Issue Date: 8/25/08
Hands-free phone law a bust
By Crystal Evans
As of July 1, 2008 residents of California no longer have the freedom to hold their cell phones to their ears while driving, thanks to the new hands-free law.
Every year we lose a few more freedoms that we had the previous year, and we have to ask ourselves when it is going to stop.
The new hands-free law stemmed from California Highway Patrol crash statistics that show driving while talking on the phone increases fourfold your chance of getting into an accident that causes injury or death.
Yes, I get the point. We are trying to make our roadways safer--which I'm all for, however, this is just one more intrusion the government is making into our personal lives. The fact that I can no longer use my cell phone in my own car when I have never been in an accident feels a bit like the sentence came before the crime.
Officers already have the authority to pull over anyone who is driving in a hazardous fashion, so they could have ticketed distracted drivers before the law. They should have kept it that way and punished only those who drive unsafely.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety studies show that there is no difference in the crash statistics for handheld versus hands-free. So is it really about safety or is it a fundraiser for our broke state? After all the CHP alone made over $550,000 in fees the first month according to Fran Clader of the CHP media relations department. When asked Clader said they did not have comparative crash statistics.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, statistics also show that other distractions, such as reaching for your water bottle that is falling out of the cup holder, are far more dangerous than talking on the phone.
This law is only the beginning. If it truly is all about safety then what is going to prevent legislators from continuing to take away our rights? Next we will not be able to talk on the cell phone at all while driving. Then we will not be able to use navigation devises, listen to radios or sip our morning coffee while driving. If conversation is the issue it could become illegal to have passengers in the car at all: minors have already lost that right.
We need to start being responsible for ourselves. If whatever you're doing is affecting your driving, pull over. Maybe if we all just used a little common sense we would be able to make our own decisions instead of having good old Uncle Sam make them for us.s
Every year we lose a few more freedoms that we had the previous year, and we have to ask ourselves when it is going to stop.
The new hands-free law stemmed from California Highway Patrol crash statistics that show driving while talking on the phone increases fourfold your chance of getting into an accident that causes injury or death.
Yes, I get the point. We are trying to make our roadways safer--which I'm all for, however, this is just one more intrusion the government is making into our personal lives. The fact that I can no longer use my cell phone in my own car when I have never been in an accident feels a bit like the sentence came before the crime.
Officers already have the authority to pull over anyone who is driving in a hazardous fashion, so they could have ticketed distracted drivers before the law. They should have kept it that way and punished only those who drive unsafely.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety studies show that there is no difference in the crash statistics for handheld versus hands-free. So is it really about safety or is it a fundraiser for our broke state? After all the CHP alone made over $550,000 in fees the first month according to Fran Clader of the CHP media relations department. When asked Clader said they did not have comparative crash statistics.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, statistics also show that other distractions, such as reaching for your water bottle that is falling out of the cup holder, are far more dangerous than talking on the phone.
This law is only the beginning. If it truly is all about safety then what is going to prevent legislators from continuing to take away our rights? Next we will not be able to talk on the cell phone at all while driving. Then we will not be able to use navigation devises, listen to radios or sip our morning coffee while driving. If conversation is the issue it could become illegal to have passengers in the car at all: minors have already lost that right.
We need to start being responsible for ourselves. If whatever you're doing is affecting your driving, pull over. Maybe if we all just used a little common sense we would be able to make our own decisions instead of having good old Uncle Sam make them for us.s
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
Melissa
posted 8/27/08 @ 12:16 PM PST
I agree with Crystal wholeheartedly. I am tired of the government trying to reach its way into every little thing we do in our lives.
tawnie
posted 11/05/08 @ 4:04 PM PST
I totally agree that hands free law should be enhanced because it is taking away our privacy.
Losing Weight
posted 12/01/08 @ 4:32 AM PST
Driving is restricted. Blind people are not allowed to drive. People who use cell phones while driving cause a lot more accidents than those who do not. (Continued…)
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