U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announces federal ban on texting for commercial truck drivers

NHTSA · 2010 · ROSA P / United States. Dept. of Transportation. Office of Public Affairs

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (full text — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This document reports on a regulatory action taken by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to address the safety risks associated with distracted driving, specifically focusing on commercial vehicle operators. The announcement, issued by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on January 26, 2010, establishes a federal ban on texting for drivers of large trucks and buses. This measure is presented as part of a broader series of initiatives aimed at combating distracted driving, following a national summit convened by the Secretary in September 2009. The primary motivation for this immediate prohibition is the significant safety threat posed by electronic device usage while operating heavy commercial vehicles. The regulatory action is based on the DOT’s interpretation of existing standing rules rather than new legislation. Under this guidance, truck and bus drivers who engage in texting while driving are subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750. Anne Ferro, Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), clarified that the regulations are intended to explicitly prohibit such unsafe activities within the cab, ensuring that both operators and employers understand the prohibition. The guidance was published in the Federal Register on January 26, 2010, with print publication following on January 27. This action aligns with previous executive measures, including an Executive Order signed by President Obama in December 2009, which banned federal employees from texting while driving government-owned vehicles. The justification for the ban relies on specific safety data provided by the FMCSA. Research indicates that drivers sending or receiving text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds. At a speed of 55 miles per hour, this duration equates to traveling the length of a football field, including end zones, without visual contact with the road. Furthermore, the FMCSA states that drivers who text while driving are more than 20 times more likely to be involved in an accident compared to non-distracted drivers. These statistics underscore the severity of the risk and support the immediate implementation of the ban. The significance of this announcement lies in its role as a definitive federal stance against distracted driving in the commercial sector. By interpreting existing rules to explicitly ban texting, the DOT aims to eliminate a major source of unsafe activity. The document notes that the FMCSA is continuing to develop additional regulatory measures to address the risks posed by electronic devices, indicating that this ban is part of an ongoing effort to enhance road safety. The initiative reflects a coordinated government approach, linking federal employee conduct with commercial driver regulations to mitigate the threat of distracted driving.

Key finding

The U.S. Department of Transportation implemented an immediate federal ban on texting for commercial vehicle drivers, citing research that such drivers are more than 20 times more likely to crash and take their eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting.

Methodology

other

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (8 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• distraction laws