Local police on traffic patrol will have one more reason to pull someone over starting in July 2008, when it will be illegal in most cases to use a hand-held cell phone while driving.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, on Friday, Sept. 15, signed the bill authored by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, that outlaws cell phone use while driving except when using a hands-free device.
The law takes effect July 1, 2008. First offenders face a fine of $20, then $50 for subsequent offenses. Emergency calls on handheld phones will be allowed and several categories of driving will be exempt, including tow trucks, farm vehicles and vehicles on private property.
As a driving infraction, violations of the new law will not add points to one’s driving record.
A brief Almanac opinion survey on the new law turned up a range of views. “I hate things that are regulated like that. I can’t stand that we have to regulate common sense,” said Patricia Cunningham, president of Sand Hill Financial, a mortgage broker in unincorporated Menlo Park.
“The whole distraction aspect sort of eludes me,” she added, noting that she grew up in a family of eight children and her parents seemed able to cope when behind the wheel.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said a longtime Woodside resident who didn’t want to be further identified. He said he recently had to swerve on Mountain Home Road in Woodside to avoid a cell-phone-holding driver coming the other way who had crossed the center dividing line into his lane.
A man from Redwood City said he had mixed feelings. It depends on the driver’s ability to do several things at once, he said.
Multi-tasking behind the wheel is hazardous and an ability that most police officers acquire through experience, said Atherton Police Chief Bob Brennan. With siren blaring, lights flashing, radio(s) squawking while negotiating traffic and crowded intersections, it can be a bit of a high-wire act, he said.
Finding and citing offending drivers will be “another task for the police department to take care of,” said Chief Brennan. It’s likely to receive the kind of attention officers now pay to seat belt violations, he added.
With Atherton having one of the highest rates of compliance with seat-belt laws in the country, Chief Brennan said he wouldn’t be surprised if local residents follow that pattern in 2008 and opt for hands-free phones.
Both Chief Brennan and Lt. Ken Jones of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said they see “more and more people” using hands-free phones.
Sen. Simitian has been pushing the bill since he arrived in the Legislature in 2001. “I’m very pleased,” he said. “It’s been a long haul but it’s worth it.”
