The US Department of Transportation recently presented a proposal to ban text messaging while driving by cross-state truck and bus drivers.  This regulatory action follows up on Transportation Department public service program to reduce distracted drivers that lead to crashes.

The proposal would make permanent the temporary ban put in place at the beginning of the calendar year by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  The proposed ban applies to bus drivers and truck drivers operating vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over ten thousand pounds.  To give an idea of the serious nature of the problem, violators could face civil penalities and/or even criminal penalties.

The United States Transportation Department reports that 5,870 people were killed and about 515,000 were injured in 2008 in crashes connected to driver distraction.  The department has not determined how many of those accidents were linked to cell phone.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mirror the Transportation Department statistics with an estimate that about eighty percent of crashes are caused by driver distraction.  The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is funding research to find out the extent of the distracted driver problem.  The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA)   reports that driver inattention is a leading factor in many accidents, and cell phone calls and sending text messages are some of the most common driver distractions.

State legislators aren’t waiting for data and are issuing new regulations dealing with mobile phone calls  and texting .  The GHSA reports that twenty states and the District of Columbia ban all drivers from texting while driving.  Another nine states against texting by beginner drivers.  The remaining states are expected to implement the ban before too long.  But it is also widely recognized that the laws are not enough to stop the problem and technical solutions are neede.  The Governors Highway Safety Association purports to say it supports texting bans for all drivers, but has doubts about enforcement.

A leading source of a potential solution is Phone Beagle.  Their software is installed on Android and BlackBerry cell phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log events.

The trucking and passenger bus industries support the text message ban, and many companies have firm policies prohibiting texting when behind the wheel.  The government, industry and safety organizations all agree that distracted drivers  caused bysending text messages is a menace to society, and is worthy of action.  Advocates for addressing the problem also include celebrity Oprah Winfrey.  

Undoubtedly there are many distractions interfering with a driver focusing on driving:  changing the radio or a inserting tape or CD, talking to passengers, rubber necking, and of course, using mobile phones and sending text messages.  Navigational and other interactive devices also distract drivers.

As regulations and technology work to to address the problems a software package from  Phone Beagle is available to help deal with monitoring phone use.  Their software is installed on Android and BlackBerry mobile phones and monitors GPS location, and text messages along with other phone log events.