General Knowledge: Distracted Driving

2 questions in the bank cover this topic. Everything below is drawn from the sources those questions cite.

Sources: 49 CFR 392.80

What you need to know

392.80(b) binds the carrier directly.

A dispatcher who expects texted replies while a driver is rolling is in violation, which is the point of making it a carrier duty and not only a driver one. Texting while driving cannot be permitted or demanded.

No motor carrier shall allow or require its drivers to engage in texting while driving.

49 CFR 392.80

392.80(c) requires moving out of the traffic lane to a place the vehicle can safely stay.

Stopping in the lane, even with the engine off, is still driving under this definition. Moving to the side of or off the highway first is part of the requirement, not a separate step.

Driving does not include operating a commercial motor vehicle with or without the motor running when the driver moved the vehicle to the side of, or off, a highway, as defined in 49 CFR 390.5, and halted in a location where the vehicle can safely remain stationary.

49 CFR 392.80

Check yourself

• Does the texting prohibition bind the carrier as well as the driver?

• When does you stop 'driving' for the purposes of the texting ban?

Answers are in the practice test for this topic.