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Department of Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood's plans to ban mobile phones for commercial drivers is taking a new turn. La Hood has targeted commercial drivers as part of an initiative to curb distracted driving. According to Reuters, the move would further impact the four million drivers who are already forbidden from texting while driving.
Last year, driver inattention was cited as the prevailing factor for approximately nine percent of all large truck crashes in 2009. That number was down from 2008, but not low enough for La Hood or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While the number of distracted big-rig crashes may have declined slightly last year, fatal bus accidents actually increased from 20 in 2008 to 38 in 2009.
The National Transportation Safety Board reports that of all bus crashes, somewhere between six and thirteen percent can be attributed to a distracted driver.
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