According to a statement issued on September 13, the NTSB is urging the federal government to enact new regulations that would make it illegal for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to use handheld electronic devices while driving.

These efforts come on the heels of a NTSB investigation into a Kentucky truck accident that killed 11 people in March 2010. According to the board, a truck driver was making a cell phone call when he crossed over a median and struck a passenger van containing 12 people. The truck’s driver and 10 of the van’s passengers were killed in the accident.

Investigators determined that the truck driver had made 69 calls and texts while driving in the 24 hours leading up to the accident. His last call coincided with the time the truck crashed through southbound I-65′s cable barrier system and across a 60-foot wide median. It was his fourth call within minutes.

There is mounting evidence that links an increased risk of traffic accidents to driving distractions. Commercial drivers pose a particular risk due to the amount of damage that can be caused by large buses, trucks or other vehicles. In addition, these commercial vehicles often require additional reaction time to safely maneuver the vehicles.

According to a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study released in the fall of 2009, heavy vehicle and truck drivers were 23.2 times more likely than a non-distracted driver to have a truck accident if they were texting, 6.7 times as likely to crash while reaching for, or using, an electronic device, and 5.9 times as likely to have an accident while dialing on a cell phone.

Drivers of light vehicles and cars were at much less risk of having an accident, but still faced a 2.8 times greater risk of crashing while dialing a cell phone than a non-distracted driver and were 1.4 times more likely to crash while reaching for an object and 1.3 times as likely to have an auto accident while talking on the cell phone.

The NTSB does not have the power to promulgate new traffic rules, but it can and does make recommendations to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. If such a ban were enacted, it would affect an estimated 3.7 million commercial drivers, who would not be allowed to use electronic devices while driving except in emergency situations.

The Maryland bus and truck accident lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. urge consumers to support the complete ban on the use of mobile phones or other handheld electronic devices by commercial drivers.

The complaint was filed against Candy Lynn Baldwin, the 19-year old woman who was driving the 1997 Chevrolet Camaro that caused the accident. However, the Baltimore Sun also reports that the family has placed the Maryland Transportation Authority on notice of their intention to file a claim under the Maryland Tort Claims Act for the failure of the bridge to prevent the truck from falling off of the bridge, as an investigation found that the metal bars holding the concrete barriers had eroded prior to the crash.

The Maryland truck accident lawsuit was filed in Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court. According to the Sun:

The suit states that Short swerved to avoid a head-on collision but was sideswiped by the Camaro and slid across the bridge and through the concrete barrier. The tractor trailer fell about 30 feet into the Chesapeake Bay, and Short drowned in the cab of his vehicle.

Short’s truck was the first vehicle to crash through one of the safety barriers in the 56-year history of the bridge.