Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog
The New York Times reported recently on efforts by the federal Department of Transportation to tighten rules governing distracted driving in Oregon and elsewhere in the nation. According to the newspaper, the department wants to make a temporary ban on texting by long-haul truckers permanent. Safety advocates, however, say those rules do not go far enough.
According to the Times, the real concern among highway safety groups focuses on the in-cab computers that have become standard equipment in much of the nation’s trucking fleet. “We want the department to continue down this road of looking at the devices that are highly distracting and take action to curb those as well,” the paper quoted Judith Stone, president of Advocates for Highway Safety, saying.
The department is currently gearing up to take public comments about making the texting rule permanent, but is reported to be receptive to input on a broader ban. Onboard computers are a common sight in the cabs of large trucks. These often combine the features of commercial GPS units with links to dispatchers at a trucking or shipping company’s headquarters.
With concern rising nationwide about distracted driving, Oregon motorists are finding there are simply more and more things to worry about when considering the other drivers on the road. If you have been involved in an accident with an Oregon distracted driver, prompt consultation with a Portland distracted driving lawyer is imperative. There are many activities (such as operating an onboard computer in the cab of a speeding semi-truck) that fall outside the scope of the Oregon distracted driving law that went into effect last January. The fact that some forms of distracted driving are legal does not, however, mean that a reckless, distracted driver cannot be held responsible for his actions. An experienced Oregon distracted driving attorney can advise you on the remedies you may have depending on the exact nature and circumstances of your Oregon distracted driving car crash.
New York Times: Banning Texting in Truck Raises Other Questions
