Hand-held Cell Phones Banned for Commercial Drivers

Plug in, or hang up. The start of 2012 saw a new hand-held cell phone ban for Commercial Drivers. New regulations kicked in January 3, 2012 banning hand held phones in commercial vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds. Drivers are allowed to use hands-free devices, but all across the United States, all commercial drivers, which includes truck and bus drivers, are banned from using hand-held cell phones. If caught, they will be forced to pay a fine of up to $2,700 per offense.

The law does allow emergency responders and roadside assistance workers to use hand-held cell phones, but those are the only commercial drivers who don’t have to go hands-free. An estimated four million commercial drivers will be affected across the nation.

In addition, approximately 40,000 state laws piggy-backing off of this issue have taken effect since the start of the 2012.