.gif)
The US government on Tuesday banned truck and bus drivers from sending text messages while at the wheel in a further crackdown on distracted driving, which claims thousands of lives on US roads each year.
"I’ve directed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to use its existing authority to prohibit commercial truck and bus drivers from texting while driving, using any handheld cellphone or other device that takes a driver’s attention off the road," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.
"Today, we’re sending a strong message: we don’t merely expect you to share the road responsibly with other travelers -- we require you to do so," he said.
The ban takes effect immediately and affects inter-state truck drivers and commercial bus or van drivers who carry more than eight passengers.
Violating the ban could lead to civil or criminal penalties of up to 2,750 dollars (1950 euros), the Department of Transportation (DOT) said.
Drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds for every six seconds of texting, according to the FMCSA.
"At 55 miles per hour (88 kilometers per hour), this means that the driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road," the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
A US football field, including the end zones, is around 120 yards, or 110 meters, long.
A large truck traveling at 55 miles per hour can take around 133 yards (122 meters) to stop.
Drivers who text while driving are more than 20 times more likely to get in an accident than non-distracted drivers, according to the DOT.
At the first-ever summit on distracted driving, held in Washington last year, LaHood said nearly 6,000 people died in the United States in 2008 and more than half a million were injured because a driver allowed their attention to stray while at the wheel.
Many of the distracted drivers were using their mobile phones, iPods or Blackberries, he said.
