TOP STORY
Federal Texting Ban for Interstate Bus Drivers Expected to Exempt Two-Way Radios
By Ryan Gray Seven out of 10 STN readers surveyed
last month said there are specific policies in place at their district or transportation company that prohibit school bus drivers from texting while driving students. Te responses came after the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration
published guidance on Jan. 26 that could fuel a rulemaking process for banning all commercial bus and truck drivers from texting behind the wheel while on the clock. While the guidance specifically exempts school bus drivers engaged in home-to-school transportation of stu- dents when driving government-owned and -operated school buses, it does di- rect proposed rulemaking to prohibit bus and truck drivers in privately-owned vehicles
governed by Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Regulations, such as for ac- tivity trips made across state lines. But, Transportation Secretary Ray La-
Hood has voiced the desire to eventually implement a regulation that would pro- hibit all school bus drivers from texting. Last September at the Distracted Driving Summit, LaHood called for comprehen- sive laws to ban texting by school bus drivers as well as newly-licensed teen driv- ers. Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia and Guam have similar laws, and a new federal rule could force the re- maining states to pass similar legislation. South Carolina has introduced school bus driver texting legislation, and Massachu- setts and Nebraska have bills that would ban the use of any wireless communica- tion device by school bus drivers. As the STN survey last month shows,
many school districts have their own policies in place. Still, as illustrated by the fatal collision of a Metrolink com- muter train and a freight train near Los Angeles last year, many employees will continue to skirt laws or even estab- lished company rules. Tat incident, in which the National
Transportation Safety Board found that telephone records show both the com- muter train conductor and the Union Pacific engineer had received and sent text messages prior to the crash that killed 25, despite both companies prohibiting their employees from using any cell phone or mobile electronic device while on the job. Te NTSB has recommended since the
summer of 2007 that the FMCSA publish regulations prohibiting cell phone use by commercial drivers who hold the school bus or passenger endorsement. NTSB has also recommended that all 50 states and D.C. enact similar legislation. On Oct. 31, 2007, National Association for Pupil Trans- portation members adopted a resolution that called upon all school bus operators nationwide to develop policies that prohibit cell phone use by drivers while be- hind the wheel, except in the case of an emer- gency. Tose interested in obtaining the draft can contact NAPT (
www.napt. org) for more information. According
ernors Highway Safety Association, which
to the Gov- tracks
state cell phone and texting laws, only four of the 19 states with laws banning text messages made by school bus drivers while behind the wheel — Louisiana, Nebraska, New York and Washing- ton State — have secondary enforcement laws. Virginia only has primary enforcement for bus drivers and secondary enforcement for all other mo- torists. Meanwhile, Illinois and Texas have text bans for all motor- ists specifically in school zones. Last year, NASDPTS supported the
18 School Transportation News Magazine March 2010
Senate ALERT ACT designed to withhold federal funds from states that do not have policies that prohibit texting while driv- ing. Charlie Hood, NASDPTS president and the director of pupil transportation at the Florida Department of Education, said the FMCSA guidance enables NAS- DPTS to “assess the potential effects and provide comments in general support of ‘undistracted’ driving by all motorists in- cluding school bus operators.” “School buses remain by far the saf-
est means of transportation for students, and school bus operators are well trained to avoid distractions while driving,” said Hood. “NASDPTS nevertheless supports any reasonable regulations and efforts at the federal, state, and local levels to rein- force prohibitions on use of personal cell phones, texting
devices, or
other unauthorized two-way commu- nications
devices
while driving.” Te guidance includes lan- guage that
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