CAPITOL HILL REPORT
ATA Applauds Final Rule Banning Handheld Cellphone Use by Truck Drivers
In late November, the American
Trucking Associations announced by the Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to ban the use of handheld cellphones by commercial truck and bus drivers."ATA has been vocal in its support of Transporta- tion Secretary LaHood's quest to combat distracted driving and this is another appropriate step toward achieving that goal," ATA President and CEO Bill Graves said. "Studies have shown that actions like texting and dialing a phone can greatly increase crash risk, so by taking steps to curb these behaviors hold great promise to improve highway
22 CHANGING LANES // JANUARY '12
safety.""ATA's progressive safety agenda includes support for bans on texting and using handheld cellphones for all drivers. While the federal government cannot enact such bans for drivers of passenger vehicles, ATA urges all states to follow the lead of DOT and FMCSA and take steps to ban these danger- ous activities for all drivers," Graves announced as millions of Americans head out to spend Thanksgiving with their loved ones, and hundreds of thousands of America's truck drivers are on the roads delivering the food, gifts and trimmings of the upcoming holiday season," Graves said. "We urge all drivers, whether
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