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U.S. proposes cellphone ban for truck drivers

j-mac

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WASHINGTON - The U.S. government on Friday proposed prohibiting commercial truck and bus drivers from using cellphones while behind the wheel.

The Transportation Department rule would affect approximately 4 million drivers, who are already banned by the government from texting while working.

The proposal is the latest move in Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's stepped-up campaign against distracted driving in which he has questioned cellphone use in passenger cars and "hands free" communications technology.

"Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cellphone, even for a few seconds, the driver places everyone around them at risk," LaHood said in a statement.

www.cnbc.com/id/40724585


I am so sick of this type of smear coming out of mental midgets like LaHood, and others that seek to blame the ills of driving and accident rates on Truckers. It is intellectually lazy.

We deliver the things you use every damned day, and what thanks do we get for it? Flipped off, honked at, called in on threatening our lively hood, and ever increasing regulation and taxation that will result in Americans paying much higher costs at the check out line.

Car drivers have over the years, my own some 20 years driving, become rude, rule of the road breakers, and completely selfish in their driving, not caring a bit whom they place in danger. And who constantly gets the blame for it? We do, Truckers!

Heck even stories on the news that show truck vs car accidents on the highways often don't tell the watchers until the very end of the story that the car was at fault.

Lawyers cashing in, suing even if their client was the cause of the accident like bottom feeders they are.

Now, I am not saying that there are some truckers out there that are inexperienced, and do cause some problems, however, you keep it up, (talking to the ungrateful masses here) and just wait. When myself, and my cohorts that do have the experience decide to pack it in, then you'll be left with nothing but greenhorns. Good luck with that.


j-mac
 
I am so sick of this type of smear coming out of mental midgets like LaHood, and others that seek to blame the ills of driving and accident rates on Truckers. It is intellectually lazy.

We deliver the things you use every damned day, and what thanks do we get for it? Flipped off, honked at, called in on threatening our lively hood, and ever increasing regulation and taxation that will result in Americans paying much higher costs at the check out line.

Car drivers have over the years, my own some 20 years driving, become rude, rule of the road breakers, and completely selfish in their driving, not caring a bit whom they place in danger. And who constantly gets the blame for it? We do, Truckers!

Heck even stories on the news that show truck vs car accidents on the highways often don't tell the watchers until the very end of the story that the car was at fault.

Lawyers cashing in, suing even if their client was the cause of the accident like bottom feeders they are.

Now, I am not saying that there are some truckers out there that are inexperienced, and do cause some problems, however, you keep it up, (talking to the ungrateful masses here) and just wait. When myself, and my cohorts that do have the experience decide to pack it in, then you'll be left with nothing but greenhorns. Good luck with that.


j-mac

Do you see it as targeting? Every vehicle is taking the heat right now.

Doesn't seem logical to me to ban cellphone use by truckers. IMO, they are some of the safest drivers on the road, by the way. I could see mandating hands-free only....but I can see that for passenger cars as well. Truck drivers need some distraction to stay alert when driving, IMO. Cellphone calls can accomplish that quite nicely.
 
Do you see it as targeting? Every vehicle is taking the heat right now.

Doesn't seem logical to me to ban cellphone use by truckers. IMO, they are some of the safest drivers on the road, by the way. I could see mandating hands-free only....but I can see that for passenger cars as well. Truck drivers need some distraction to stay alert when driving, IMO. Cellphone calls can accomplish that quite nicely.

And highly trained.

I am not sure I disagree with this.

If truckers went back to only using CBs, it would be more of a fun atmosphere.

I think the government should outlaw beaver hunting for truckers ONLY. It is just as dangerous as cellphone use.

Remeber the '70s
 
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Do you see it as targeting?

Most definitely. Truckers are an easy target, and most often are blamed for quite a bit that is out of their control.

Every vehicle is taking the heat right now.

Not as much as truckers. We are taking heat beyond belief right now. You name it....CSA2010, interest groups wanting to further limit our HOS rules, Taxation that no other industry has to put up with....Couple that with the fact that we are rolling billboards for everything from a chipped windshield, to fallacious law suits filed by ambulance chasing lawyers, and we are constantly under attack.

Doesn't seem logical to me to ban cellphone use by truckers. IMO, they are some of the safest drivers on the road, by the way.

Thank you, and good to hear BTW.

I could see mandating hands-free only....but I can see that for passenger cars as well.

My company already does that. I use a Blue Parrot headset. couldn't live without it now.


Truck drivers need some distraction to stay alert when driving, IMO. Cellphone calls can accomplish that quite nicely.

Between that and liberals like Mike Malloy on XM Left, I do pretty well....heh heh.....

But seriously, the public has to know that these attacks will ultimately effect them, so it seems that we need to call out to those supporting the trucking industry, as well as those that don't know much about it, and take it for granted, that they need to call DC and let them know to back off!

j-mac
 
And highly trained.

I am not sure I disagree with this.

If truckers went back to only using CBs, it would be more of a fun atmosphere.

I think the government should outlaw beaver hunting for truckers ONLY. It is just as dangerous as cellphone use.

Remeber the '70s

Most drivers don't have time for that silliness. I drive over 600 miles a day when on the road, and have a schedule to meet.

Negative stereo types only hurt those of us taking our responsibilities seriously.


j-mac
 
Most drivers don't have time for that silliness. I drive over 600 miles a day when on the road, and have a schedule to meet.

Negative stereo types only hurt those of us taking our responsibilities seriously.


j-mac

What negative stereotypes would that be?
 
What negative stereotypes would that be?


Oh, I thought you meant this negatively.....

I think the government should outlaw beaver hunting for truckers ONLY. It is just as dangerous as cellphone use.

Remeber the '70s

No one wants their wife or daughter be gawked at by some middle aged trucker with his mind in the gutter.


j-mac
 
Oh yeah....Crossing into I think IL with a gun is a crime.


j-mac

Then I take it that it's not really a ban, it's a matter that one must abide by the laws of the states they're driving through. That makes perfect sense to me...
 
I am so sick of this type of smear coming out of mental midgets like LaHood, and others that seek to blame the ills of driving and accident rates on Truckers. It is intellectually lazy.

We deliver the things you use every damned day, and what thanks do we get for it? Flipped off, honked at, called in on threatening our lively hood, and ever increasing regulation and taxation that will result in Americans paying much higher costs at the check out line.

Car drivers have over the years, my own some 20 years driving, become rude, rule of the road breakers, and completely selfish in their driving, not caring a bit whom they place in danger. And who constantly gets the blame for it? We do, Truckers!

Heck even stories on the news that show truck vs car accidents on the highways often don't tell the watchers until the very end of the story that the car was at fault.

Lawyers cashing in, suing even if their client was the cause of the accident like bottom feeders they are.

Now, I am not saying that there are some truckers out there that are inexperienced, and do cause some problems, however, you keep it up, (talking to the ungrateful masses here) and just wait. When myself, and my cohorts that do have the experience decide to pack it in, then you'll be left with nothing but greenhorns. Good luck with that.


j-mac

Cellphone use in Arkansas is banned for all.
So I don't get what you're complaining about - you're actually bringing up a different issue.

Is the fact of how other people are with their driving suppose to make cellphones permissible or something?
 
Cellphone use in Arkansas is banned for all.
So I don't get what you're complaining about - you're actually bringing up a different issue.

Is the fact of how other people are with their driving suppose to make cellphones permissible or something?
Yeah, but we're allowed to travel with a firearm
 
I think the trucking industry is too subsidized for our good:
(1) gas costs much less than coffee (if it were coffee we're talking about a quarter a cup); (2) they tear up publicly funded roads (there's no argument, larger trucks do the worst damage to intra-interstate highways)-- for starters.

We sacrificed railways for the trucking industry and it is coming back to haunt us. However, they should keep their cell phones.
 
I think the trucking industry is too subsidized for our good:
(1) gas costs much less than coffee (if it were coffee we're talking about a quarter a cup); (2) they tear up publicly funded roads (there's no argument, larger trucks do the worst damage to intra-interstate highways)-- for starters.

We sacrificed railways for the trucking industry and it is coming back to haunt us. However, they should keep their cell phones.

We sacrificed railways for the trucking industry?
Since when - a lot of trucking is done from the rail depots TO the destination.

I live near a depot - the railways that come through town are constantly busy.
 
As an observer, I've seen so many cars do such stupid stuff around trucks. I swear, people think they are invincible and that trucks have this magic ability to stop on a dime.

People, quit driving in the blind spot. Don't merge in front of a truck unless you've given them quite a bit of distance to stop. Let them merge. And don't expect them to jack rabbit to 60...just be patient.
 
Good, they need to ban cell phone usage while driving. If they have to start with truckers to do it then so be it. Just so long as it gets applied to everyone else that drives on the road eventually then I'll be content.
 
Could have fooled me - I definitely see far more trains than trucks but I guess when I lived in the city it was a different story.
I think train transport is more efficient in terms of fuel usage, but infrastructure requirements are (obviously) higher - you probably see more trains because there is a track nearby - if a town isn't near one...I think Arkansas was settled later than PA, and because of that, it may have more towns that were built around tracks or tracks built to towns, due to that technology being developed in the interim.

And then, transport from train hubs to more dispersed warehouses obviously means trucks - Pennsylvania seems to have quite a few trucking warehouses, and it's a bit denser in population, as opposed to Arkansas, I think.

The pop density is probably part of the difference.
 
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Good, they need to ban cell phone usage while driving. If they have to start with truckers to do it then so be it. Just so long as it gets applied to everyone else that drives on the road eventually then I'll be content.

Oh bull ****. Last year I was flying a single pilot aircraft. I could fly that aircraft in clouds down to 200 feet off the ground with out seeing the ground while controlling the roll and pitch with my left hand, the yaw with both my feet and the airspeed, power, flaps, gear, and props with the right hand, all while talking and listening on the radio and completing checklists. Don't tell me I can't drive a car with one hand and control the speed with one foot while talking. That's just stupid.
 
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