The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently recommended that all cell phone use be banned while driving, except in an emergency. This report comes on the heals of the fatal accident in Missouri where the driver of the automobile that caused the accident reportedly received 11 text messages in 11 minutes immediately preceding the crash.
The link to NTSB’s report and press release is here:
http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/2011/gray_summit_mo/index.html
If you have been a follower of my Firm’s Blog (insert links to previous blog entries re: cells and texting), then you know that Maryland has taken steps in recent years to curb the use of cell phones while driving. In the past, Maryland passed a “hands free” law, requiring the use of ear pieces while driving. Some states, including Maryland, have passed “no texting while driving laws.”
This newest recommendation by the NTSB, if followed by state legislators, may sound the death knell for any kind of cell use in cars. NTSB recommendations are not laws, but their suggestions are often followed by lawmakers around the country.
Please check back for updates, on what is definitely an evolving area of traffic law.
By Peter Casciano, Esq.
