Look, Ma - no hands! California goes hands free

Starting today, it is now against the law in California to talk on your cell phone while driving, unlesss you use a hands free device.   California joins New York and other states who enforce this rule.  Additionally, 16 and 17 year olds can’t talk on a phone at all or text, etc. while driving (how will they enforce that one?)

Most people agree that cell phones present a major distraction and safety problem in cars. We’ve all had a phone call, text message or e-mail distract us in the car.  Self-discipline is important here, but regulations can certainly help. As to whether hands-free devices are a significant improvement, that’s also unclear.  It seems that dialing, texting, reading, etc. are the biggest problems, not holding the handset to one’s ear, but all of those are tough to monitor. Voice dialing is still not perfect and not available on some handsets (like the iPhone).

Some feel strongly that this legislation is stupid. I tend to agree that a $20 fine is not a significant penalty when the gas and parking for almost any drive in CA cost much more.  I do think it’s good that this issue is being addressed.  I also think that headsets - both wired and bluetooth leave much to be desired - I’ve purchased and stopped using at least 3-4 bluetooth headsets.  I’ll have to figure out something by tomorrow though!  Headsets.com is trying to help by offering a free headset to anyone who gets a citation.

Anyway, at kwiry we definitely discourage texting while driving, which is why we offer our Jott integration so you can speak your kwirys when it’s not convenient or safe to text.