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49 CFR 392.82: Hand-held phone ban for truck drivers

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49 CFR 392.82: Hand-held phone ban for truck drivers
Law read on2026-11-06[1]

49 CFR 392.82 addresses hand-held mobile telephone use while driving a commercial motor vehicle, with separate prohibitions directed at drivers and motor carriers. Section 392.82(a)(1) prohibits a driver from that use while driving a CMV, and § 392.82(a)(2) prohibits a motor carrier from allowing or requiring it. The narrow question is what conduct constitutes the prohibited use and when a driver is considered to be driving.[1][2][3][4][5]

Section 392.82(b) supplies a driving definition specifically for this section, while § 390.5T supplies definitions of mobile telephone and hand-held use. Section 392.82(c) permits use when necessary to communicate with law enforcement officials or other emergency services. Applicability also requires attention to § 390.3T and § 392.1, including their exclusions and retained requirements. Section 392.2 separately addresses operating laws in the jurisdiction where the vehicle operates and the requirement to follow an FMCSA regulation imposing a higher standard of care.[1][2][3][4][5]

Contents

What the cited provisions say

Section 390.5T defines hand-held mobile telephone use as holding a mobile telephone with at least one hand to conduct voice communication; dialing or answering by pressing more than a single button; or reaching in a manner requiring the driver to maneuver out of a seated driving position restrained by a seat belt installed in accordance with § 393.93 and adjusted according to the vehicle manufacturer's instructions. For the reaching component, § 390.5T describes a belt installed in accordance with § 393.93 and adjusted according to the vehicle manufacturer's instructions.[1][2][3][4][5]

Section 392.82(b) includes highway operation while temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic control device, or another momentary delay. Under § 392.82(b), driving excludes operation after the driver has moved the vehicle to the side of, or off, a highway and halted where it can safely remain stationary. Section 392.82(c) qualifies the prohibition with permission for telephone use necessary to communicate with law enforcement officials or other emergency services.[1][2][3][4][5]

Who and what the provisions cover

Section 390.3T(a)(1) establishes general applicability to employers, employees, and commercial motor vehicles transporting property or passengers in interstate commerce, subject to applicable exceptions. Section 390.5T defines a driver as any person operating a commercial motor vehicle.[1][2][3][4][5]

Section 390.5T defines a commercial motor vehicle as a self-propelled or towed motor vehicle used on a highway in interstate commerce to transport passengers or property that meets at least one of the definition's listed criteria. The weight criterion in § 390.5T is a gross vehicle weight rating, gross combination weight rating, gross vehicle weight, or gross combination weight of 4,536 kg (10,001 pounds) or more, whichever is greater. Section 390.5T also covers vehicles designed or used for more than 8 passengers, including the driver, for compensation; more than 15 passengers, including the driver, without compensation; or transportation of material designated hazardous under 49 U.S.C. 5103 in a quantity requiring placarding under the referenced regulations. These are alternative criteria in § 390.5T.[1][2][3][4][5]

Conditions and exceptions

Section 390.3T(f) introduces exclusions that apply unless otherwise specifically provided. Sections 390.3T(f)(2) through (5) exclude specified governmental transportation, occasional personal-property transportation by individuals without compensation or commercial purpose, transportation of human corpses or sick and injured persons, and fire-truck or rescue-vehicle operation during emergency and related operations.[1][2][3][4][5]

Section 390.3T(f)(1) expressly retains § 392.82 for school bus operations despite its general exclusion. Section 390.3T(f)(6) likewise retains § 392.82 for carriers and drivers operating vehicles designed or used for between 9 and 15 passengers, including the driver, without direct compensation, provided the vehicle does not otherwise meet the commercial motor vehicle definition.[1][2][3][4][5]

Unless otherwise specifically provided, § 390.3T(f)(7) excludes either a driver of a commercial motor vehicle used primarily to transport propane winter heating fuel or a driver of a motor vehicle used to respond to a pipeline emergency, if the regulations would prevent the driver from responding to an emergency condition requiring immediate response as defined in § 390.5T. Section 392.1(b) excludes drivers of pipeline welding trucks as defined in § 390.38(b); that referenced definition is not supplied.[1][2][3][4][5]

Section 392.1(a) requires instruction and compliance by carriers and their officers, agents, representatives, and employees responsible for vehicle management, maintenance, operation, driving, or specified driver-management duties. Section 390.3T(e)(1) requires employers to know and comply with regulations applicable to their operations, while § 390.3T(e)(2) requires instruction and compliance for drivers and employees. Section 390.3T(d) permits employers to impose and enforce more stringent operational-safety and employee-safety requirements.[1][2][3][4][5]

Section 390.5T defines mobile telephone by reference to commercial mobile radio service and excludes two-way and Citizens Band Radio services. Section 390.5T defines highway to include qualifying roads on public or private property open to public travel. Under § 390.5T, public-travel availability allows specified interruptions, requires passability by standard passenger cars, and excludes restrictive gates, prohibitive signs, or regulation beyond specified vehicle restrictions; public toll-road plazas are not restrictive gates. Section 390.5T defines motor carrier to include for-hire and private carriers and specified personnel.[1][2][3][4][5]

Source date and limits

The saved-source date is 2026-11-06. This entry has statute-only scope, using only the supplied federal regulatory units from the eCFR maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register. It does not represent verification of today's law. The source note for § 392.82 lists 76 FR 75487, Dec. 2, 2011; that citation is presented as source history, not as a separately established effective date.[1][2][3][4][5]

The saved material supports an account of the cited regulatory text, not judicial interpretation or conclusions about a particular incident. Referenced provisions whose text was not saved are not independently explained here. Section 392.82(c) states its emergency communication condition without expressly incorporating the separate emergency definition in § 390.5T; this entry does not add that definition's declaration requirements to § 392.82(c). No conclusions about liability, fault, insurance coverage, damages, or litigation deadlines are offered. This telephone-use reference provides general information rather than legal advice.[1][2][3][4][5]

On related publications

Law checked on against the primary sources cited below. Statutes and rules change; read the current official text before relying on a deadline or rule.

References

  1. abcdefghijklmn "49 CFR 390.3T, General applicability". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record
  2. abcdefghijklm "49 CFR 390.5T, Definitions". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record
  3. abcdefghijklm "49 CFR 392.1, Scope of the rules in this part". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record
  4. abcdefghijklm "49 CFR 392.2, Applicable operating rules". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record
  5. abcdefghijklm "49 CFR 392.82, Using a hand-held mobile telephone". National Archives and Records Administration, Office of the Federal Register (eCFR). Official source. Checked . Source record