Maine Injury Lawyer Blog
Distracted driving car accidents in Portland and elsewhere are becoming a top concern for officials as more drivers than ever are taking their eyes off the road. To help combat the problem and to save some lives along the way, the National Safety Council (NSC) has released a new video series, “Understanding Distracted Driving,” to help drivers to fully understand the dangers and the consequences of the dangerous driving behavior.Our Maine car accident attorneys understand that state officials have yet to enact a ban on cell phone use by drivers. Currently, novice drivers in Maine are the only ones who are covered under a ban of cell phone use for both hand-held and hands-free devices. As of September 28th, no driver in our state is allowed to text while operating a motor vehicle. Unfortunately, not all motorists will abide by these laws and will continue to put other driver’s lives in danger.
Throughout the NSC’s new video series, the Senior Director of Transportation Initiatives at the NSC, David Teater, addresses a dozen popular questions regarding the dangerous habit, including just how severe distractions can be, why cell phones prove to be such a dangerous distraction and how employers can create an effective and beneficial cell phone policy for all employees.
Teater has chosen to conduct these videos because he and the NSC saw him as a good fit. Teater lost his 12-year-old son in a motor-vehicle accident that involved a distracted driver in 2004.
“Cell phone use and driving are a dangerous, and oftentimes deadly, combination,” Teater said.
The NSC isn’t the only one targeting distracted drivers. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is at it, too. The NTSB recently made a proposal to ban all commercial truck drivers from using a cell phone and texting while driving.
The most recent proposal comes after a hearing that addressed a driver that was involved in a fatal accident just seconds after hanging up his cell phone. The accident took the lives of 11 people and sent local shops crumbling to the ground, according to FOX News.
According to the U. . Department of Transportation, there is a rule in place that bans truck drivers in Maine and nationwide from using texting while driving. The NTSB is trying to build on this rule by asking that the ban cover both truck and bus drivers and to prohibit both cell phone use and texting by these drivers.
“This is the most comprehensive recommendation we’ve made,” said the NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman.
The NTSB doesn’t have the authority to make something like this a federal law, so the proposal has been sent to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and each of the 50 states. This ban could potentially regulate the driving habits of nearly 3 million truck drivers in the United States and help to save thousands of lives on our roadways.
Contact the experienced injury attorneys at Peter Thompson & Associates if you or someone you loved has been involved in a distracted driving-related trucking accident in Bangor, Portland or the surrounding areas. Call 1-800-804-2004 to make a appointment to speak to an attorney about your case.