California Goes No Cell Phones While Driving
The California legislature passed bills that prohibit drivers from using their cell phones. A component of the bill that would have given new subscribers 21 days to cancel their service without a penalty failed to make the cut before lawmakers adjourned for the session.
The cell phone driver bill, pressed repeatedly in recent years by Sen. Joe Simitian, would require drivers to use hands-free devices to make and receive calls while behind the wheel. Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, violators would face a $20 fine for a first offense and a $50 ticket for subsequent infractions. Exceptions to the driver ban on handheld mobile-phone operations were carved out for public safety-related calls and commercial truck drivers, including those in the farming business. Push-to-talk wireless communications would get a pass for three years from the bill’s effective date.
If the bill becomes law, California would join New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the District of Columbia and various towns in taking handheld phones out of the hands of drivers. Cell phones have been increasingly implicated in fatal auto accidents and litigation in recent years. However, government and university studies indicate hands-free gadgets do not improve driver distraction.
A bill to improve security of local wireless area networks attempts to curb a widespread problem for consumers in the state.
Manufacturers must include a warning label in one of four ways advising consumers on how to protect their personal files: a sticker warning that is placed on the ports of the wireless router; include a warning during the configuration process when installing the device; require the consumer to take some affirmative action before allowing use of the device; or provide other protections that help safeguard the consumer’s wireless connection that is enabled without action by the consumer, but occurs before the device can be used.
No word on how many people will be hit with tickets, I'm guessing alot.
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September 21st, 2006 at 9:41 am
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation banning motorists from operating cell phones. The legislation does allow drivers to use hands-free devices to conduct conversations while behind the wheel.
California joins New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, the District of Columbia and various cities in prohibiting drivers from talking on hand-held cell phones.
continued below
California State Sen. Joe Simitian (D) has been pushing the legislation for years; however, the effectiveness of such laws remains unclear in light of studies showing hands-free gadgets do not fix the cell phone driver-distraction problem. Moreover, compliance with and enforcement of driver hand-held bans have proved challenging in states with such laws on the books.