The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Tuesday recommendated that the government should ban truckers and other commercial drivers from using cellular phones and hands-free devices while driving.
The recommendation followed a hearing on a truck crash last March in Kentucky that killed 11 people. The board found that the driver’s cellphone use likely caused the accident.
“Distracted driving is becoming increasingly prevalent, exacerbating the danger we encounter daily on our roadways,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a statement. “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.”
Investigators learned that the driver used his cellphone to make calls or send text messages 69 times in the 24-hour period before he crashed.
While it is only a recommendation and is not a law, the board’s advice is often adopted as state, local, and federal law.
