For your edification...
Handheld phone ban for drivers
- Lynda Gledhill, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Friday, September 15, 2006
(09-15) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- Californians are going to have to put down their cell phone and use a hands-free device starting in 2008 if they want to talk and drive at the same time under a bill Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to sign into law today."Public safety is the governor's No. 1 priority, and this bill make the streets and highways of California safer by making sure drivers have both hands available for driving," said Margita Thompson, a spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger.
Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, said data from the California Highway Patrol showed that not only were cell phones the No. 1 cause of distracted driving accidents, but that hands-free technology substantially reduced the number of crashes.
"We've got this readily available technology that costs next to nothing and that saves lives. My argument has been, why not use it?" Simitian said.
Opponents believe the bill unfairly singles out cell phones as the cause for distracted driving.
Simitian had been trying to pass the bill for six years, and this was the first time it reached the governor's desk. Earlier this year, Schwarzenegger said he told his daughter, who had recently starting driving, that if he catches her on the phone with her hands off the wheel, she will no longer be able to drive.
"If she makes that mistake, then I will take the car away from her, and she will drive with the bus, because it's inexcusable," Schwarzenegger said.
The new law, SB1613, will take effect July 1, 2008, giving the Department of Motor Vehicles time to update its manuals and drivers time to get used to the idea. Simitian said he also hopes that technology will improve to make the hands-free systems better and more affordable.
California isn't the first to adopt such a measure. Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C., have passed similar bills.
The new law will impose a fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses. The infraction, however, would not result in adding a point to motorists' driving records.
The legislation exempts 911 calls and emergency personnel who need to use the phone as part of a response to a call. The bill also exempts operators of farming vehicles and commercial truck drivers.
Only one cell phone company, Sprint Nextel, was opposed to the bill. Schwarzenegger had a fundraiser with the cell phone industry earlier this week.
Opponents believe the new law singles out cell phones when there are many other causes for distracted driving.
"SB1613 fails to address the real public issue of inattentive driving and singles out just one potential distraction, the handheld wireless phone," said a letter from Sprint Nextel to the governor urging his veto. "It ignores many other more significant causes of inattentive driving, including drowsiness, smoking, and adjusting the radio/CD player. And it fails to distinguish between inexperienced teen drivers, who may be easily distracted, and experienced adult drivers whose experience and maturity make them completely capable of operating an automobile safely while speaking on a wireless phone."
Schwarzenegger is nearing a Sept. 30 deadline to sign or veto hundreds of bills that the Legislature sends him in the closing weeks of its session.
On Thursday, Schwarzenegger signed a bill to establish a new Department of Public Health, splitting the current Department of Health Services into two agencies starting in July 2007. The new agency is expected to provide more focused leadership to deal with major public-health emergencies and preparedness.
The separate department is needed because too much focus in the Department of Health Services is on operating and managing the state's Medi-Cal system, said Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento.
"California will be better able to protect and prevent outbreaks of infectious disease, provide proactive obesity and disease-prevention programs and respond to environmental catastrophes and bioterrorism attacks," Ortiz said in a statement.
The existing department will be renamed the Department of Health Care Services and will manage the state's $34 billion Medi-Cal program.
The governor will appoint a state public health officer to head the department. The appointee, who must be a physician or surgeon, will have to be confirmed by the state Senate.
"In California, we face earthquakes, forest fires, as well as threats of terrorism and disease outbreaks, like the pandemic flu. The clear message of all of these threats is simple: 'Be ready,' " Schwarzenegger said.
The bill-signing came the day after a state auditor's report said statewide emergency preparedness drills aren't rigorous enough and the state is so slow in spending anti-terrorism funds that the federal government has taken some of the money back.
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Look Ma, no hands
Starting July 1, 2008, SB1613 would:
Require motorists to use a hands-free device when using a cell phone while driving.
Impose a $20 fine for a first offense, $50 for subsequent offenses.
Exempt emergency personnel, farm vehicle operators, tow truck drivers and commercial truck drivers.
Exempt motorists making 911 calls.
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