A few weeks ago Driver Solutions reported that the Department of Transportation was planning to ban hand-held cell phone use for truckers and other commercial drivers.

The final ruling, issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), was released on December 2. The ruling officially prohibits commercial vehicle drivers from holding, dialing, or reaching for a hand held telephone while driving. This new rule will be effective as of January 3, 2012, and will affect thousands of truck drivers, bus drivers, and other commercial vehicle drivers.

Here are a just few details from the official ruling:

1. Even though dialing on a device is prohibited, a driver can still use one-touch dialing as long as it does not require the driver to take their eyes off the road.
2. Drivers will be prohibited from reaching for a phone if it takes the driver out of a normal sitting position or if the driver has to remove their seat belt. Any further reaching, such as to the passenger seat or floor, is prohibited.
3. For the purpose of this ruling, the term “driving” means operating a commercial motor vehicle on a highway. If the driver is temporarily stationary because of traffic or other momentary delays, they are still considered to be driving.  

Many safety organizations believe that talking on the phone in general is distracting, and though they tried to get all cell phone use banned, both hand-held and hands-free, the FMCSA only had significant research to support the band of hand-held phones. Hands-free telephone use- such as using a speaker phone function, a wired earphone, or Bluetooth headset- will still be allowed as long as it doesn't require reaching, dialing, or holding a device. Two-way or CB radios are also still allowed when short communication is critical for the driver.

According to the official ruling, the FMCSA stated that “using a hand-held mobile telephone may reduce a driver’s situational awareness, decision making, or performance; and it may result in a crash, near-crash, unintended lane departure by the driver, or other unsafe driving action.” The hope is that the ruling will improve safety on highways by reducing the amount of distracted driving related crashes and injuries.

***For more information on the hand-held cell phone ban for commercial vehicle drivers, check out the complete FMCSA final ruling.