Posted on 09/15/2006 5:27:23 PM PDT by kellynla
SACRAMENTO – Californians who want to talk on the phone while driving will have to invest in a hands-free headset or use speaker phones under a new law signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this morning.
The law, which will take effect in July 2008, prohibits motorists from holding a cell phone while driving. It establishes fines and requires motorists to use hands-free technology, such as Bluetooth or an earplug.
The law is intended to cut down on traffic accidents. Hand-held cell phones contributed to six fatal accidents in the state last year, according to the California Highway Patrol.
For Californians, this could have more effect on their lives than any other new piece of legislation signed this year. Similar laws are in place in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.
"The simple fact is, it's dangerous to talk on your cell phone while driving," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "CHP data show that cell phones are the No. 1 cause of distracted-driving accidents.
"So getting people's hands off their phones and onto their steering wheels is going to make a big difference in road safety."
If cited, motorists would get fined $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent ones. The citation would be an infraction, not a moving violation, which boosts insurance rates.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
ping
I drive everyday in Los Angeles from Orange County.
If they want to eliminate crashes, get the chicks to stop putting on their makeup while driving...somehow I don't think that one is going to be signed into law.
I don't see much problem with using your cellphone while driving on straight, rural highways that are relatively uncrowded.
But 90% of the really bad driving I see here in the city seems to be someone with a cellphone to their ear. Driving in the city is a two-handed job, at least in mine.
My biggest diversion is my charming children when they are in wonderful moods and screaming at each other.
Heck, even when they are in good moods, they start with the 20 question thing and it can be very distracting. "Mom, why is the car in front of us have an X in the license plate? Mom, what's the 2+5+8+7+3+4+2+16+8+...?, etc"
Oh well, that's why we got a DVD player for the car. It keeps them from distracting me.
Be ready for self-important "I am such a good driver that it doesn't matter if I use a cell phone and my silly little phone call IS more important than your life" types to come and bash you.
Stand on a street corner all day and tell me which violation you see more of.
Women are going to be more prone to be the violators of farding (which cuts out 50% of the drivers, unlike cellphones). Women are going to be applying makeup more in morning and evening drives (when they've already showered and are touching up). Cellphone drivers are on the blasted things morning noon and night.
Who has their hand completely tied up for a longer period of time?
There is NO doubt that a cellphone driver is impaired. I am surprised there is even an exception for "headphones" when for decades it was illegal for the driver to wear headphones.
Yes, I encounter the same thing with my kids...just got back from a 3000 mile drive with the two kids in the back and my wife and I up front.
Some of those miles were awfully long. Of course if they got too out of hand, their momma set them straight and all was peaceful again.
:)
What a jerk! Why not make it IMMEDIATE!
I am tired to people going from 70-55-65-70-50....
With Semis passing and no way around.....
2008....what a JERK!
Maybe he could luck out and get a penis pump judge.
Another stupid nanny-state law. It has nothing to do with having your hands on the wheel! It has everything to do with idiots who can't walk and chew gum at the same time. There are already laws to cover people with unsafe driving habits. These same airheads will now go buy their hands-free device and be just as distracted as they were previously! In the meantime, those people who were not distracted drivers lose more freedom and have more rights taken away, unable to use a cell phone for a periodic call even if they are sitting in a traffic jam moving 2 mph (or not at all.)
Sorry...but when I have a cellphone to my ear I have another hand on the wheel and I'm LOOKING AT THE ROAD.
I see people putting their makeup using the mirror where they have both eyes looking into the mirror, one hand holding the makeup and another applying it.
So, I have to pay $450 to repair my car and I have no clue who she was.
BUMPER STICKER: SHUT UP AND DRIVE
Maybe some people can use them and maintain full concentration on the road. But the drivers who I would have previously suspected of being drunk are instead holding a cell phone to their ear if I get a peek at them.
Maybe they ARE drunk and it's just a coincidence.
"In fact it may cause more by making it more convenient for people to talk while driving."
Where they can have conversations like "some guy just cut me off" and "I'm just pulling out of the driveway" (then why didn't you call from home???).
At my office, I hear the dumbest cellphone calls in the elevator. It's a comfort device. The modern teddy bear.
I keep hearing that hands on cell phone talking is no worse than hands off cell phone talking (or, that the latter is no better, same thing).
The button pushing factor is my guess as to the reason why. Mashing phone numbers on a console mounted phone is not any more conducive to looking at the road and traffic than mashing the numbers on your handheld. Once talking, either mode is no better or worse than conversing with a passenger.
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