The Federal Rules on Phone Use in Commercial Trucks

A fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. At 65 miles an hour, any vehicle covers roughly 95 feet every second. Put those two numbers together and it is easy to see why federal law treats a phone in a truck driver’s hand differently from almost any other distraction on the road.

The subject is back in the news this month. A Pennsylvania court sentenced a commercial truck driver to state prison after a 2024 Turnpike crash that killed members of a family from Long Island; prosecutors said dash camera footage showed him using his phone before impact (abc27 report).

Before anything else, our deepest condolences go to that family and to everyone who loved the people they lost. No sentence and no article can make up for a loss like that, and we are thinking of them.

This post is not about that case. It is about the rules that every commercial driver and trucking company in the country is already supposed to follow, what they actually say, and why they matter when something goes wrong.

It is general information, not legal advice about anyone’s specific situation.

The two federal phone rules

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations contain two separate bans for drivers of commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. Both have been in force for over a decade.

• No texting while driving (49 C.F.R. 392.80). Under the federal definition, texting means manually entering text into, or reading text from, an electronic device. Reading counts, not just typing. Scrolling through messages, social media or a web page while driving falls inside the rule.
• No hand-held phone use while driving (49 C.F.R. 392.82). That covers holding the phone to talk, dialing or answering by pressing more than a single button, and reaching for the phone in a way that takes the driver out of a normal seated, belted driving position.

“Driving” is defined broadly. It includes sitting in traffic or waiting at a red light. The rules stop applying only when the truck has pulled off the road and stopped somewhere it can safely remain stationary.

What is still allowed

The rules are not a total ban on phones in the cab. A driver may:

• Use a phone mounted within easy reach, hands-free, with voice commands or a single touch to start or end a call.
• Use an earpiece or the truck’s built-in hands-free system.
• Use a hand-held phone when necessary to contact police or emergency services.

The federal definition of texting also carves out some limited uses, including certain navigation functions. That is why “I was only using the GPS” does not end the inquiry. What the screen was actually showing, whether the driver was holding it, and how long his eyes were off the road are factual questions, and today they can often be answered with video and data rather than memory.

The rules apply to the company, not just the driver

This is the part most people never hear about. Both rules say the motor carrier may not allow or require its drivers to text or use a hand-held phone while driving. The federal rules also require carriers to make sure their drivers comply.

In practice, that raises questions about the company’s own conduct:

• Does it have a written phone policy, and is it enforced?
• Does its dispatch system expect drivers to read and respond to messages while moving?
• If the truck has a driver-facing camera, does anyone review the footage, and what happened the last time it showed a driver on a phone?
• Did it train the driver on these rules, and can it prove it?

Drivers who are convicted of violating the hand-held phone rule face fines and, for repeat convictions, disqualification from operating commercial vehicles. Carriers can face civil penalties, and violations count against their federal safety record.

The phone rules sit inside a bigger system

Distraction is one piece of a broader federal framework that governs how heavy trucks are run. A few others come up again and again after a serious crash:

• Hours of service (49 C.F.R. Part 395). Limits on how long a driver may drive and be on duty, recorded on electronic logging devices. Fatigue and distraction often go together.
• Driver qualification (Part 391). Carriers must check a driver’s history, medical certification and fitness before putting him behind the wheel, and keep a file proving it.
• Drug and alcohol testing (Part 382). Required testing programs, including testing after certain crashes.
• Inspection and maintenance (Part 396). Brakes, tires and lights on an 80,000-pound vehicle are not optional extras.
• Insurance minimums (Part 387). A for-hire interstate carrier hauling general freight must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage. That figure was set in 1985 and has never been raised. In a crash that kills or catastrophically injures more than one person, it can be gone quickly, which is why finding every policy and every responsible company matters.

Why this matters if you are hurt by a truck

When a truck driver or carrier breaks a federal safety rule and someone is hurt, that violation can be powerful evidence of negligence in the civil case. It can also point beyond the driver to the company that hired, trained, dispatched and supervised him.

The challenge is that most of the proof belongs to the trucking company: dash and driver-facing camera footage, telematics showing speed and braking, electronic logs, dispatch messages and phone records. Some of it is overwritten on a schedule unless someone formally demands that it be kept. A written preservation demand sent early, backed by a court order if necessary, is often what decides whether that evidence still exists months later. Courts can sanction a party that destroys evidence it knew would matter.

Deadlines matter too. In New York, most injury claims and wrongful death claims have fixed time limits, and claims involving public entities can require formal notice within a few months. Crashes in other states may be governed by different rules. Learn more about our truck accident practice.

The takeaway

The federal rules on phones in heavy trucks are clear and they are not new. What has changed is the ability to prove what happened inside the cab. For trucking companies, the message is that a written policy is not enough if nobody enforces it. For everyone else on the road, it is worth knowing that the person driving 80,000 pounds next to you is held to a higher standard, and so is the company that put him there.

Sources

• 49 C.F.R. Part 392, Subpart H: texting and hand-held phone rules (Cornell LII)
• 49 C.F.R. 392.82 (eCFR)
• FMCSA report on minimum financial responsibility (February 2026)
• abc27: sentencing report referenced above

Attorney Advertising. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about your specific situation, consult a licensed New York attorney.