is cellphone usage while driving illegal where you live?

BigAl3

New member
i was curious if it's illegal to drive while talking on a cell phone where you live? it seems in so. cal, as of january 1st (iirc), it's illegal to use it while driving, but i still see lots of people on the road using them. also, how can they prove that you're are using it, is it your word against theirs? do they snap a pic of you while you're using it, etc...? what's the fine?
 
It has been illegal for several years here in NJ to use a cellphone without a "hands-free" device (speakerphone or headset). I guess you are supposed to pull over to dial, if you don't have a voice-command phone.
 
It is now in NYS and I think I'm the only one to get a ticket for it. I see people (sometimes right in front of police cars) just chatting away. But nope no ticket.



I agree with the reason of the law, but to enforce it they would have to stop like every other car, just like speeding.



MorBiD
 
Not illegal, nor should it be. There are already laws covering distracted driving. People driving 20 mph under the limit, not signaling, etc because they are on their cell phone or even worse TEXTING should be pulled over and beaten. The rest of us who actually have a brain and can talk on a cell and still obey all traffic laws should be left alone.
 
It's illegal here since 2 years back(using hands free is legal), but few people give a damn about that law, because it's stupid. There are researches that show the most distracting thing driving during a call is the lack of concentration, not holding a phone to your head.
 
TexasTB said:
not illegal here except on the military base



what he said...makes me pissed when I see people on baser still doing it. its one thing to "bend the rules" off base but on base you better fly strait but thats just how I feel.
 
What? You mean talking on the cell, putting on makeup, chewing gum, and yelling at thhe kids in the back seat while driving a monster SUV isn't legal in NY? Gosh, who would have guessed? :)
 
bigal3 said:
really? i thought i saw it mentioned on tv or something that is was going into affect early this year... :nixweiss



Im a safety officer at my work and this is a big topic for our delivery drivers. Lucky for me my wife works at the local PD and she dug up the new rule for me so I could share with our drivers. Supposed to go into effect 7/2008.
 
Nope, still legal here... luckily, the local politicians haven't caved to the stupid measure of banning cell phone usage and requiring hands-free devices like certain other states with politicians who lack a simple requirement called common sense.



The distraction isn't from driving with one hand (I think most of us could drive with one hand on normal roads all day, even we manual drivers), but from the conversation in the first place... people love crying wolf for no reason on unfounded facts. Whether its an unwavering belief that nuclear power plants WILL create nuclear winters (even though they're safer than coal plants...), or cell phone towers WILL cause cancer (even though they don't), or that using a headset will make the road a safer place (umm...).



No, it won't. Wake up, pay attention, and hang up the friggin phone. Just shut up and concentrate on the task at hand - driving!
 
paul34 said:
Nope, still legal here... luckily, the local politicians haven't caved to the stupid measure of banning cell phone usage and requiring hands-free devices like certain other states with politicians who lack a simple requirement called common sense.



The distraction isn't from driving with one hand (I think most of us could drive with one hand on normal roads all day, even we manual drivers), but from the conversation in the first place... people love crying wolf for no reason on unfounded facts. Whether its an unwavering belief that nuclear power plants WILL create nuclear winters (even though they're safer than coal plants...), or cell phone towers WILL cause cancer (even though they don't), or that using a headset will make the road a safer place (umm...).



No, it won't. Wake up, pay attention, and hang up the friggin phone. Just shut up and concentrate on the task at hand - driving!



Totally agree, it has NOTHING to do with the handset being against your ear. A handsfree device does nothing to help. It has been showed through various studies that most drivers focus their attention on the conversation instead of driving.



The handsfree laws are the equivalent of drinking and driving being ok if you drink through a straw while driving.
 
Scottwax said:
Not illegal, nor should it be. There are already laws covering distracted driving. People driving 20 mph under the limit, not signaling, etc because they are on their cell phone or even worse TEXTING should be pulled over and beaten. The rest of us who actually have a brain and can talk on a cell and still obey all traffic laws should be left alone.



Scott..funny you should mention texting...



A few weeks ago, on one of my last duty ours as a Captain, we were returning from a call when the driver of the Engine company I command said to me "hey, Cap... look at this a**hole.."



The driver of a Honda Accord was alongside the truck in the left lane, steering with his knees and using both hands text messaging on his Blackberry. He missed the slight bend in the road and came within a foot of sideswiping us.



"Dave, let him know we are here"



"with pleasure, Cap.."



Dave blasted the Grover air horns and gave the FedQ siren a little "blip"....



The Blackberry went flying through the air, and I think the other driver needed a change of underwear after that. :LOLOL
 
there was a study done that i read a few month ago that compared a control group (no cell phone or alcohol) to a drunk driver (i forget the BAL of the drivers tested) and then those on cell phones. they found that the cell phone users were more dangerous due to how they did/didn't react to various situations. the alcohol impaired drivers tended to go slower and be more "cautious"...with a slow reaction time....while the cell phone users tried to drive "normal" but were more inattentive and lowered reaction time on top of it. it was an interesting article...wish i could find it and post here.
 
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