Time to leave your phone alone while driving

Time to leave your phone alone while driving

Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, June 29, 2008


The cell phone and the automobile make an irresistible couple. Both liberate and empower - it's little wonder people like to use the two in tandem.

But a new law is set to change that bond.

Starting Tuesday, drivers in California won't be permitted to talk on their cell phones without using a hands-free device. Drivers under 18 won't be allowed to drive and talk at all.

The penalty: a $20 fine, which will grow to $76 with administrative fees figured in. Subsequent convictions will be $50, plus fees.

It's a transition that will challenge ingrained habits and test the relationship people have with their cell phones.

Take 41-year-old Barak Kassar of San Francisco.

"I'm addicted," said Kassar, who runs his own marketing firm. When he's on the road visiting clients in the East Bay or Silicon Valley, Kassar fills the dead time with talking, which makes his commutes more productive and entertaining.

"I've become so used to talking on my mobile phone, having the ability to talk anywhere and anytime," he said. "I've been practicing not using my phone, but it's really, really hard."

Paul Levinson, a communications professor at Fordham University, said that changing the way drivers talk on their phones won't be easy. Unlike seat belt laws, which didn't restrict most other activities in the car, he said, the loss of talking privileges can seem like the punishment your parents used to mete out.

He expects compliance to resemble people's approach to speed limits - most obey until they have occasion to break the law, while others will flout the rules when there are no cops around.

Getting people to not initiate calls without a hands-free device will be hard enough.

But getting them not to answer a call may be even tougher, said Levinson, who described cell phones as potential wish fulfillment devices that we hope bear life-changing news.
Insistent ringing phone

"You can't ignore a ringing phone, because in some part of your mind, you think it's the most important person in your life calling you with a new job offer or the love of your life," Levinson said.

California is the largest state to require hands-free calling. New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have similar laws, while Washington state's also goes into effect Tuesday.

The danger these laws address is real, said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, the author of the law who worked six years on the legislation before it passed in 2006.

He quoted a recent Public Policy Institute of California study, which estimated that 300 lives a year will be saved as a result of the new law.
Hope for common sense

While he expects resistance from some, Simitian hopes common sense will prevail and accidents will be averted.

The goal is to get compliance in line with the state's seat belt laws, which drivers grudgingly accepted and now comply with 94 percent of the time.

"This will take some time, education and a change in habit," Simitian said. "People have been driving for years with a phone to their ear.

But I hope this may be the difference between life and death."

If the example set by New York is any indication, it could be a while.

New York was first to implement a hands-free law in November 2001, with violators subject to a fine of up to $100. In 2002, the first full year of the law, 81,323 people were cited for talking without a hands-free device.

By 2006, the last full year of reporting, the number of citations had swelled to 285,684.

While the number of cell phone users in the United States grew from 141 million in 2002 to 233 million in 2006, a 65 percent jump, the number of citations in New York grew by 251 percent. Even with increased enforcement, the numbers continue to go up, not down, said New York State Police Lt. Glenn Miner.

"There are more and more people with cell phones that rationalize their behavior," he said. "It's just like any other violation to them. They're well aware it's against law, but they think they can get away with it."

Elizabeth Clayton, a 24-year-old Oakland freelance writer and interior decorator, uses her time on the road to make personal calls. Sometimes, it's less about catching up with a friend than relieving the monotony of a commute.
Calling in traffic

"There are definitely times when I'll be stuck in traffic and I'll call until I get someone to pick up," Clayton said. "I just go down the list until I get someone, because what else can I do?"

Clayton said she thinks it's harder for younger drivers to accept the new rules because she got her first cell phone before she was able to drive.

She learned to master both together and predicts that her habit of picking up her phone to make calls in the car won't go away anytime soon, even though she has a Bluetooth headset.

"I'll probably still use the phone and keep an eye out for the highway patrol and throw it in my lap if they're around," Clayton said.

Rose Steele, 47, of San Jose said she's a little worried about using the Bluetooth headset she bought because she finds it tricky to use, and sometimes she forgets to put it in her ear.

The new law, however, is turning out to be a welcome occasion to reassess her slavish devotion to her cell phone.

She's starting to see the danger its use poses on the road and the extent of its demands on her life.

"I think that we've gotten so used to the convenience, we've forgotten how much of a tyrant it is," said Steele, a theater architecture consultant. "A telephone has no constitutional right to be answered, just because it's ringing."
California's new cell phone law

What it does: Prohibits drivers from talking on the phone without using a device that keeps their hands free, except in an emergency.

When it goes into effect: Tuesday. There is no grace period.

Who must comply: Anyone driving in California.

Enforcement: Law enforcement officers can pull drivers over for failing to comply.

Penalty: $20 for the first violation, $50 for each subsequent conviction. The addition of administrative fees can more than triple the base fine.

How it affects your record: Convictions will be listed on your driving record, but the Department of Motor Vehicles will not place any points on your license.

Time to leave your phone alone while driving

 

i think this is a very good idea because you may not be harming people but it is a distraction and you cant be at your safest when focusing on a cell phone call. but the builtin Bluetooth for cars is a good idea and i didnt know they had visor mounted Bluetooth speakerphones........there could be a good market for those

 

ill keep it in mind....