Obama Bans Texting While Driving For Federal Employees

After a two-day distracted driving summit in which Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reported that 6,000 people died due to distracted driving in 2008, President Barack Obama handed down a presidential order banning all government employees from texting or emailing while behind the wheel. Federal employees will not be allowed to text or email from government mobile device while driving or text or email while driving on government business.

The order gives government offices 90 days to implement the plan with their own workers and also encourages businesses that work with the government to put together similar rules. LaHood also said that measures will be taken to ban texting and mobile phone emailing for rail workers, bus drivers, and truckers in order to get distracted driving under control.

This executive order follows a number of states, including Virginia and North Carolina, outlawing texting while driving in the past several years.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law. Our law firm has offices in Elizabeth City, North Carolina (NC) and Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). Our attorneys have handled thousands of automobile negligence cases involving cars, trucks, trains, and motorcycles. We would be pleased to send you one of our FREE reports about car accident cases, including our special report on distracted driving or our Best Guide to Car Accident Injuries in North Carolina. Our lawyers hold licenses in NC, VA, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube .  In addition, our lawyers proudly edit the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard, as well as the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.