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We don't need more laws. We just need more common sense.
There was some research done that suggested there was a correlation between all the new safety features and the way we drive.
We have cars that can brake for us based on radar input from cars/obstacles in front.
We even have cars that can semi-steer the car for us (it doesn't actually turn the wheel, but adjusts breaking/power/suspension to the wheels independently).
The more and more technology inside the cars, the more people just think they can get in, start up and drive. People are forgetting that a car is just as much a lethal weapon in the same way a gun can be (if in the wrong hands).
Common sense is in short supply...
Thanks,
Jim
Now there will be MORE people yelling on top of their lungs in public establishments.
UGH
LOVED this post, LG. I LOL'd and nodded in agreement!
2. As JT noted in the post you linked to, that's totally legal. Calls where the phone is next to my head are the only action prohibited by the new law. From the California DMV's website:
"DRIVERS 18 AND OVER
Drivers 18 and over will be allowed to use a "hands-free" device to talk on their wireless telephone while driving. The following FAQs apply to those motorists 18 and over.
Q: Does the new “hands-free” law prohibit you from dialing a wireless telephone while driving or just talking on it?
A: The new law does not prohibit dialing, but drivers are strongly urged not to dial while driving.
Q: Will it be legal to use a Bluetooth or other earpiece?
A: Yes, however you cannot have BOTH ears covered.
Q: Does the new "hands-free" law allow you to use the speaker phone function of your wireless telephone while driving?
A: Yes.
Q: Does the new “hands-free” law allow drivers 18 and over to text message while driving?
A: The law does not specifically prohibit that, but an officer can pull over and issue a citation to a driver of any age if, in the officer’s opinion, the driver was distracted and not operating the vehicle safely. Sending text messages while driving is unsafe at any speed and is strongly discouraged."
In other words, text, dial, browse, email, and research to your heart's content. Because it's not about safety, it's about...well I'm not sure what it's about. I guess it was about making me spend $80 on a bluetooth headset. Which actually brings me to my favorite part about this new law, hundreds of thousands of untechies trying to pair their bluetooths (blueteeth?) while driving 80 down the freeway. Awesome. Thanks a million, California government.
I have used my mobile phone too in many different ways, texting, calling, browsing. But honestly, it becomes quite dangerous if your eyes are fixed on that small screen instead of on the road. I've had a number of close calls before I decided to restrain myself and be more cautious. Calling is much less of a problem, as you can still have your eyes fixed on the road. But try this for example. Can you, while you are driving and calling someone, at the same time drive the car at exactly the speed limit for a mile or so (not using a cruise control)? I bet you can't, I know I can't.
http://www.rospa.com/roadsafety/info/mobile_pho...
and
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2201008/...
The second link tells about how a driver ploughed into the back of a van killing a passenger because he was so engrossed in a conversation on his phone, via wireless.
What a lot of people in the UK didn't realise was that it is actually illegal over here to even use 'wireless' devices on your phone as well.
So even tapping the side of your ear to operate your wireless headset constitutes operating a mobile phone whilst driving, which is illegal.
Apparently you are on dodgy ground if you "talk to your screen" whilst driving as this might indicate you are in a mobile phone conversation which could lead to you getting "pulled over" by the cops.
(So what happens if I'm just singing to the radio?? And why isn't listening to the radio illegal ?)
Perhaps those people who are flouting the law in California should look at a few of the accidents that have happened in the UK.
Fairly recently, quite close to where I live now, on a motorway called the M3, a driver in a Lorry ploughed into the back of queuing traffic.
The lorry burst into fire and it wasn't until the fire brigade had put out the fire that they realised there was a car embedded into the front of the lorry cab.
The impact was so great that the car had been squashed to something less than the size of a mini and embedded into the cab of the lorry.
The woman who was in the car died instantly thank god, and was found crushed into a space the size of your "footwell"
If anyone wants reminding of the dangers of using mobile phones, handheld PDA's and the such, just have them search through cases of accidents that have already been caused. (There are some mentioned in the ROSPA report in the 1st link above).
They will still of course claim to be a member of the "But I've never had an accident before in my life", or the "I'm too good a driver for it to happen to me", or just quite simply the most active club in the world, "It quite simply just won't happen to me" club.
Read the attached ROSPA report. It makes for interesting reading.
Me ? My mobile is either off whilst I am driving, or, I will pull over (If not on motorway/highway), or I'll pass it to someone else in the car (if on motorway/highway). Occasionally it might get placed onto "handsfree" (via bluetooth, via the in car "handsfree" system), but I won't talk, I'll let my passengers talk.
I drove past the wreckage of that crash on the M3 I mentioned above. That shocked me.
I also listened to the mother of the girl who was killed in the crash. That shamed me.
I don't think I want to be the driver who does that to someone else's kids.
I wouldn't want it done to my own kids.
That's how I feel when a car weaves at me from the opposite lane at 70 miles an hour with an oblivious idiot at the wheel who doesn't seem to notice or care that they're driving down the marker because they're yapping away on a cellphone . I have a pretty long commute, so this happens 3-5 times a day. And the people who's speed varies by 15 MPH in the fast lane? Almost invariably due to a a very important call.
You feel annoyed by this law because you feel like you might just have to put the goddamn phone down for half an hour? If you're still on the goddamn phone, then you do not feel nearly annoyed enough.
We were safer before."
Please tell me that was sarcasm, because otherwise you are a tremendous idiot and I have lost a lot of respect for you, Louis. I had a friend killed driving in California last year because some moron entered her lane on a freeway and caused her to crash. He was distracted because he was attempting to send an email to a colleague on his Blackberry.
You don't HAVE to get an email out "right then". You can wait until you are in a safer situation. You may think you are a great driver and can be allowed some leniency because of your stellar record. But it only takes one small, seemingly insignificant moment to ruin someone else's life forever. Turn off the phone while driving. The people you don't kill will appreciate it.
Any who I'm young but I haven't had a ticket since I received my permit to drive. Though I do notice that I tend to swerve more when I'm changing CD's. As for talking on the phone. I'm a lot more focused on the road than my conversation to be honest. People know when I'm driving because I hardly say a word back to them.
There are those handfuls though that really piss you off when they're talking on their phone while driving. Maybe it's getting out of hand for some people. Maybe the latest car accidents all start with "Well, I was on my cell phone talking when...."
"an officer can pull over and issue a citation to a driver of any age if, in the officer’s opinion, the driver was distracted and not operating the vehicle safely"
I believe this has always been on the books, so why do we need another law. Unless its for the campaign trail and they need a good issue to say they supported this great new law that is going to save everyone from these dangerous drivers.
I quickly remembered the law and did exactly what you wrote. I had to use my crappy iPhone speaker phone and hold it away from my head so as not to offend :)
As an aside, the iPhone speaker is so crappy, I found that I had to hold it up to my face so I could talk handsfree. LOVE that.
But in your defence, you could be one of those people of the "nah, I'm too good a driver for it to happen to me" brigade..
The law is dumb, it needs to be focused on driving while distracted, unsafe handling of a vehicle. It's wasting our money to nitpick categories and make sub-laws. And as I mentioned above, requires such an adjustment that there will probably be more short- to mid-term risk.
I'm not a bad driver, but I'm a fast driver, and know better than to do things like mess with the phone or radio when I'm in the groove.