As drivers, we can't deny the beauty we get to witness in our ever-changing office window.  I will admit that from time to time I have wanted to take a good picture of some of the scenery I have seen while out there driving on the open highway.  The problem with taking a picture from the scenic vantage point of a driver’s seat, is that not only is it a major distraction from safe commercial driving, but there are legal consequences that could arise from doing so as well.  
 
You may have been able to sneak off quite a few of these shots from your camera phone or camera while driving without being caught, but now it has been revealed that social media can come back to bite you in the rear later down the road for these actions.  No longer is it just scandalous pictures and nude celebrity selfies that can get a person in trouble on social media, but truckers are actually feeling the long arm of the law reach out to them for posting these behind-the-wheel pics to their social media accounts as well.
 
A specific case highlighted in Overdrive’s “Channel 19” by Todd Dills ("Photos posted to Facebook net $1 million crash settlement") recently stated that a carrier and their insurance company had to pay out $1M in a case because of such photos.  What is amazing was that the pictures didn’t even cause the crash, but were used instead to provide proof of a pattern of unsafe actions by the driver and a disregard for safe driving practices.  This driver had a history of posting some idiotic (to put it kindly) pictures on his Facebook page while his truck was clearly moving!  So before you decide to take that next selfie from behind the wheel with some beautiful scenery outside the window, or even post a shot from what you are seeing out the front of your windshield, you just may want to think twice about stopping the truck to take it instead! 

Comments (3)

Jimmy Nevarez

Jimmy Nevarez is the Owner/President of Angus Transportation, Inc., based in Chino, California.  Jimmy pulls a 53' dry van hauling general dry freight for his own small fleet, operating on its own authority throughout all of Southern California and Southern Nevada.

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There are many nice pictures I would have loved to take while driving and I am sure many people feel the same way. What I would like to do sometime in the future is install a dash-mounted camera (like a GoPro) paired with a wireless remote. Then I can safely take all the pictures I want without taking my eyes off the road. The newer models take some really nice pictures as well.

October 01, 2014 8:29:30 AM

Distracted driving has become epidemic on the roadways. It is a true public safety issue. http://www.esurance.com/safety/3-types-of-distracted-driving
Thanks for the article.

September 30, 2014 19:34:38 PM

Every day I see pics on FB from trucks that are obviously moving. I have seen people taking pictures from moving vehicles. Distracted driving is or has become as big a problem as drunk driving.

September 30, 2014 8:03:26 AM