Tractor-Trailer Driver Denies Computer Use Caused Accident

A Virginia trucking Company, Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., has been sued alleging that one of its tractor-trailer drivers rear-ended a car in South Dakota causing serious injuries.  The allegation is that the driver was distracted by using an onboard company computer at the time.  The company says he wasn't "using" it, just "glancing" at it.  Right.  Excuse me, but if he was looking at it at all instead of keepng his eyes on the road, he certainly was using it.  As an ex-long haul trucker myself, I know how dangerous these rigs can be, and how long their stoppng distances are, especially when loaded.  There is no excuse for using cell phones, on-board computers, or anything else that distracts a commercial driver even 1% from his attention to the road.  Big rigs are dangerous enough as it is, and should be securely parked before any such commnications devices are used.  Period.  My two cents.