NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS 2007
Heed Call For Ban on Use of Cell
Phones by School Bus Drivers on the Road
February 13, 2007
If you're a driver, you've almost
certainly had an unnerving near-miss accident situation with another
driver who was yakking on a cell phone instead of paying attention
to the road.
Blabbering on a cell phone while
driving puts one in the same league as a drunken driver, as far as
being an impaired driver, according to studies in recent years.
Despite that, few states or
communities have laws specifically against talking on a cell phone
while driving. That's why the American School Bus Council today was
scheduled to urge school bus companies, school districts and state
lawmakers to ban school bus drivers specifically from using cell
phones when their bus is moving or while students are getting on and
off the bus.
Cell phone use by school bus drivers
already is against the law in Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas.
Notice that Ohio is not on that list
compiled by the Governors Highway Safety Association. Ohio permits
communities to adopt restrictions on cell phone use while driving,
but few communities have done so.
Most anyone would agree that school
bus drivers carry the most precious passengers in the world, our
children. Their safety must be paramount, and that means school bus
drivers focusing on their jobs 100 percent.
After 11 students were injured in a
2004 crash blamed on a driver chatting on a cell phone, the National
Transportation Safety Board called for a ban on cell phone use by
all bus drivers while driving, according to an Associated Press news
story.
An estimated 25 million school
children ride the bus each day, and it's a good bet that the vast
majority of school bus drivers wouldn't dream of casually conversing
on a cell phone while on the job. But there's always somebody who
just doesn't get it. This ban is for them.
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