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Gov. Jerry Brown has nixed a proposal that would have made penalties more pricey for California motorists caught using cell phones behind the wheel. Senate Bill 28, by Democratic Sen. Joe Simitian, proposed upping the fine for drivers caught texting or talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device from $20 to $50 for the first offense. The final tab with local and state assessments could be up to $328 for fist-time offenders. A second ticket could have cost has much as $528 under the under the Palo Alto Democrat's proposal, which also called for new penalties for using...

When the state's hands-free cellphone law was enacted three years ago, the rules seemed so simple. Holding a phone in your hand to make a call would be illegal. Few ifs, buts or maybes. Then came a law against texting. Then came an explosion of phones that double as GPS devices, cameras, music players, voice recorders and email dispensers. And today, amid an unprecedented crackdown this month on cellphone scofflaws, what's legal and what's not has motorists and even some cops scratching their heads. "When you look for loopholes, the whole issue of cellphone use, texting or distracted driving becomes...

Caryn Leschen eats sushi, talks on the phone and applies mascara while driving. "I started to reply to an e-mail once and a motorcycle officer pulled up next to me," Leschen said. "He said, 'You know better than that,' " and I said, 'Yeah, I do.' " Leschen, a San Francisco cartoonist and graphic artist, is not the only driver engaging in extracurricular activities behind the wheel. Drivers are distracting themselves in many ways and are failing to obey laws such as California's mandate against hand-held cell phones. "The vehicle has turned into a living room on wheels," said sociologist...

SACRAMENTO -- The state will pay $335,000 to settle a lawsuit stemming from a crash involving former state Sen. Carole Migden. Supervising Deputy Attorney General Steven Gevercer said Monday that state officials have agreed to pay the sum to 33-year-old Ellen Butawan of Vallejo. Butawan sued Migden and the state after suffering minor injuries when Migden rear-ended her in May 2007 along Interstate 80 corridor in Solano County. Witnesses reported Migden talking on the phone and driving wildly in her state-owned SUV before the crash.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The engineer of a commuter train that crashed and killed 25 people in California last year planned to let a teenage railroad fan operate the locomotive on the night of the collision, text messaging days earlier — "I'm gonna do all the radio talkin' ... ur gonna run the locomotive."

Sacramento -- State Sen. Carole Migden is back on the highway after her wild ride through Solano County four months ago, but she had better keep her eyes on the road, a Department of Motor Vehicles spokesmans said today. The San Francisco Democrat had her license returned to her last week, but another moving violation could put her on the sidewalk again, DMV spokesman Mike Marando said. Migden's license was suspended following her erratic drive on May 18 that ended when she rear-ended another car with her state-issued sport utility vehicle near Fairfield. She pleaded no contest to a reckless...

The California Highway Patrol has recommended State Sen. Carole Migden be charged with one misdemeanor count of reckless driving resulting in bodily injury, an official announced Monday. The Solano County District Attorney's Office now has the CHP investigation and can decide whether to file case, said Sgt. Les Bishop. The investigation concluded that Migden was at fault in two separate collisions May 18, including one in Vallejo. Bishop said Migden was involved in a single-vehicle accident on eastbound Interstate 80 just east of Redwood Parkway. The CHP found she made an unsafe turning movement, Bishop said, when she struck the...

Medical condition may have been factor in accident - SACRAMENTO -- State Sen. Carole Migden, whom the CHP now says may have been involved in as many as three traffic accidents last Friday, today revealed publicly for the first time that she has been battling leukemia for the past decade and that medication she takes may have caused her to become disoriented while driving. "My only explanation is that it is medically related in some way," Migden, 56, said in an interview with The Chronicle. The Democratic lawmaker who represents San Francisco and Marin County said she plans to underdo...

A Vallejo woman reportedly suffered minor injuries Friday when her car was rear-ended by an SUV driven by a state senator talking on a cell phone while driving through Solano County. State Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, was driving her new state-issued 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV at 10:40 a.m. on eastbound Highway 12 at Beck Avenue when she rear-ended Ellen Butawan, 31, of Vallejo, California Highway Patrol Officer Marvin Williford said. Butawan's 2005 Honda sedan was slowing behind a 2003 GMC Savana van that had stopped at a red light, Williford said. The impact forced Butawan's car into the...

So there's the Mercedes, driven by an oblivious woman who is chatting away on her cell phone and bam! She swerves across five lanes of Orange County traffic, heading for the exit, and then that poor little red car gets in the way ... Here's another one, this time from Sunnyvale: "Driving while applying makeup (DWAM). Even though she needed it... bumper-to-bumper rush-hour traffic is not the place to apply it. Do us all a favor: Wake up earlier... arrive alive." And from Nevada: "Get the... apparently trapper prefers ellipsis, thinks it's a little high in story for f-bomb out...

Cell phones prove deadly Contributor in 14 fatalities this year on Toll Road, police say By Joshua Stowe South Bend Tribune Posted on Sun, Dec. 25, 2005 ELKHART – Nick Vilders sees his cell phone as a lifesaver. The Orland man said he’s placed countless calls to stay awake while driving home after a day’s work as a building maintenance employee on the Indiana Toll Road. “I have a cell phone, I ain’t gonna lie,” Vilders said. Police and safety experts say Vilders’ attitude, while common, puts him at risk. They say it’s a mistake to think a person can...

In a frightening moment when reality radio turned all too real Tuesday morning, motorist Cheryl Picker of Shoreham was debating the Michael Jackson sexual-abuse case on the air when her sport utility vehicle was hit and rolled over on the William Floyd Parkway. Picker had just finished telling radio talk-show host Curtis Sliwa, "Maybe those are the parents that are the pedophiles," when listeners to WABC/770 AM heard a loud crash, the sound of crackling glass, tearing metal and then silence. "Cheryl, are you OK?" co-host Ron Kuby said. "Cheryl? Cheryl?" A faint voice responded, "Please call the cops." Sliwa...

Pregnant woman plows SUV into elementary school ABC13 Eyewitness News (11/10/03 - HOUSTON) — It was a wild Monday for students at Shearn Elementary when the school was hit by an SUV. Monday afternoon, the driver - a pregnant woman - lost control of her vehicle and plowed into two empty classrooms. HISD says the mother was going to the school to pick up her children. No one was seriously injured in the accident.