Setting a Tone, Federal Guidelines Now Prohibit Texting While Driving

Drivers of commercial trucks and buses are prohibited from texting under federal guidelines that the U.S. Transportation Secretary announced earlier this week. The prohibition is effective immediately. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750, the Department of Transportation said in a news release. Drivers interviewed through the media expressed support of the Guidelines. The release did not offer specifics on how the prohibition will be enforced. One of the nation’s largest groups representing professional truck drivers — the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association — expressed support for the goal but dismay at its implementation. “We support where they are going, but not how they got there,” said the group’s executive vice president. “Making their action effective immediately bypasses normal regulatory rulemaking processes. Those processes allow actions to be vetted for unintended consequences as well as potential implementation and enforcement problems. The U.S. President also signed an executive order requiring federal employees not to text while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment, and were ordered to comply with the move December 30.