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Agency hears distracted driving ideas

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee’s recommendations for decreasing distracted driving included assessing strengthened enforcement and education.

The committee approved its recommendations Aug. 30 after a June meeting to discuss the issue. The committee, comprised of stakeholders such as trucking, safety and enforcement leaders, provides advice to the agency on tasks it assigns members.

The agency had asked the MCSAC to provide ideas it might consider in addressing the safety risk posed by in-cab distractions other than texting and cell phone use.

Members concluded that all distractions, not just in-cab ones, should be dealt with and that the FMCSA should pursue safety ideas across all transportation modes.

The committee recommended the agency assess enforcement, including sanctions for technologies that cause distracted driving and classifying distracted driving violations and moving violations.

It advocated the FMCSA undertake trucker education initiatives, such as mandating periodic training in addition to entry-level driver training.

The committee also recommended that FMCSA assess research to develop standards for installing or modifying in-cab technologies that may cause distracted driving and focus on improving data issues, such as quantifying crashes resulting from distracted driving.

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