Regulatory Guidance Concerning the Applicability of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to Texting by Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers

NHTSA · 2010 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

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Summary

This document is a regulatory guidance notice issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in 2010, addressing the applicability of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to texting by commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The guidance was motivated by significant safety concerns regarding driver distraction, specifically the high risk associated with texting while operating heavy vehicles in interstate commerce. It serves as an interim measure to clarify existing regulations while the agency prepares for a formal rulemaking process to explicitly ban the practice. The regulatory basis for this guidance relies on the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984, which mandates that CMVs be operated safely and that operator responsibilities do not impair safe vehicle operation. Specifically, the FMCSA interprets 49 CFR 390.17, which prohibits the use of additional equipment and accessories that decrease the safety of operation. The agency defines handheld or wireless electronic devices used for texting as "additional equipment." The decision was informed by the FMCSA’s "Driver Distraction in Commercial Vehicle Operations" study, a naturalistic driving study involving over 200 truck drivers and 3 million miles of data. This research utilized monitoring instruments to record driver behavior during real-world revenue operations, calculating odds ratios to identify high-risk tasks. The study findings revealed that texting on a cell phone was the most risky behavior identified, with an odds ratio of 23.2. This indicates that drivers texting while driving are 23.2 times more likely to be involved in a safety-critical event, such as a crash, near-crash, or lane departure, compared to baseline driving. The data showed that during the six-second interval preceding a safety-critical event, texting drivers took their eyes off the forward roadway for an average of 4.6 seconds. At speeds of 55 mph and 65 mph, this equates to traveling approximately 371 and 439 feet, respectively, without visual contact with the road. Consequently, the FMCSA concludes that texting decreases the safety of CMV operation due to combined visual, cognitive, and manual distractions. Therefore, under 49 CFR 390.17, the use of electronic devices for texting by CMV operators while driving on public roads in interstate commerce is prohibited. The guidance clarifies that this prohibition applies to all interstate drivers subject to FMCSRs, including those operating vehicles with a gross weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, or those transporting hazardous materials or passengers as defined by federal regulations. The agency notes that this guidance does not prohibit the use of electronic dispatching tools or cell phones for non-texting purposes, nor does it replace the requirement for drivers to comply with stricter state or local laws regarding distracted driving. The FMCSA intends to complete a stand-alone rulemaking in 2010 to formally codify this prohibition.

Key finding

Texting while driving increases the odds of a safety-critical event by 23.2 times compared to baseline driving scenarios.

Methodology

naturalistic

Sample size: 200

Provenance

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Topics

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• truck driver fatigue