Insurance Blog

In the latest in a series of actions to curb distracted driving, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced it is prohibiting truck and bus drivers from sending text messages while operating commercial vehicles. The ban, which is effective immediately, means that truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750, the DOT said. “Our regulations will help prevent unsafe activity within the cab,” said Anne Ferro, Administrator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). “We want to make it crystal clear to operators and their employers that texting while driving is the type of unsafe activity that these regulations are intended to prohibit.” The DOT’s blog Fast Lane has more on this story. As of December 30, 2009, federal employees have been banned from texting while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment following […]

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It’s perhaps inevitable that amid rising concerns about cellphone use and distracted driving a lawsuit has been filed against a cellphone manufacturer and wireless provider by the daughter of a woman killed after her car was hit by a driver talking on his cellphone. A December 6 article in the New York Times by Matt Richtel outlines the details of the suit which alleges the companies failed to provide adequate warnings of the risks of cellphone use while driving. It goes on to cite legal experts explaining why the suit – currently the only such case and one of only a handful ever filed – faces steep challenges. Over at the Consumer Class Actions Mass Tort Blog, Russell Jackson, a partner at law firm Skadden Arps and quoted in the NYT article, offers analysis on why various legal defenses should make this cellphone suit untenable. First and foremost is the […]

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The more gadgets we have the more gadgets we need, or at least that’s the way it often seems. But put this in the context of the distracted driving problem and you may have a solution that reduces fatalities and auto insurance premiums. An article in Saturday’s New York Times by Sam Grobart explains how technology companies are trying to solve a problem caused by technology with more technology. It points to the rising interest in services that automatically disable an individual’s cellphone when it is in a moving car. Apparently a number of companies have started offering call-blocking systems that place restrictions on phones based on its GPS signal, data from the car itself or from cell towers. Incoming calls would then be routed to voice mail or message. The concept goes a step further than hands-free systems. A key takeaway from the article is that while proponents of […]

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By now it’s old news that pilots of a Northwest flight that overshot its Minneapolis destination by 150 miles a week ago were looking at their laptops. Yesterday the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it had revoked the licenses of the pilots. They have 10 days to appeal the decision to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). According to a Wall Street Journal article, federal safety rules prohibit laptops in cockpits below 10,000 feet, but allow them during cruise. However, it cited a statement from Delta (now merged with Northwest) that the airline expressly forbids pilots from using laptops at any time or engaging in personal activity that could distract from flight duties. Just a few weeks ago the U.S. Department of Transport held a Distracted Driving summit which highlighted the growing dangers of driving while distracted by texting or cellphone use. The Northwest incident underscores the point that whether […]

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