Colonel Ron Replogle, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, would like to inform the public of a new U.S. Department of Transportation rule affecting interstate commercial truck and bus drivers. Effective November 23, 2011, the USDOT announced a final rule specifically prohibiting interstate commercial truck and bus drivers from conducting voice communication using a hand-held mobile communicating device while driving their vehicles. The joint rule from the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is the latest rule by the USDOT to address distracted driving.
The definition of a mobile communication device includes
cell phones and “push to talk” phones. The rule does NOT include CB radios. A mobile communication device that is not hands-free may be used in emergencies or to contact law enforcement to report crashes, intoxicated drivers, etc. The new rule also places some restrictions on hands-free mobile communication devices. Hands-free devices must be able to be dialed by pressing a single button. Reaching for a mobile communication device in an unsafe manner (i.e., reaching for the mobile device on the passenger seat, under the driver's seat, in a sleeper birth, or any area outside the driver’s reach) is prohibited.
The new rule affects all commercial motor vehicles operated in interstate commerce with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, a vehicle operated solely in intrastate commerce with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more, or a vehicle transporting any amount of hazardous materials requiring a placard. The new rule includes all contracted school bus operations and shuttle buses. All intrastate carriers who are exempted currently from the federal regulations by the state of Missouri will not be affected by the new rule. The final rule can be found on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website at
www.fmcsa.dot.gov.
