Matt Richtel
New York Times

Crisscrossing the country, hundreds of thousands of long-haul truckers use computers in their cabs to get directions and stay in close contact with dispatches, saving precious minutes that might otherwise be spent at the side of the road.

The Trucking industry says these devices can be used safely, posting less of a distraction than BlackBerrys, iPhones, and similar gadgets, and therefore should be exempt from legislation that would ban texting while driving.

"We think that's overkill" Clayton Boyce, spokesman for the American Trucking Association, said of a federal bill that would force states to ban texting while driving if they want to keep receiving federal highway money.

The legislation will be discussed at a conference on distracted driving in Washington, starting Wednesday, organized by the Transportation Department.

The issues raised by truckers show the challenges facing advocates for tougher distracted-driving laws, given that so many Americans have grown accustomed to talking and texting behind the wheel.

Boyce, who said the industry does not condone texting while driving, said computers used by truckers require less concentration than phones. The trucks "have a screen that has maybe two or four or six lines" of text he said. "And they're not reading the screen every second"

Banning the use of such devices he added, "won't improve safety."

But some safety advocates and researchers say the devices-which can include a small screen mounted near the steering wheel and a keyboard on the dash or in the driver's lap-present precisely the same risk of distraction as other devices.

And the risks may be even greater, they note given the size of 18-wheel trucks and the longer time required for them to stop.

After videotaping truckers behind the wheel, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that those who used on-board computers faced a 10 times greater risk of crashing, nearly crashing or wandering from their lane than truckers who did not use those devices.

That figure is lower than the 23 times greater risk when truckers texted, compared with drivers simply focused on the road, according to the same study. However, the Virginia researchers noted that truckers tend to use on-board computers more often than they text.

The study found that truckers using on-board computers take their eyes off the road for an average of four seconds, enough time at highway speeds to convert roughly the length of a football field.

Richard Hanowski, director of the Center for Truck and Bus Safety at the Virginia Institute, said videotape monitoring of 200 truckers driving about 3 million miles showed many of them using the devices, even bypassing messages on the screen warning them not to use the devices while driving.

"Is this any different than texting?" Hanowski said. "With either one, the risks are very high."

The trucking industry has invested heavily in technology to wire vehicles. Satellite systems mounted on trucks let companies track drivers, send new orders, distribute companywide messages and transmit training exercises. Drivers can also use them to send and receive email and surf the internet.

Some drivers argue that they are under such pressure to meet delivery times that they are tacitly encouraged to use the devices while driving, despite official company policies.