Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/44411
CELL PHONES ALLOW DRIVERS TO KEEP IN TOUCH How did we talk to our loved ones before the cell phone? I will tell you. We, the family, would wait up till all hours of the night, waiting for our drivers to stop driving. Then we would sit on the house phone for an hour, talking when the driver should be sleeping and the kids should be asleep, too. Next morning, both sides, house and truck, would wake and think of the fact that it would be mid- night before we could talk again, then get into the vehicle and drive distracted because we missed our loved ones, those same people that we only get to see three days out of every 90 to 120 days!? Then comes the phone bills we would have, $500 to $1,000 a month, so our drivers would drive even harder SOUND OFF Submit a letter: Send letters to Truckers News, Attn: Randy Grider, 3200 Rice Mine Road NE, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 35406 or rgrider@rrpub.com. Tweet us: Hit up Truckers News' Twitter page at twitter. com/truckersnews to provide quick and easy feedback in 140 characters or less. and longer hours to pay that bill, just so they could talk a little each night. Still disconnected from the family, they would wonder what was happening at home. Now, at least we get to talk some throughout the day, the kids know what their dad sounds like, and he gets to be a small part of the family. The bill is manageable, the people are less dis- tracted, and families are staying together. And all this is man- aged hands-free with a Bluetooth- type headset that is designed espe- cially for truckers. Kendra Elrod Marquis Charlotte, Tenn. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NTSB RECOMMENDATION TO BAN ALL CELL PHONE USE WHILE DRIVING? Via Facebook: I am opposed to the ban. It is an overreaction. All the evidence and studies show that they are safe. Just more big brother telling us what we can do. — Jeff C. So even with hands-free we can't use them … What's next? Taking CB radios and AM/FM out of trucks, too? Oh I know, why don't we take the heat and AC out too, God forbid we should be distracted by warmth or chilled air. And why don't they make a rule about the lack of clothes people wear in their autos? Distracted driving, ya know … comes in all forms. — Charles N. Truckers are already taken away from their families and loved ones, now this ban will make them choose between sleep and talking to the people they care about … Next they will ban passengers in cars because they may just speak to you. I know for me, my kids are more distracting than talk- ing to my trucker husband on the Bluetooth. Should my kids be banned from my car? — Amberlamps L. This is outrageous and we all should protest it or go on strike. There are already too many regulations on truckers; it's just another way to make and use us as examples for the rest of the world. This needs to stop — Janet F. Next will come a ban on chewing gum or eating or singing along with the radio while driving. — Bill R. It is illegal in most states to use a cell phone while driving unless you have a hands-free device. What they are talking about here is no cell phone at all, hands-free or otherwise. If you use a Bluetooth there should not be a problem. — Dennis S. It's just another way for the government to control us. No way that I'm going all day without talking to my family, and I'm not doing it at the end of the day and 10 TRUCKERS NEWS NOVEMBER 2011 Ban them for one, ban them for all, including law enforcement. If it's OK for them, it's OK for all. Espe- cially professional drivers. — Phillip P. I find it degrading that the NTSB finds time to worry about banning cell phone use when there are impor- tant issues that need to be addressed such as the CSA 2010, bad roads, road construction, recorders in trucks as you see this ban would just be another way to come down on the then sacrificing my sleep time. I'll be one less driver on the road if that passes. — Dave E. I am opposed! If they're going to ban them, do it for everyone. Cars, trains, bicy- clists, pedestrians etc. — David L. Next it will be "no smok- ing" while you are driving a commercial vehicle. Fellow truckers, we better stick together and fight all these regulations. — Richard M. American trucker just trying to do their job. — Renee R. They need to ban four- wheelers from using cell phones before they ban us. Four-wheelers are the worst drivers while on the phone or texting — Elizebethe E. Hows about if the NTSB bans all cell phone use while driving for everybody. Honestly, I'd say that easily 50 percent of the vehicles that pass me have drivers either texting or talking on the phone. It is out of hand. Some days I feel like some- body painted a bull's-eye on my unit with "hit me" painted in the center ring. — Kev H. Hands-free should be per- mitted. We're away from family too long as it is, let alone contact with centers, etc. NTSB needs to stop playing big brother … we need less government in our lives, not more. — Joseph M. If they are going to ban us from using cell phones, they need to do the same for the rest of the motoring public. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. — Scott D. It's discrimination and unconstitutional. I see peo- ple in cars every day talking on their phones without the hands-free device or texting. Hell, I've even seen people drinking a beer while driving their car. — Ryan H. Honestly, if you can't main- tain your lane and speed and talk on a phone you shouldn't be behind the wheel anyway. How the heck do you check your gauges or mirrors? Or do you? All it takes is a little common sense: construc- tion, no phone; rush hour, no phone; heavy traffic, bad weather, no phone. Ninety percent of the time I let it go to voicemail then return the calls as I see fit. Hell, most of them I didn't want to talk to anyway. As far as texting I don't text period. And it takes a real idiot to try and drive and text. — John B.