A recent federal safety agency has made a strong recommendation that eighteen-wheel truckers and other commercial drivers should be banned from talking on the cell phone and texting when they’re behind the wheel. In a hearing held in Washington DC, the National Transportation Safety Board endorsed the ban after hearing about a truck driver who was involved in a crash that killed 11 people on a Kentucky highway in 2010.
The National Transportation and Safety Board does not have the power to ban cell calls and texting, but it can make recommendations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, as well as all 50 states. The recommendation was made to cover all commercial drivers license holders while operating vehicles such as tractor-trailers, buses and tanker trucks. It should be noted that there have been similar recommendations made about both use in the aviation and shipping industry.