Truck drivers are now no longer allowed to text behind the wheel, per a federal law that went into effect on January 26. If you break the law, you could face up to $2,750 in fines. The main reason for outlawing texting was to make the roads safer and to try to curb distracted driving, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. The trucking industry has largely supported the ban.

Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute released a study last summer indicating that cell phone texting “was associated with the highest risk of all cell phone related tasks. “ Drilling down further, the study found that texting by heavy truck drivers made them 23.2 times more likely to get into a crash. Sobering statistics indeed.

What do you think of the new ban on texting aimed at truck drivers?