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Managed by Paul J. Loftus, a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Transportation Law Today provides professionals in the rail, transit, inland maritime, and trucking industries with current news and analysis of laws, rulings, and regulatory policies.



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

NTSB Cites Trucker Cell Phone Use in Call for Hand-Held Ban

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), during a meeting to consider the probable cause of a 2010 tractor-trailer collision in Kentucky which claimed 11 lives,recommended that commercial truck drivers be banned from using mobile phones, except for emergencies.

On March 26, 2010, a tractor-trailer crossed the median of I-65 near Munfordville, KY, and collided with a 15 passenger van carrying 12 occupants, including 2 small children and an infant. The truck driver and 10 of the 12 van passengers were killed. NTSB investigators noted the driver had used his mobile phone 69 times while driving in the 24 hour period prior to the accident, including four calls made by the driver in minutes before the crash.

A mobile device ban has already by implemented by rail regulators following a 2008 commuter train collision in California, and the NTSB has made similar recommendations to maritime operators following the Duck Boat - Barge Collision on the Delaware River in Philadelphia.

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