transportation study by the Center for Truck and Bus Safety concluded that truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck than an undistracted driver, while car drivers face the greatest danger when dialing their cell phones. Researchers viewed video footage from cameras inside vehicles to look at how drivers engaged with the road while using their cell phones, the AP story states.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has been campaigning against texting and cell phone use while driving, and President Barack Obama signed an executive order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment, according to the AP. Federal employees were required to comply with the ban starting Dec. 30, 2009.
Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey have introduced legislation to prod states to pass laws banning texting by all drivers. The bill would reduce federal highway aid by 25 percent to states that don't enact bans.
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