Bus and Truck Drivers Banned From Using Cell Phones While Driving

For drivers of buses and big trucks, they are going to find that the new law that went into effect January 1st of 2012 is one way in which the road ways are trying to be kept safer. From this point on, drivers by federal law cannot be on their cell phones while driving. However, truckers and bus drivers can use a hands free device if they are going to need to make a call.

There have been countless accidents that have been caused by these drivers and mainly because they were distracted texting or dialing the numbers on their phone for a call. And when getting into an accident with such a large vehicle, the results usually result in the loss of life, as most people know. The government finally stepped in at the urging of many citizens throughout the United States that wanted stricter regulations in place in order to ensure that safety is the first thing that these drivers are thinking about.

There are some strict punishments if the person should be caught while driving and using their phone, minus the hands free device. The driver could face a fine of around $2,000. And if the person is caught multiple times with the same problem, then they could face losing their license. And for these drivers, if they lose their license, they will find that they are not going to have an easy time of getting them back. And even if the person were to get these back, they have this mark on their record, which can make it harder for them to get a job once again. Therefore, most drivers are stating that if they are caught that they may as well kiss their jobs goodbye.

For those drivers that drive for big fleets, they will find that they are not the only ones that will be punished. The fleet that they drive for or the company that they work for can be fined up to $11,000 for the incident per driver. Thus, a company could go bankrupt from paying these fines should they have more than one driver that gets caught. Hence, many companies may take up the philosophy for their drivers that if they are caught just one time that they could lose their job in order to minimize the losses that the company would endure.

There seems to be split opinions on this issue. Many truck drivers are stating that this is a step in the positive and that they believe it will reduce the number of traffic accidents on the roads that are caused by truckers that are talking or texting while driving. However, they are concerned about just what this is going to mean for the companies that hire truckers. They are going to be taking on a risk of letting drivers work for them since the penalty can be put on the company as well. Thus, they believe that this could result in higher payments to the company and a lowering a wages for everyone in order to counteract the money that will have to pay if the company is fined.

Most truckers find that the new law is something that they are in support of, however many truckers are finding that this is discriminating against them. They believe that if they have to use hands free devices or use no phone at all that this should be the law for everyone, no matter what they are driving, whether it is a pickup truck or a scooter. And for the most part, there are many citizens that believe that this would also be a good law to put into the books for all drivers, as cell phone use is the main way that people are getting involved in accidents in today's time.

Truck and bus drivers are going to want to realize that if they are suspected of using a cell phone while driving that they can be pulled over and the law enforcement has every right to look at their phone to see if they were on it. In addition, other drivers on the roadways can inform highway patrol if they do believe that a certain driver is on their cell phone. And this is something that law enforcement is eager to enforce and make sure that they are catching those that are breaking this new law.