No Texting Truckers 

 

 

Effective March 30, 2011

 

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is prohibiting texting on electronic devices by drivers during the operation of a motor vehicle containing a quantity of hazardous materials requiring placarding.

Additionally, in accordance with requirements adopted on September 27, 2010 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), motor carriers are prohibited from requiring or allowing drivers of covered motor vehicles to engage in texting while driving.

This means that drivers transporting hazmat and/or interstate truckers caught texting could face fines of $2,750, while their carriers could face fines of $11,000. Texting will also become a serious violation on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's list of infractions that count against a driver's CDL. If anyone is wondering, texting while driving carries a 10-point severity weight rating and is a driver responsible offense. 

TSA bans travelers from carrying loose lithium batteries in checked baggage.

 

In case you haven't heard and are traveling soon.

 

New rules from the Transportation Security Administration that took effect on January 1 ban travelers from carrying loose lithium batteries in checked baggage. Passengers are allowed to pack two spare batteries in their carry-on bag, as long as they're in clear plastic bags.

 

Fortunately, you don't have to worry about the batteries that are already installed in the devices you are bringing. The TSA has said it's safe to check-in items like a laptop or iPhone that already have the batteries in place.

The agency said that loose lithium batteries not installed in devices pose a fire risk to passenger planes. Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board could not rule out the possibility that lithium batteries started a fire in a plane at the Philadelphia National Airport last year, according to the Associated Press.

If you do plan on bringing spare batteries in your carry-on bag, be aware of some other rules: You can only bring batteries with an equivalent of up to 8 grams of lithium content. (Most batteries for cell phones and laptops meet this requirement.) And for lithium metal batteries, whether carried as a spare or installed in a device, batteries are limited to 2 grams of lithium metal.