Calif. Bans Drivers from Holding Phones

Couldn't be soon enough for me!!!

Friday, Sept. 15, 2006 8:51 p.m. EDT

Calif. Bans Drivers from Holding Phones

Drivers in California will need an ear piece or speaker to use their
mobile phones while on the road under a bill signed Friday by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Motorists could face fines of up to $50 if they violate the law, which
makes it an infraction to hold a cell phone while driving. It takes
effect July 1, 2008, and is similar to laws in New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut and Washington D.C.

Cell-phone use is the top cause of accidents triggered by distracted
drivers, according to California Highway Patrol statistics dating to
2001.

"The simple fact is, it's dangerous to talk on your cell phone while
driving," Schwarzenegger said. "So getting people's hands off their
phones and onto their steering wheels is going to make a big difference
in road safety."

Calls made to emergency-service providers are exempt, as are drivers of
emergency vehicles. Commercial vehicle drivers can use push-to-talk
phones until July 1, 2011.

Earl...

Half way measures.

Having the hands back on the wheel accomplishes only a little
improvement.

The big issue is getting the driver to think about the road
instead of concentrating on the conversation.

You end up with almost the same degree of distraction if the
driver is in conversations/screeming at passengers or just
listening to the radio (particularly talk radio).

Gary James...

But it is a start. I wish Gov Sonny Perdue of GA and that
legislative manure pile at the Capital would do just this little.

El Castor...

I have heard that more than one study has proved your point.
Personally, I find tuning the radio to be more distracting than
talking on the cell. Maybe the State of California needs to pass a law
against tuning the radio while the car is in motion -- or better yet,
require manufacturers to disable the controls on the radio if the car
is moving? Perhaps a brain implant that requires us to swivel our
heads 30 degrees to the left and right before making a left turn?
There is just no end to the beneficial things that government can do
to protect us from ourselves.

Thumper...

It's not protecting us from ourselves. It's protecting other drivers
from the ones using cell phones.
Thumper

"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into."
Jonathan Swift

Jerry Okamura...

These kinds of laws are basically useless. "It" probably will result in
fewer people using their cell phones while diriving, which is a good thing,
but it will not stop all people, or even most people who want to tale on
their cell phones while driving. This is like our speeding laws, in the big
picture it does not stop people from doing what they want to do. Besides,
unless the person is using a handheld cell phone, how are the police going
to know that you are on the phone?