Transportation 28

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to toughen the punishment under the current texting ban that was established in January.  In addition to the steep fines now in place (up to $2,750 for each texting offense), the proposal seeks to disqualify commercial drivers caught texting while driving.  This will affect approximately 7 million commercial interstate drivers of trucks and other vehicles.  In addition, part of the proposal seeks to add state or local anti-texting laws to the list of serious traffic violations that can lead to disqualification for CDL drivers.  For example, if a driver commits a second offense within three years, he would be disqualified for at least 60 days.  A 120-day disqualification results from three offenses within a three year period. 

Notice of the proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register today with a request for comments due by May 3, 2010.