Texting Banned for Truckers and Bus Drivers

The fun, write-while-at-the-wheel times are over for truckers and bus drivers, as the second nationwide piece of legislation has been adopted in the US, prohibiting drivers of large commercial trucks and buses to text while driving. It follows the bill adopted in December, through which drivers of federal government vehicles were asked the same thing.

According to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, the ban takes effect immediately. If broken, the rule can cost the driver a huge fine of up $2,750.

"We want the drivers of big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be safe," LaHood said according to Reuters. "This is an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the threat of distracted driving."

The enforcement of the rule is necessary as a National Safety Council study showed that some 200,000 crashes of all types take place on US roads each year due to distracted driving caused by texting.

So far in the US, about 24 states have already banned texting for drivers of all types of vehicles. A piece of legislation has also been introduced in Congress to ban texting entirely.

According to the New York Times, LaHood is now looking at finding a way to ban the use of dashboard-mounted computers by truckers, a practice almost as common as texting. Even more, the use of the mobile phone while behind the wheel is also under scrutiny and will likely get restricted.