A fatal truck accident that received national attention last year is a major motivator behind a recent call by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones by commercial truck drivers and bus drivers. A semi driver who had used his cell phone 69 times over a 24-hour period killed ten members of an extended family in a catastrophic accident in Kentucky when his semi crossed the median and hit their van head on.

The NTSB recommended a federal ban on the use of handheld and hands-free devices along with 14 other safety proposals to reduce the chance of future similar tragedies. The recommendations call for regulatory changes by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and various state highway safety agencies.

NTSB head Deborah Hersman summed up the reasons behind the call for a cell phone ban in a press release, noting that distracted driving has become "increasingly prevalent" and adding that "it can be especially lethal when the distracted driver is at the wheel of a vehicle that weighs 40 tons and travels at highway speeds." The NTSB report on the Kentucky truck accident revealed that the trucker had made four calls in the minutes prior to the collision, and also found that fatigue played a role in his loss of control.

Utah is crossroads for interstate truck traffic, and both I-15 and I-80 carry thousands of big rigs through Provo and the greater Salt Lake City metro every day. The Utah Department of Public Safety's 2010 Fatal Crash Summary reports that 8 percent of all traffic deaths could be attributed to distracted driving, and 15 percent of fatal accidents involved a large truck.

A frequently cited University of Utah study has shown that drivers who use cell phones - either handheld or hands-free - suffer the same delays in reaction time as drunk drivers with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent. All of these factors add up to significant and unacceptable risks. Our Provo truck accident lawyers help clients hold truckers accountable when they recklessly test the limits of their concentration.

Source: Pressure builds for cell phone ban