TOPIC | Statewide ban on using handheld phones while driving
OUR VIEW | While the ban makes roads safer, there are unaddressed dangers.
Eating, applying makeup, shaving, reading, text messaging, checking a map – people engage in all kinds of activities that, while normally safe, become incredibly hazardous when performed while driving a car.
But on July 1, one of these activities will be rightfully restricted: talking on a cell phone while driving.
For provisional drivers under the age of 18, who have less experience and tend to take greater risks on the road, the ban is absolute – no conversing on any communications devices of any kind.
Drivers 18 and above will be required to use hands-free devices or speaker phone if they wish to talk on the phone while navigating the roadways.
It seems as though whenever a motorist is doing something stupid on the road, they inevitably have a cell phone glued to their head.
Studies by various organizations, such as the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s Center for Truck and Bus Safety, suggest that a large part of the reduction in a person’s driving skill that occurs when they hold a telephone conversation is due to the “cognitive capture” phenomenon, which essentially splits the driver’s attention.
But at least the new law will assure that people spend less time with only one hand on the wheel and that their field of vision is not impaired by their own arm.
The Public Policy Institute of California believes that traffic deaths in the state will be reduced by approximately 300 per year as a result of the new law.
Fines will be $20 for the first ticket and $50 for subsequent offenses. This may seem small, but keep in mind that these numbers triple when you include penalty assessment fees.
Unfortunately, the law makes no mention of text messaging while driving, which is much more dangerous than talking on the phone because it requires you to look away from the road. Plus, many texters are brain-dead enough to take both hands off the wheel to fulfill the incessant urge to reply with “OMG, LOL.”
When they crash their cars, though, they stop “LOL”-ing.
Engaging in the other previously mentioned activities while behind the wheel is still technically legal, although doing so displays incredibly poor judgment – and you may still be pulled over for it.
California law allows an officer to pull over any driver who, in the officer’s opinion, is distracted and not operating the vehicle safely, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicle’s Web site.
So, be safe. Exercise extreme caution when driving and doing anything else simultaneously. As comedian Chris Rock once said, you could drive a car with your feet, but that doesn’t make it a good idea.
(Jessie Lomeli)