Truck Talk: Distracted Driving

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Distracted driving by commercial truck drivers is one of the most preventable causes of serious crashes on Kentucky roads. Federal law addresses it directly through enforceable bans on phone use and texting. Despite those rules, distracted truck driving remains a documented problem, and the consequences when an 80,000-pound vehicle goes off course are categorically different from those of a distracted passenger car driver.

What Counts as Distracted Driving for a Truck Driver

Distraction in a commercial vehicle takes multiple forms, some of which are federally prohibited and some of which fall under the broader duty to operate safely. The categories are:

• Phone use: Banned under 49 CFR 392.82. Holding a phone to the ear, dialing with more than one button press, texting, browsing, or reaching for a phone out of immediate reach while seated are all prohibited.
• Texting: Separately banned under 49 CFR 392.80, which covers reading and composing electronic messages while operating a commercial motor vehicle.
• Route navigation systems: Interacting with a GPS or tablet-based dispatch system while in motion creates visual and manual distraction. While not separately banned, operating a GPS in a way that takes the driver’s attention from the road can support a negligence claim under 49 CFR Part 392’s general duty of care.
• Eating and drinking: Not specifically prohibited by federal regulation, but courts have allowed evidence of eating behind the wheel as evidence of inattentive driving under the general duty of care standard.
• Internal cab distractions: Paper maps, cargo paperwork, or reaching for objects in the cab have all been cited as distraction factors in FMCSA crash investigations.

The Research on How Dangerous Distraction Is in Large Trucks

The FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study found that driver inattention and recognition errors, including distraction, were among the leading behavioral factors in truck crashes. A truck driver who sends or receives a text message takes their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. At 55 mph, that is the equivalent of driving the length of a football field without looking at the road. FMCSA crash data shows that talking or listening to a cellular phone and other cellular phone-related activity appear consistently as distraction factors in fatal large truck crashes year after year.

NHTSA research for 2023 found that distracted driving overall was a factor in crashes killing 3,275 people and injuring an estimated 324,819 more across all vehicle types.

How Distracted Driving Evidence Surfaces in Kentucky Truck Cases

After a truck crash in Kentucky, the question of whether the driver was distracted is answered through:

• Cell phone records showing calls, texts, and data connections with precise timestamps compared to the crash time
• ELD data showing the truck was in motion and confirming speed at the moment of the distraction event
• Dashcam footage showing the driver’s eyes, hands, and the forward roadway in the seconds before impact
• Physical crash indicators: a lack of skid marks before impact suggests the driver did not see the hazard and did not brake
• Witness statements about the truck’s behavior in the moments before the crash, such as drifting in the lane

Attorney Jon Hollan has described how phone records are often the most powerful piece of distracted driving evidence, because they are objective and time-stamped. Even a 30-second call that ended three seconds before impact can support the argument that the driver was still cognitively returning their attention to the road when the crash occurred.

The Carrier’s Role in Preventing Driver Distraction

Carriers bear responsibility for distracted driving beyond the individual driver’s actions. Under 49 CFR Part 390, carriers must not require or allow drivers to violate federal safety regulations. A carrier that sends dispatch messages to drivers while they are known to be in motion, or that equips trucks with tablet systems designed for use while driving, creates institutional conditions for distracted driving. That carrier’s internal communications and policy records are discoverable in litigation.

On Kentucky’s I-64, I-65, and I-75 corridors, where trucks travel for hundreds of uninterrupted miles, the temptation for drivers to use their phones is well documented. A crash that occurs during a long interstate run, with no weather or road hazard, and that shows no pre-impact braking, is a strong candidate for distracted driving as the cause. The Truck Talk distracted driving awareness episode covers the national data in more depth, and the truck accident practice area explains how distraction claims are built in Kentucky courts.

How Distracted Driving Connects to Hours-of-Service Fatigue

Distraction and fatigue are closely related causes of truck crashes. A driver who has been behind the wheel for nine hours is significantly more susceptible to cognitive distraction than a fully rested driver. The attention lapses that FMCSA data records as inattention of unknown detail are frequently the product of fatigue lowering the driver’s alertness to the point where external stimuli, an alert tone from a dispatch tablet, a passing car catching the eye, or simply the monotony of a long interstate run, pulls attention away from the road.

Under FMCSA Hours of Service rules at 49 CFR Part 395, drivers are limited to 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour window after 10 consecutive hours off duty. When ELD data shows a driver approaching those limits at the time of a crash, and phone records show active data use in the preceding minutes, the intersection of fatigue and distraction becomes a powerful argument for a high degree of driver fault. Kentucky crash victims whose cases involve a long-haul driver on an extended run should always request the full 7-day ELD history, not just the day of the crash, to understand the complete fatigue picture. The Truck Talk distracted driving awareness episode covers the national data context for these cases.

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