The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Transportation, calling on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement a rulemaking that would restrict the use of "unsafe electronic devices"
by drivers of commercial vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, motorcoach buses, and large vans.

During a news conference Thursday to announce the petition, Henry Jasny, the group's general counsel, told reporters that focusing on truck drivers was the most direct and fast approach to address the safety issue, since the FMCSA directly controls the regulation of commercial driver behavior through its rulemaking process. When it comes to banning device use by passenger vehicle drivers, the issue is in the hands of the states or Congress, Jasny said.

"Driver distraction is a serious and growing safety problem," said Jacqueline Gillan, Advocates vice president. "If safety is indeed our nation's number one transportation priority, now is the time for FMCSA to act to stem the rising tide of distracted driving crashes, deaths and injuries."

According to Gillan, the Advocates' position, which is based on data and research, is against the use of electronic devices while driving for talking, texting and other purposes. This includes handheld and handsfree devices. The petition asks the FMCSA to determine which devices are unsafe.

During the conference call, the group referred to several studies that point to the dangers of cell phone use and distracted driving, including the Virginia Tech study and a survey by Nationwide Insurance. The group also pointed to data about truck-related crashes. According to the Advocates, nearly 5,000 people are killed and 100,000 injured each year in crashes with large trucks. The group also said trucks are only 3 percent of registered vehicles, but are involved in 12 percent of all traffic fatalities.

One reporter questioned the speakers about these facts, pointing to federal studies that have found that two-thirds to three-quarters of accidents were actually the fault of the passenger drivers. Jerry Donaldson, senior research director for Advocates, responded by saying that the studies weren't legitimate and that the FMCSA denied the results.

One such study is the FMCSA's Large Truck Crash Causation Study, which found that 58.8 percent of the critical events in large truck fatal crashes resulted from the action of another vehicle, while 20.9 percent resulted from the action of the truck driver. A 2002 study by the American Association of Automobiles (AAA) found that 80 percent of fatal truck-involved crashes are caused by passenger vehicles. A 2006 Virginia Tech analysis of two studies conducted for the Department of Transportation found that 78 percent of crashes were caused by passenger car drivers.

The Advocates also used a real-life example in the Schee family, whose daughter, Margay Schee, 13, was killed a year ago when a tractor-trailer hit the back of a stopped school bus she was on. According to the group, the truck driver was using a cell phone.

Elissa Schee, Margay's mother, was in tears during the conference call, as she relayed her daughter's story. "Margay was a very beautiful child," she said. "I speak from my heart when I say that just one loss is dramatically life-changing."

According to the Associated Press, the American Trucking Associations has a neutral stance on a ban on cell phone use by truck drivers until the language of a rule is revealed. ATA's safety agenda explains that electronic communication devices hinder driver performance by taking the driver's eyes off the road.

In the petition, the group specifically asks the FMCSA to:

* Immediately open a rulemaking proceeding to determine the safety of electronic devices used by drivers operating a commercial vehicle

* Evaluate all wireless electronic devices used for telecommunications, telematics, entertainment and driver assistance (regardless of whether they are mobile or installed into the vehicle electronics platform) that can be used by drivers while operating a truck

* Determine which devices interfere with the safe operation of commercial vehicles

* Permit exceptions only in emergency situations, and exempt law enforcement and emergency responders who operate commercial vehicles in the conduct of their official duties

* Make it so that those drivers that use a prohibited or restricted device while operating a commercial vehicle will be issued an Out-of-Service order

* Apply the rule to all commercial vehicles drivers under FMCSA jurisdiction

* Issue a rule to prohibit or restrict the use of devices that interfere with the safe operation of trucks, and explain the conditions under which devices that are restricted can be used

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is an alliance of consumer, health, law enforcement and safety groups and insurance companies and agents. The group is funded by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.