Atlanta Truck Accident Lawyer Supports Ban on Texting for Truckers
As an Atlanta truck accident lawyer, I am pleased to see federal agencies taking decisive steps to promote truck safety and prevent accidents. In the latest such measure, the US Department of Transportation has announced a ban on texting while driving for all commercial truck and bus drivers. The ban is effectively immediately. Considering the DOT’s war on distracted driving, I wasn’t too surprised that the ban was enacted.
The ban comes soon after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced that it would be revising the hours of service rules for truckers. New rules can be expected in the next few months, and these will hopefully set consecutive working hours back to 10.
As long as the federal government is on a roll with these commendable steps, I believe it should go the distance and implement a number of other measures that this Atlanta truck accident lawyer has been hoping for years. These include
- Mandating onboard recording devices on trucks that monitor the number of hours the trucker has driven, by tracking the number of times the vehicle is switched on and off
- Mandating seatbelts on all buses
- Mandating sleep apnea screenings for all commercial truck drivers. If the government wants to deal with trucker fatigue-related accidents, it would make sense to also deal with the other major factor in trucker fatigue.
- Putting aside all plans to increase the weight limit of tractor trailers on our highways. The trucking industry has been lobbying hard for bigger and heavier trucks that would allow companies to transport more cargo in a single trip. We don’t need heavier trucks on our highways. What we do need are stronger laws that prevent accidents involving our current-sized trucks.
