Hands-free cell phone law ignored by many

Hands-free cell phone law ignored by many

WALNUT CREEK, CA (KGO) -- It's been two months since the new hands-free cell phone law went into effect in California. You risk getting a ticket if you get caught. Even so there are plenty of people who don't seem to care.

It's easy to see many Bay Area drivers have yet to embrace California's new hands-free cell phone law. In one hour, at the Mount Diablo Boulevard and South Main Street intersection in Walnut Creek, ABC7 spotted dozens of drivers still holding their phones to their ears, in one case, in plain view of a police officer.

"Are people obeying the law?" asked ABC7's Laura Anthony.
"Absolutely not," said Grant Traill, a cell phone user.
"People look like they're still using their phones in their cars," said Anthony.
"They are," said another man.

....

The CHP believes the new hands-free law is saving lives, but so far they don't have any statistics to back it up. The CHP won't have figures to see if the new law has cut down on accidents, until sometime next year. Prior statistics from the state indicated cell phone use was a factor in less than one percent of serious crashes. The CHP would like to see that number drop to zero.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6383546

ENFORCE IT??!? Just a stab in the dark here.

and get even more citations. Of course, then people will eventually obey the law and the cops will get laid off :)

95% of the shitty drivers on the road are inevitably yammering away on a cell phone. When I drive and talk, I use a headset, and even then I do that rarely because I think talking is a distraction from driving.

enforced, I can't see that it's making much difference. If that helps any.

then he looks at me like i'm at fault. needless to say, he didn't cotton to me calling him a GDI.

Including my neighbor, the cop. (insert eye roll here)

I'd like to see this enforced more - can't tell you how many times I've been stuck behind someone driving erratically - oh, yeah, there it is, the phone stuck to his/ her ear.

important topics, but I still hold the phone to my ear most of the time.

I am courteous, however, and remain out of the fast lane when I do have to talk to someone.

on edit: typo

I don't hold it to my ear anymore. Now I just flip it to speakerphone and wedge it into the sun visor. That's sorta hands free. :)