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U.S. DOT Issues Regulatory Guidance to Ban Texting While Driving by Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) has published regulatory guidance prohibiting texting while driving by commercial motor vehicle drivers.  Published in the Federal Register on January 27, 2010 (see Federal Register /Vol. 75, No. 17/Wednesday, January 27, 2010), the guidance interprets 49 CFR 390.17, “Additional equipment and accessories.”  That regulation provides that “[N]othing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit the use of additional equipment and accessories, . . . provided such equipment and accessories do not decrease the safety of operation of the commercial motor vehicles on which they are used.”

FMCSA’s new guidance prohibits texting while driving by commercial motor vehicle drivers because:

Texting on electronic devices while driving decreases the safety of operation of the commercial vehicles on which the devices are used because the activity involves a combination of visual, cognitive and manual distraction from the driving task.  Research has shown that during 6-second intervals immediately preceding safety-critical events (e.g., crashes, near crashes, lane departure), texting drivers took their eyes off the forward roadway an average of 4.6 seconds.  Therefore, the use of electronic devices for texting by CMV operators while driving on public roads in interstate commerce decreases safety and is prohibited by 49 CFR 390.17.

The commercial motor vehicle drivers affected by the new guidance are those who drive vehicles in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property when the vehicle:

1. has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating, or gross vehicle weight or gross combination weight of 10,001 pounds or more, whichever is greater;
2. is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation;
3. is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
4. is used in transporting hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placarding under federal regulations.

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