SENSIBLE STEP TO AVOID ACCIDENTS - FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FORBIDS TRUCK AND BUS DRIVERS FROM TEXTING WHILE DRIVING. ONLY SAFE TEXT ALLOWED!

From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Bronx Injury Attorney)

In a press release, United States Secretary of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced new Federal guidelines yesterday (January 27, 2010) to prohibit interstate drivers of large vehicles, such as trucks and buses, from sending text messages while driving. Truck drivers and bus drivers who violate the rule may face penalties of as much as $2,750.

Research by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows that text-messaging drivers take their eyes off the road an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds. In a vehicle moving at 55 miles an hour, the driver can travel the distance of a football field - more than 100 yards - without looking at the road. More importantly, bus and truck drivers who text message while driving have a twenty times greater likelihood of getting into a motor vehicle accident than drivers who are not distracted.

The Department of Transportation Department is also exploring limiting the use of dashboard computers, which truck drivers commonly use while driving to stay in touch with their dispatchers.

Citizens can monitor the efforts of the Department of Transportation to fight distracted drivers at www.distraction.gov, which bills itself as the "Official U.S. Government Website for Distracted Driving" - which is a pretty darn silly name. It should really call itself the "Official U.S. Government Website Against Distracted Driving"

Comment: Loyal Readers may recall my blog of December 18, 2009 where I reported that New York State banned testing while driving by passing Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1225-d. The statute prohibits using any "portable electronic device," which seems to make New York State a little bit ahead of the Federal Government in promoting driver safety.