Every driver · 5 minutes

Distracted driving toolbox talk

At 55 mph, a five-second look at a phone covers more than the length of a football field. In a loaded truck, that’s distance you can’t take back.

All Toolbox Talks

Vocational Trucks of America · Free toolbox talk

Every driver · 5 minutes · About 5 minutes · vocationaltrucksofamerica.com/talks

Read this to your crew

Federal rules ban texting and using a hand-held phone while driving a commercial vehicle. That includes sitting in traffic or stopped at a light.

Hands-free is allowed if the phone is mounted close to you and you can start or end a call with a single touch, without reaching away from your seat belt.

If you need to text, dial or look something up, pull over to a safe place first.

Phones aren’t the only distraction. Set the GPS, the radio and the paperwork before you roll. Don’t eat, read or fill out logs while moving.

Dispatch and customers can wait. Our standard is simple: no call or message is worth a crash.

Key points

No texting or hand-held calls while driving, even stopped in traffic.
Hands-free only: mounted phone, one touch.
Pull over to a safe place to text or look things up.
Set GPS, radio and paperwork before you roll.
No call is worth a crash.

Ask the crew

Where do you keep your phone while driving?
How do we handle calls from dispatch?
What do you set up before leaving the yard?

The rule behind it

CMV drivers may not text (49 CFR 392.80) or use a hand-held mobile phone (49 CFR 392.82) while driving, including when temporarily stopped in traffic. Repeat violations can disqualify a CDL holder from driving for 60 days or more (49 CFR 383.51).

Today’s actionToday: mount your phone, set it for hands-free, and set your route before you leave the yard.

General safety information for crew meetings, not legal advice. It doesn’t replace your company’s safety program, required training or site rules. Rules checked October 2026.

Prints on two pages: the talk, then a crew sign-in sheet. See the 52-week schedule.

Toolbox talk sign-in sheetFree from Vocational Trucks of America · vocationaltrucksofamerica.com/talks

Date

Time

Job or location

TopicDistracted driving toolbox talk

Presenter

Weather and conditions

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Questions or concerns raised

Follow-up actions and who owns them

Keep the talks going

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See all toolbox talks, the sign-in sheet and the 52-week schedule →