NTSB urges trucker ban on all cellphones

The National Transportation Safety Board Tuesday recommended that all 50 states pass laws banning truckers and bus drivers from talking and texting on electronic devices -- including hands-free-equipped cellphones -- while driving.

The board, at a hearing in Washington, D.C., also asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which has rule-making power, to ban cellphone use by drivers of trucks and buses who cross state lines.

The proposed ban came as part of the NTSB's ruling on a deadly crash last year in Kentucky: The truck driver, the agency said, was on the phone and distracted when he crossed an interstate median and struck a passenger van, killing himself and 10 people who were on their way to a wedding.

New York State law prohibits all drivers from texting and talking on handheld phones, but allows talking on hands-free devices. There are no additional cellphone restrictions for truck or bus drivers, said Nick Cantiello, spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Long Island truck drivers in interviews Tuesday said a blanket ban on cellphone use would slow them down, forcing them to pull over each time their dispatchers call.

"If they do that, it's gonna kill us. That's how we communicate," said Brian McGuire, owner of McGuire Trucking Service in Ronkonkoma. "Long Island traffic is not the easiest to pull out and pull in."

But Sal Lopez, a driver for Hauppauge-based Global Freight Management, praised the idea and said it should be applied to all drivers.

"Nobody should be talking on the phone while driving," said Lopez, 32, of Brentwood.

NTSB chairwoman Deborah Hersman said similar recommendations about phone use already have been made for pilots and ship operators.

"This is not going to be popular," she said. "But we're not here to be popular. We're here to do what needs to be done."

The board ruled Tuesday that Kenneth Laymon, 45, had just made a one-second call on March 26, 2010, when he veered into oncoming traffic on Interstate 65 near Munfordville, Ky. The 38-ton truck crashed head-on into the van; two young children in safety seats were the only survivors.

The NTSB was told that Laymon had been talking and texting in the hours leading up to the early morning crash.

Kentucky is among 34 states that have barred texting for all drivers, but it allows cellphone calls behind the wheel.

The proposed ban would cover holders of commercial driver's licenses while they operate vehicles such as tractor-trailers, buses or tanker trucks. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in 2008 that there were about 2.8 million commercial truckers.

The NTSB voted to accept its investigators' conclusion that Laymon, distracted by his phone, caused the deadly crash.

In an interview before Tuesday's hearing, Misty Laymon said her husband was careful about using his phone while driving and bought a hands-free device to ensure safety.

"I don't want him perceived to be another incompetent driver who killed people," she said.

With AP