Cell phones curtailed in sunny California!

[sunhuntin]

Governor signs bill prohibiting drivers from holding cell phones
Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. - Drivers in California will need an ear piece or speaker to use their cell phones in the car 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.

A first offense will be punishable by a $20 fine, while subsequent violations will carry $50 fines. Calls made to emergency-service providers are exempt.

"The simple fact is, it's dangerous to talk on your cell phone while driving," Schwarzenegger said during a bill-signing ceremony at an Oakland hotel, citing highway accident figures. "So getting people's hands off their phones and onto their steering wheels is going to make a big difference in road safety."

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

A Harvard University study released in 2002 estimated that about 5 percent of U.S. traffic accidents are caused by a driver talking on a cell phone.

The bill's author, state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, said prohibiting people from holding cell phones while driving would not eliminate all the distractions caused by motorists talking on phones. Drivers could use speaker phones or phones equipped with ear pieces under his legislation.

But he said the new law would allow drivers to "have both hands free to control the vehicle during those split seconds that make the difference between life and death."

The law will not prohibit drivers of emergency vehicles from using hand-held phones. It also will allow drivers of commercial vehicles to continue using push-to-talk phones until July 1, 2011.

ON THE NET

Read the bill, SB1613, at http://www.senate.ca.gov

[car]

A first offense will be punishable by a $20 fine, while subsequent violations will carry $50 fines. Calls made to emergency-service providers are exempt.

Wow. A whole $20? That sure isn't the kind of money you'd just laugh and throw out of the window, is it?

How about a choice between a day's driver training, at your own expense, or a one month ban?

[Steam]

About fucking time too, why don't more people use handsfree? I got handsfree in my helmet for god's sake, it's not that hard.
I was in a BUS the other day and the driver was TEXTING!!! In Dunedin.
And a few months ago I nearly got taken out by a tradesman in a van on a phone. Although I may have deserved it as I was on a pushbike at the time, and pushie riders seem fair game according to most people on this site.

[car]

About fucking time too, why don't more people use handsfree? I got handsfree in my helmet for god's sake, it's not that hard.
I was in a BUS the other day and the driver was TEXTING!!! In Dunedin.
And a few months ago I nearly got taken out by a tradesman in a van on a phone. Although I may have deserved it as I was on a pushbike at the time, and pushie riders seem fair game according to most people on this site.

My wife's aunt woke up in a hedge last week after some daft tart in a 4x4, yapping on her mobile, T-boned her straight off the road. The law here already prohibits use of a hand-held phone.

When the law was brought in, there was a crack-down, and a noticeable drop in the number of people I saw driving and phoning. Now, though, it appears to be as bad as it ever was.

That fine is pathetic. It's nothing more than lip-service. You want to change people's behaviour? Inconvenience them. Make them take a day off work to retrain or ban them.

Alternatively, don't bother doing anything.

Unless, of course, being seen to be doing something while not aggravating the offending class of road users is your goal?

[Swoop]

Good on ya Arnie. However, can you please ban texting as well!!!!!

[Bob]

Using a mobile phone whilst driving was banned over here in the UK a couple of years ago. This includes pulling over and using it - unless you switch off the engine before you use the phone.

Just looked to see what the UK fine system is:

"The penalty is a £30 fixed penalty or up to £1,000 on conviction in court (£2,500 for drivers of goods vehicles, buses or coaches). Drivers still risk prosecution (for failure to have proper control) if they use hands-free phones when driving."

Problem is, with our road policing done by camera these days, we don't have enough police on the road to enforce the law.

The other day I was leaving the main road to go onto a slip road, when I saw someone coming across two lanes to dive into the lane I was going to use. When I pulled alongside, I spotted he had a Sat-Nav unit running, another PDA with a Sat-Nav in his hand, he had just pulled out his mobile to check directions with his mate and had a paper note on his lap with directions written on it!

If we had sufficient traffic police, they could have buried him for that little lot!