Houston’s transit agency joined others across the country in establishing harsher punishment for cell phone use by drivers, after fatal accidents elsewhere in which driver distraction was to blame.

Metro issued a memo on July 1 about the stricter policy, but not because of any particular incident here, said Raequel Roberts, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority. A five-day suspension comes with the first offense and termination with the second.

“This was done in response to the rash of fatal accidents around the country that resulted from transit operators using electronic devices” while driving trains or buses, she said.

Speed was to blame for a June 16 accident during a training run at Braeswood and Greenbriar, according to the transit agency. Two trainees and a rail-line supervisor were the only people on board and were not injured.

The train was traveling at 22 mph through a curve, causing the two-car train to derail. The posted speed is 15 mph.

Transit authorities in Maryland and Washington, D.C., recently beefed up punishments for drivers caught using cell phones or sending text messages. Drivers using their phones on the job will be fired, according to the Baltimore Sun.

From the newspaper's report:

Texting has been identified as a major factor in rail accidents - and 25 deaths - in California and Massachusetts during the past year. The Maryland and Washington systems, meanwhile, are investigating recent rail accidents that left a total of 11 people dead, including two teenage boys.