Skip to main content

Guide to complying with FMCSA handheld cell phone ban

Effective yestereday, a new US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rule prohibits an estimated four million commercial truck and bus drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving.
March 22, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Effective yestereday, a new US 4170 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rule prohibits an estimated four million commercial truck and bus drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving. Under the new rule, individual drivers face civil penalties up to US$2,750, while employers can be held liable and fined up to $11,000 per infraction committed while drivers are carrying out company business or otherwise acting on the employer’s behalf.

To help commercial fleet operators understand and conform to the new regulation, ZoomSafer, a provider of software to prevent distracted driving, has published FMCSA Cell Phone Use Regulations: A Guide to Compliance for Truck and Bus Fleets.

“FMCSA has made it abundantly clear that employers are responsible if their employees violate the rule,” said ZoomSafer CEO Matt Howard. “This new white paper offers commercial fleet operators a detailed explanation of the handheld phone ban and guidance on how to measure and manage employee compliance.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Workzone safety protects workforce and drivers
    May 3, 2012
    Highway construction work zones are dangerous places, and anything that can improve safety is welcomed as Patrick Smith reports. The safe and efficient flow of traffic through work zones is a major concern to transportation officials, industry, the public, businesses, and commercial motor carriers. This is the view of the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which has developed the Highway Work Zone Safety Program to reduce the fatalities and injurious crashes in work zones, and to enhance traffic oper
  • Workzone safety protects workforce and drivers
    February 15, 2012
    Highway construction work zones are dangerous places, and anything that can improve safety is welcomed as Patrick Smith reports. The safe and efficient flow of traffic through work zones is a major concern to transportation officials, industry, the public, businesses, and commercial motor carriers. This is the view of the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which has developed the Highway Work Zone Safety Program to reduce the fatalities and injurious crashes in work zones, and to enhance traffic oper
  • The financial cost of crashes in the US
    February 1, 2023
    The financial cost of road crashes in the US places a heavy burden.
  • Safety measures aid workzone accident reduction
    February 20, 2012
    Everyone connected with the highway industry is involved in the efforts to cut down the number of work zone accidents. Patrick Smith reports. A few months ago, as road work resumed on America's highways and bridges, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called on drivers to use extra caution in work zones. At the same time he commended the success in reducing overall roadway fatalities in each of the last seven years.