Cell phone use banned for teen drivers

czechmate7

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Cell phone use banned for teen drivers

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A message from the state of California to its 16- and 17-year-olds: Dnt txt n drv — thx.
A law signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday will require those teens to put down all cell phones and other electronic devices while driving. Older drivers will be able to use hands-free devices but minors won't enjoy that luxury — in part because of the popularity of text-messaging among teens.
"The simple fact is that teenage drivers are more easily distracted. They are young, inexperienced and have a slower reaction time," Schwarzenegger said in a statement after he signed the legislation into law. "We want to eliminate any extra distractions so they can focus on paying attention to the road and being good drivers."
The law barring cell phone use by drivers under 18 will take effect July 1, as will the law restricting cell phone use among older drivers, which the governor signed last year.
Violators will be fined $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses. Both laws include exceptions for drivers who need to make emergency calls.
Schwarzenegger's signature means California joins 15 states and the District of Columbia in banning the use of wireless communication devices for teenage drivers. Nearly a dozen other states are considering similar action, according to the American Automobile Association.
The governor cited statistics by the California Highway Patrol that cell phone use is a primary cause of accidents caused by distracted drivers. He also referred to a Ford Motor Co. study saying teens are four times more likely to be distracted than adults by cell phone use.
A 2001 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 16-year-old drivers have a crash rate three times higher than that of 17-year-olds, five times greater than 18-year-olds and almost 10 times greater than drivers ages 30-59
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070914/ap_on_re_us/teen_drivers_cell_phones


This is awesome!!! I hope all other states follow suit....
 
i would go so far and say for all drivers. it is so dangerous.
 
I HATE using my cell phone with my hands while I'm driving. It's hard to drive that way. I have a headset that I use and it's so much easier. Handsfree is the way to go, if you have to go.. hehe :p I get so annoyed when I see people trying to drive while talking on their cell phones. Doesn't matter what age they are. Text messages are the worse..
 
Just ban it all for everyone. Even handsfree is dangerous because you get distracted by the conversation still. But yeah, it's a good start.
 
i would go so far and say for all drivers. it is so dangerous.

I totally agree! The things I've seen people doing while driving and talking - drifting in and out of their lanes on the freeway- pulling over and stopping in an entire lane to talk, pulling in front not putting a turn signal on busily talking, I could go on and on - :furious: :furious: - this is such a pet peeve of mine - can you tell?!
 
I HATE using my cell phone with my hands while I'm driving. It's hard to drive that way. I have a headset that I use and it's so much easier. Handsfree is the way to go, if you have to go.. hehe :p I get so annoyed when I see people trying to drive while talking on their cell phones. Doesn't matter what age they are. Text messages are the worse..

The office manager at one of the places I do work for said her husband was in an SUV that was totaled by an 18-year-old that was text messaging as she was going 50 mph in a 25 mph hour zone. She hit his vehicle so hard it broke the axle on his SUV - he was fortunate not to be killed - but that had to cut him out of his vehicle. I agree - text messaging while driving is just so dangerous. I say good for you Arnold for signing this bill into law!
 
Just ban it all for everyone. Even handsfree is dangerous because you get distracted by the conversation still. But yeah, it's a good start.


:eek: but but but.. I can walk and chew gum at the same time :hand: :D .. hehe Ok, one can be just as distracted by their kids in the car or yakking away with your passenger... Eating is another one... KEEP BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEELS FOLKS..in the 10 and 2 o'clock position.. :D
 
Just ban it all for everyone. Even handsfree is dangerous because you get distracted by the conversation still. But yeah, it's a good start.


Yeah. That is why they should ban OnStar and passengers too.

Hands free is much, much safer if you use voice activated dialing.
 
It is safer but still distracting. They should ban it all. No need to go all nasty on me for stating my opinion. :rolleyes:
 
I was glad our 'Gov' signed the bill, however only those of us who really follow the law will use a BlueTooth or head-set. I heard last night that those who receive citation violations it won't go on their record...........did I hear that right?

Problem is out here the $20-$50 fine is considered no big deal to the younger set. They'll only get caught maybe twice out of 500 calls.

Thousands upon thousands of drivers on the freeways out here, just no way they can monitor all the drivers. I think the ones they will catch will be the ones driving around in the cities.
 
Just ban it all for everyone. Even handsfree is dangerous because you get distracted by the conversation still. But yeah, it's a good start.

I agree with the first part of this post 100%. Why just teenagers? - it flummoxes me that it is legal to hold a cellphone to your ear and drive when the first thing we all learn about driving is to keep both hands on the wheel.

That said, I don't think handsfree is any more distracting than listening to the radio.
 
I agree with the first part of this post 100%. Why just teenagers? - it flummoxes me that it is legal to hold a cellphone to your ear and drive when the first thing we all learn about driving is to keep both hands on the wheel.

That said, I don't think handsfree is any more distracting than listening to the radio.
Or talking to other passengers in the car.....
 
I was glad our 'Gov' signed the bill, however only those of us who really follow the law will use a BlueTooth or head-set. I heard last night that those who receive citation violations it won't go on their record...........did I hear that right?

Problem is out here the $20-$50 fine is considered no big deal to the younger set. They'll only get caught maybe twice out of 500 calls.

Thousands upon thousands of drivers on the freeways out here, just no way they can monitor all the drivers. I think the ones they will catch will be the ones driving around in the cities.

It may not go on their record now, but mark my words, it will in the future. And a $20-50 is a big deal to most of the teenagers I'm in contact with these days.

This is one of those areas where I believe an education campaign would be much more effective than more laws, fines, and fees.
 
LOL :crazy:

That's your opinions and I respect that, but I didn't much care for the tone of the other poster.

I have research reports that I could post here that will make it clear that even handsfree calling is more distracting than just talking to a passenger or listening to the radio, but they're not in English, so that's not going to do much good, LOL!
 
I was glad our 'Gov' signed the bill, however only those of us who really follow the law will use a BlueTooth or head-set. I heard last night that those who receive citation violations it won't go on their record...........did I hear that right?

Problem is out here the $20-$50 fine is considered no big deal to the younger set. They'll only get caught maybe twice out of 500 calls.

Thousands upon thousands of drivers on the freeways out here, just no way they can monitor all the drivers. I think the ones they will catch will be the ones driving around in the cities.
Well, let them get caught 2 or 3 times....it'll start adding up!!!!
 

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