Drivers in Rome likely understand that they face the threat of encountering other motorists who are texting on the road. Yet they may mistakenly assume that threat to only come from the drivers of standard cars, trucks and SUV’s. Why would they think that one driving a semi-truck would so something that has been proven to be so irresponsible? If a regular motorist’s reaction time is slowed when texting, one can only imagine how much more dangerous a trucker who is texting while behind the wheel may be. Indeed, information shared by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows that truck drivers who text while driving are 23.2 times more likely to be involved in an accident.
Are there reasons why a trucker would consider texting while driving? Some might say that they need to be in constant communication with their dispatch services, and that texting allows them to do so better than over a regular CB radio. Yet motor carriers themselves are forbidden by law from even creating a working atmosphere where it might seem like a driver texting during a route is acceptable. Sections 392.80 and 392.82 of the Code of Federal Regulations expressly prohibits motor carriers from allowing or requiring drivers to text or even use a handset while driving. Dispatch communications must be done in a safer way (no matter how antiquated some may view the available technologies to be).
How might one know if the truck driver that hit them was using a cell phone at the time of their accident? They can note the accident time and then compare that to the driver’s cell phone records. Even the simple fact of the phone being out of the driver’s pocket at the time of a collision might be seen as an indicator that it was being used.