FMCSA recently completed its ``Driver Distraction in Commercial Vehicle Operations'' study and released the final report last October. The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence of driver distraction in CMV safety-critical events. The odds of being involved in a safety-critical event wer found to be 23.2 times greater for drivers who are texting while driving than for those who do not. (Although the final report does not elaborate on text messaging, the drivers were engaged in the review of, or preparation and transmission of, typed messages via wireless phones.) At 65 mph (or 95.3 feet per second), the driver would have traveled approximately 439 feet without looking at the roadway. This was determined to clearly create a significant risk to the safe operation of the CMV. Because of the safety risks associated with texting, FMCSA will address the problem of texting in an expedited, stand-alone rulemaking to be completed in 2010. In the meantime, the FMCSA has issued regulatory guidance reGarding the applicability of the existing regulations to the use of electronic devices for texting. So with regard to whether the FMCSRs prohibit "texting'' while driving a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce, the answer provided by the regulatory guidance released on Jan. 27, 2010, the answer is "Yes." To read the details, go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-1573.htm.

HOURS OF SERVICE

The FMCSA has held several public "listening sessions" to gather input regarding the hours of service and potential changes. In the last few weeks we have attended the public listening sessions and have heard some very good perspectives from drivers, sleep specialists, and Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy organization. As a general observation, the majority of industry is for the current rules while Public Citizen wants stricter regulations on drivers. Statistics do indicate that accidents and fatalities have decreased since the current rule has been in place. The only changes to the rule that are suggested by drivers across the country is to make the sleeper birth rule more flexible, letting drivers take their rest time in shorter increments (2 hours minimum) and changing the restart from 34 hours to 24 hours. It's suggested that those two adjustments would help drivers get the proper rest and would not affect their allowed 14-hour work day. FMCSA is holding these public listening sessions to gather all the comments they can to determine how they can improve the rules and make our roads safer.

Of course, we will stay on top of this and provide updates as they become available. Visit our Web site often for news. Check our blog at http://blog.bumper2bumpertruckbook.com and follow us on Twitter -- we're redwritertx --for the latest developments in this important change to truck driving regulations.