Distracted driving is one of the serious concerns on US roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,208 people died and 315,167 were injured in distracted-driving crashes in 2024.
These figures highlight the risks associated with activities that divert a driver’s attention, including listening to or interacting with electronic devices while operating a vehicle.
Commercial drivers spend long hours on the road, making hands-free communication and audio devices appealing during extended trips. Can you wear AirPods while driving?
There are restrictions on texting and handheld mobile phone use for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. In addition, earbud use may also depend on state laws and the circumstances of their use.
For commercial drivers, the consequences of distraction can extend beyond traffic citations to include potential CDL disqualification and employment-related issues.
What the Federal Rules Cover
FMCSA is in charge of regulating the commercial motor vehicle drivers.
As per the fact sheet related to the mobile phone, drivers may not hold a phone, dial by pressing more than a single button, or reach for a phone in a way that requires leaving a seated, buckled position. This ban extends to vehicle movement as well as a temporary halt at traffic lights or signs.
There are various options available in the same fact sheet, and the driver may use the earpiece, speakerphone, or voice-activated dialing, and the phone may be mounted within easy reach so the driver can start, answer, and end a call with one button while seated and buckled.
When a Commercial Vehicle Crash Raises Questions
A commercial vehicle crash often involves more than the person behind the wheel, because the driver may work for a carrier or a delivery company or another employer.
Readers who want to see how an Ohio firm describes the types of commercial vehicles and the parties a claim can involve can read its page for anyone searching for a commercial vehicle accident lawyer in Toledo. The facts for each accident and in every state are different, and the broad description of any city will not include all the details.
Texting Limits and Penalties
Federal rules also ban texting by CMV drivers and bar carriers from requiring or allowing it.
Under the federal rule, driving includes being temporarily stopped for traffic or a traffic signal, but it does not include a vehicle that has been pulled off the road and parked where it can safely stay.
The penalties encompass all facets of the employment relationship. FMCSA’s civil penalties include up to $2,750 for use of a hand-held mobile device when driving commercial vehicles and up to $11,000 when requiring or permitting the act through an employer.
Repeating offenses could result in CDL disqualification; repeating offenses of the state’s telephone laws can also count towards disqualification.
What Research Says About Distraction
It should be noted that legality and safety measures are two different concepts. Distracted driving refers to a situation where the driver is distracted from driving, as per NHTSA, and the page on distracted driving does not discuss the question of hands-free calling.
One of the distracted driving pages published on the FMCSA website in 2013 includes the discussion of a literature review on the handheld tasks done by commercial drivers.
Drivers using hand-held phones for talking purposes were six times more involved in an accident or near-accident situation, whereas drivers involved in texting were 23.2 times more involved in these situations.
These findings made during this research are irrelevant to earbuds usage and are limited only to the effects produced by visual and manual distractions during driving.
The results made during this experiment cannot be applied to conduct a comparative assessment of some wireless phones; moreover, no comparative assessment has been made by the above-listed organizations.
There are three tiers of regulations regarding commercial drivers. The first tier is federal regulations related to the usage of phones. The second tier is the state regulations regarding the driving, while the third one is carrier policies with respect to their fleets.
Any person having questions with respect to some device should begin from the FMCSA fact sheet and the state motor vehicle agency.
