Talking on cellphones is being banned for drivers of all commercial vehicles in the United States, all 4 million of them. If the law doesn’t apply to you right now, it will within three years, according to Bob Kolvey, safety director for Motor Carrier Compliance & Safety Company.
Effective Jan. 3 this year, it is illegal to operate a mobile phone, in most instances, while operating a commercial vehicle involved in interstate commerce (across state lines). It will eventually apply to all commercial drivers. “All states have three years to adopt this rule,” says Kolvey. Many states have already adopted the new regulations or had existing bans. So it is important to know the regulations of your state, and those of any states in which you operate.
The federal crackdown on distracted driving by the U.S. Department of Transportation is supported by the American Trucking Association. “Studies have shown that actions like texting and dialing a phone can greatly increase crash risk,” says ATA president and CEO Bill Graves in a news release from the group. “Taking steps to curb these behaviors holds great promise to improve highway safety.”
Tim Frank, president of the National Association of Wastewater Transporters, says his group hasn’t taken a position on the law, but stresses that people need to be aware of it. NAWT sponsored an Education Day seminar about the new laws at the Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo International in February.
“We may have a whole day or a half day at the next Expo covering such laws,” says Frank, recently retired owner of Tim Frank Septic Cleaning Company of Huntsburg, Ohio.
For instance, CDL laws don’t just deal with the weight of the vehicle you are driving, they include the combined weight of the truck and equipment being towed or carried, as well.
“We just bought a new jetter and we have to get the pickup driver a CDL to pull it,” Frank explains. “Many people don’t realize they may not need a license plate for a jetter, but when you hook it to a commercial truck, you may need a CDL license for the driver.”
The new cellphone law does not require companies running commercial trucks to have a written policy or training programs, but they are responsible for drivers’ conduct. Employers are prohibited from requiring or even allowing drivers to use such handheld phones.
Stiff fines
The fine for violating the new cellphone regulation is a hefty $2,750 for the driver and $11,000 for the employer per violation. Drivers convicted of handheld cellphone violations twice within three years will be disqualified from operating for 60 days, and three convictions in three years will results in a 120-day disqualification. States can also suspend CDL licenses for multiple violations.
The new law only applies to cellphones, and doesn’t cover the use of company radios or CB radios. In essence, it bans the use of cellphones, including hands-free devices, if the driver has to push more than one button to make or answer a call.
“If you have something like Bluetooth that answers and hangs up the phone with one button, then you can use it,” says Kolvey. “They want you keeping your eyes on the road.”
The law also bans reaching for, holding or dialing a phone while driving, unless it is voice-activated dialing with a hands-free device. Push-to-talk phones, which allow use of cellphones like walkie-talkies, are also not allowed because they require pushing a button more than once to operate the phone.
“They want cellphones out of all automobiles, too,” notes Kolvey. Though the U.S. DOT doesn’t have that power, he expects all states will eventually have similar cellphone bans. The national trucking group also supports such a ban.
“While the federal government cannot enact such bans for drivers of passenger vehicles,” Graves says, “ATA urges all states to follow the lead and take steps to ban these dangerous activities for all drivers.”
U.S. Department of Transportation secretary Ray LaHood announced the ban last November. “When drivers of large trucks, buses and hazardous materials take their eyes off the road for even a few seconds, the outcome can be deadly,” he says. “I hope that this rule will save lives by helping commercial drivers stay laser-focused on safety at all times while behind the wheel.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration points out that distracted driver studies have had mixed results, but they do show that commercial drivers are three times more likely to be involved in a crash or other safety-related event when reaching for an object, such as a phone, and six times more likely while dialing a handheld phone.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that more than 5,400 people died in distracted-driver crashes in 2009, while another half million were injured. It says fatalities related to distracted driving accounted for 16 percent of traffic fatalities in the same year.
Medical card changes
Also, changes to the CDL medical card requirements became effective on Jan. 30. Whether they are intrastate or interstate drivers, all CDL holders must self-certify to the state by Jan. 30, 2014.
“Interstate drivers must also submit a copy of their medical card so their state Bureau of Motor Vehicles has it on file,” says Kolvey.
The new regulations require most interstate CDL drivers to submit the medical card for new, renewal, upgrade, duplicate and state-to-state transfer license applications. The U.S. DOT also hopes to have that information available in a federal database.
CDL drivers fall into one of four categories with different requirements:
Interstate commerce and subject to Part 391 requirements – must provide a federal medical card to your state DMV.
Interstate commerce and excepted from Part 391 requirements (certain farming and beekeeping activities, school buses, and several others) – do not need a federal medical card (your state may require it, however).
Intrastate commerce – must have a federal medical card.
Excepted intrastate commerce – do not need a federal medical card (your state may require it, however).
All CDL licensees should have, or will receive, the proper forms from their state.
