FMCSA Warns Truckers to Use Truck-Specific GPS
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has begun distributing cards to truck drivers warning them that using navigation GPS devices meant for smaller vehicles can be dangerous and could lead to trucks hitting low bridges. FMCSA posted its official recommendations on its website as a “visor card,” meant for drivers to keep in their trucks. It urges use of GPS devices designed for large trucks that incorporate road restrictions such as low bridges and directs truck drivers on how to avoid them.
FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced the GPS recommendations Monday at a Scarsdale, N.Y., bridge that is often hit by trucks, Schumer said in a statement. “These brand new federal standards for GPS use among commercial truck drivers will be the first major steps to thwarting life-threatening bridge strikes that have been causing massive delays and imposing significant costs on taxpayers for far too long,” Schumer said.