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Effective? Hardly! - I'm always amazed at how many people I still see blatently using their phone whilst driving, including a London bus driver last week. There's no point in having the legislation if there is no one to enforce it.
22 commentsFriday, June 27, 2008
By Mike Sachoff
Beginning on July 1 a new hands free mobile phone law goes into effect in California.
Motorists face a $20 fine plus fees for a first offense and a $50 fine plus fees for a second violation. Drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using a mobile phone or a hands free device while operating a motor vehicle.
Drivers will be allowed to use a mobile phone while driving to make emergency calls to a law enforcement agency, a medical provider, the fire department or other emergency agencies.
The penalty for driving while taking on a mobile phone will not include receiving a point on motorists licenses, but it will appear on their driving record. Drivers who violate the law can be pulled over by the police.
Strangely the law does not address or cover text messaging. State Sen. Joe Simitian, who authored the bill said when he began working on the bill in 2001 texting was not an issue. The Democratic lawmaker says he is working on a new bill that would outlaw text messaging.
"There are more and more people out there on the highway and the CHP (California Highway Patrol) has collected data every year showing that cell phones are the number one cause of distracted drivers," Simitian told Reuters.
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Mobile phone legislation
Why do law makers have to over complicate matters? If a law is introduced to simply ban the use of mobiles when driving, how can people then use them to text without breaking the law?
The $20 dollar penalty is a joke. Here in the U.K. the penalty for first offence is £60 ($120) plus three points on license. 12 points on a license results in automatic disqualification. That may seem harsh, but it is very effective.