NTSB: Ban Driver Use of Cell Phones Nationwide

The NTSB voted unanimously for a nationwide ban on portable electronic devices for all drivers. (ntsb)

Regular readers may recall that we’ve written about the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the past. The NTSB is the investigative arm of the federal government that is charged by congress to all commercial transportation accidents, which means they also investigate railroad, shipping and pipeline accidents. And they even investigate significant crashes involving commercial truckers too.

They don’t simply investigate accidents, however. The NTSB often makes recommendations after their investigations have concluded. And they make a lot of them, having issued recommendations more than 13,000 times in their short lifespan (est. 1967).

Here’s a look at the contributions the NTSB has advocated for, and gotten:

• Age-based, graduated drivers licenses.
• Advanced, or “smart” airbags that can react based on seat occupant.
• Commercial drivers licenses.
• Raising the drinking age to 21 nationwide.
• Third brake lights, known as “high-mounted” brake lights.

What’s really amazing is that the NTSB has a near perfect record on their recommendations being implemented, no matter who or what a recommendation is aimed at: public advocacy, items requiring congressional action, those that require legislative action in all fifty states, and even with ones that involve both state and federal actions, such as when states were precluded from obtaining their share of federal highway funding if they didn’t pass a law raising the drinking age to 21 years old.

NTSB Called for Cell Phone Ban for Commercial Drivers in September

Back in September, in response to their investigation of a horrific highway crash that took place in 2010 on Interstate 65 in Munfordville, Ky. the NTSB called for a nationwide ban on cell phone usage by commercial drivers.

That particular commercial trucking accident saw 11 people killed. The NTSB investigation ruled that the tragic crash was caused by a commercial truck driver using his cell phone. The driver had made a call that lasted just one second when the crash occurred.

Their recommendation: Ban all commercial truck drivers, all commercial drivers, in fact, from using a cell phone at all. The NTSB had recommended a ban on texting long ago, which is in effect in many states – 34 as of right now. But their call for a ban on use by commercial drivers applied to handsfree devices, such as Bluetooth headsets, speakers or connection to entertainment or GPS devices. No cell phone use at all.

Their Latest Recommendation: Ban Cell Phone Use by All Drivers

Yesterday, the NTSB took their calls for complete bans on cell phone usage to all drivers after concluding their investigation on an accident that took place in Gray Summit, Missouri in August 2010.

In that incident, which occurred in an active work zone on eastbound Interstate 44 (I-44), a number of motor vehicles were involved. They included two school buses, a 2007 Volvo truck-tractor with no trailer, and a 2007 GMC Sierra extended cab pickup truck. Three separate collisions took place.

First, the GMC pickup struck the Volvo. A convoy of two school buses from St. James High School, St. James, Missouri, was traveling eastbound in the right lane of I-44, approached the slowed traffic and the collision ahead.

The lead bus in the convoy hit the rear of the GMC pickup. This collision, the second in the series, pushed the pickup forward, overturning it onto the back of the Volvo tractor. The front of the lead bus was ramped upward, as it came to rest on top of the GMC pickup and the Volvo tractor. Moments later, the second school bus struck the right rear of the lead bus.

As a result of this accident sequence, the driver of the GMC pickup and one passenger seated in the rear of the lead school bus were killed. A total of 35 passengers from both buses, the 2 bus drivers, and the driver of the Volvo tractor received injuries ranging from minor to serious.

The cause? Distraction, says the NTSB. A text messaging conversation being conducted by the GMC pickup driver resulted in his failure to notice and react to a Volvo tractor that had slowed or stopped in response to a queue that had developed in a work zone.

“According to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents,” NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a statement. “It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving. No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life.”

The NTSB indicates that the current mix of laws currently in place just isn’t sufficient. A patchwork of laws exists regarding cell-phone usage by drivers in the United States.

35 states have made text messaging while driving illegal. 30 of them place cell-phone restricts on novice drivers, through graduated licensing programs. Nine states (plus the District of Columbia) ban any use of cell-phones.

So, do you support a complete, nationwide ban on using cell-phones for any driver?

Share this post