The driver and receiver feature three-state outputs, with the driver outputs maintaining high impedance over the entire common-mode range. Excessive power dissipation caused by bus contention or faults is prevented by a thermal shutdown circuit which forces the driver outputs into a high impedance state. I/O pins are protected against multiple ESD strikes of over 10kV. The receiver has a fail-safe feature which guarantees a high output state when the inputs are left open.