A new federal law banning the use of hand-held phones by commercial vehicle drivers goes into effect today. So that means truckers and bus drivers, even on local roads, aren’t supposed to be using their cell phones while driving.
The new law is part of a push by federal transportation officials to cut down on the number of crashes caused by distracted driving, specifically those caused by drivers using cell phones.
Here’s the new law, enacted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (click here for the link):
The final rule prohibits commercial drivers from using a hand-held mobile telephone while operating a commercial truck or bus. Drivers who violate the restriction will face federal civil penalties of up to $2,750 for each offense and disqualification from operating a commercial motor vehicle for multiple offenses. Additionally, states will suspend a driver’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) after two or more serious traffic violations. Commercial truck and bus companies that allow their drivers to use hand-held cell phones while driving will face a maximum penalty of $11,000. Approximately four million commercial drivers would be affected by this final rule.”
The National Transportation Safety Board recently said that all states should enact laws against drivers using cell phones, so that is something to watch this year. Nine states and Washington, D.C., already have laws banning cell phone use by drivers, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
Virginia Law
In Virginia, it was already illegal for school bus drivers to use cell phones while driving. It’s also illegal for juvenile drivers to use cell phones while driving. And it’s illegal for any driver in Virginia to text or read texts (or emails) while driving. The latter two offenses are secondary violations, meaning you can’t be cited for that infraction alone but must be pulled for another offense. The school bus driver law is a primary offense. (Click here for the state law.)
There was a bill introduced in 2011 that would have made cell phone use by drivers in Virginia illegal, but it failed. (Click here for the proposed law and here for the FLS story on it.)
