July 1: No Cell Phones While Driving in California, Washington
On July 1, new laws in California and Washington State will take effect and prohibit people from driving while they use a hand-held cell phone
On July 1, new laws in California and Washington State will take effect and prohibit people from driving while they use a hand-held cell phone.
The offense is primary in California, secondary in Washington, reports the American Trucking Associations' State Laws Newsletter. The penalty in California is $20 for the first offense, and $50 for subsequent offenses, while in Washington the fine is $124.
The California law specifies that those operating commercial vehicles may continue to use two-way radios.
Connecticut outlawed driving with cell phones three years ago (as a few other states also have done), ATA notes, and the press there reports that although more than 10,000 citations have been issued under the law, some doubt whether it has had much of an effect on Connecticut drivers' behavior.
More Drivers
EEOC Sues Texas Trucking Company Over Driver Age Limits
The agency says Trancasa USA rejected applicants over 65 and applied tougher driving-record standards to those over 60.
Read More →
Nussbaum, Roehl Announce Second Driver Pay Increase This Year
This year has seen a swath of major truck driver pay increases as freight capacity has tightened.
Read More →
From One Generation to the Next: How Mentorship Builds Safer Truck Drivers
After three decades in trucking, Harold Perry shares what he's learned about driver safety, mentorship, and helping the next generation build confidence behind the wheel.
Read More →
Truck Drivers Need More Than Another Alert
Fleets have more visibility into truck health, safety events, and driver activity than ever. The next challenge is turning all that information into useful guidance for the person who has to decide what to do next.
Read More →
FMCSA Removes 110 Truck Driver Training Schools from Certified ELDT List
Federal regulators also are targeting more than 160 additional training providers and launching a nationwide audit of third-party CDL skills testers as part of a broader crackdown on trucking fraud.
Read More →
Hours of Service Pilot Programs: FMCSA Readies for 2027 Rollout
Two pilot programs could eventually reshape hours-of-service rules, giving truck drivers options to pause their 14-hour clock or use longer split sleeper rest periods.
Read More →
Medical Cards, English Proficiency Reshape Roadcheck Violations
Medical-card violations jumped to the top of the driver out-of-service list during CVSA’s 2026 International Roadcheck, while English-language proficiency violations appeared among the leading violations for the first time.
Read More →
Driver Trust Can Make or Break the Success of Fleet Safety Technology
New Teletrac Navman research suggests that onboarding, transparency about driver data, and positive feedback can play a significant role in how commercial drivers respond to safety and coaching technology.
Read More →
EEOC Sues KLLM Over Alleged Sex Discrimination in Driver Training
KLLM is facing a federal sex-discrimination lawsuit over policies the EEOC alleges put female truck driver trainees at a disadvantage.
Read More →
FMCSA Moves to Codify English Language Requirements for Commercial Drivers
By changing regulations on English-language proficiency requirements for commercial drivers, rather than relying on a guidance memo, the FMCSA said future administrations won't be able to walk back the Trump administration's stricter enforcement with just a memo.
Read More →