autopartswarehouse

The New Cell Phone Law – Does it Make Sense?

Californians are probably the people that spend the most time in their automobiles. As we all know, in Califor-nia, a car is a necessity, not a privilege. People drive everywhere. The only people you’ll see riding the bus are Mexicans and a handful of old folks and high school kids. And of course, everyone is obsessed with using their phones, especially inside their vehicles.

When I was still staying in Cali back in April, people were already talking about the new cell phone law. True enough, it was made effective last July 1. This law is set to forbid motorists from using hand-held communication devices while operating their automobiles. Basically, it is now illegal to hold a cell phone to your ear while driving. Car drivers who are found guilty will be subject to a fine of $20 for the first offense and $50 for the second. Penalty assessment fees and the citations cots could add up to as high as $76 and $190, respectively.

For drivers under the age of 18, the new law is more inflexible. The law specifies that no wireless telephone, pager, laptop, or other electronic communication device may be used while driving. Teenage drivers are far more likely to be involved in car accidents, and thus, the strictness. And by removing these potential sources of distraction, such as cell phones, the number of accidents involving teens may be reduced.

You can still use a headset though. Here’s the deal breaker: you can still use text messaging. Isn’t it absurd? People will tend to hide their cell phones while texting to prevent themselves from being seen by the police, which in turn, makes it even more dangerous. People in their late teens and early 20s are at risk, because they're far less likely to own or use headsets, and far more likely to use text messaging as an alternative. 

One may think that this law is politically motivated. Politicians are well aware that there's a huge number of very powerful Californians who might pull major support from California politicians if they were to actually ban the use of cell phones while driving. At the same time, California also has plenty of voters who believe strongly that cell phones cause car accidents. I’m no expert in politics, but they should’ve done more research instead of passing an absurd law right away. That doesn’t make any sense.

Think about it, if the Politicians are that stern on implementing laws against one hand driving. Then all the things that people would tend to hold one hand while driving with the other (coffee, other drinks, and even holding someone’s hand) should also be given notice. The truth is, in most cases, bad drivers cause accidents, not exactly cell phones. Well, I just hope that this new law wouldn’t increase car accidents.