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By Kate Daly
Special to The Almanac
I admit to being a distracted driver that day, busy shuttling two cars to the shop for repairs so I could leave town on short notice. But when I was pulled over by a motorcycle cop for touching my cellphone at a stoplight, I didn’t think I was also a criminal.
To be clear: I was not texting, talking, or emailing, but was enabling the Bluetooth connection to receive calls via my car’s audio system. My elderly mother is nearing the end, and I am in constant communication with her caregivers.
I had turned off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on my cellphone while I was in an unsecure environment at the car shop, and realized five minutes into my drive home that I hadn’t changed the settings. One screen tap later, I learned I was breaking California’s cellphone law.
I am now facing a court appearance, and/or paying a fine of maybe $150, according to a quick online search, but no points marring my driving record.
In hopes of sparing others a similar traffic ticket, I share verbatim what the San Mateo police officer handed me on a sheet entitled, “California’s Cell Phone Law.”
• While driving, you cannot use a cellphone or similar electronic communication device while holding it in your hand. If the device is used in a hands-free manner, such as speakerphone or voice commands, that is legal but never while holding it.
• Using communication systems built into the vehicle by the manufacturer is legal.
• To be legal, the phone or device must be placed in a mount attached either on the dashboard, center console, or a seven-inch square section in the lower right corner of the windshield, or in a five-inch square section in the lower left corner of the windshield nearest the driver. The mounting or device placement cannot hinder the driver’s view.
• While driving, you can swipe or tap the screen one time while it is in the mount in order to activate or deactivate a feature or function. It is illegal to use multiple taps of swipes such as done while texting, entering information, or scrolling.
• The law applies at stop signs and stop lights, just like when you are driving. Pull over to a safe parking space to handle your business.
• Drivers under the age of 18 may not use any mobile communication device at all, whether hands-free or hand-held.
• You may use a hand-held cellphone for true emergency purposes to call law enforcement, fire department, health care provider or other legitimate emergency services agency.”
Woodside resident Kate Daly is a contributing writer for The Almanac.
For what it’s worth, it’s possible to activate bluetooth on an iPhone via Siri (“hey Siri, turn on bluetooth”).
Thank you for sharing. I am constantly amazed by how many drivers I see holding phones in their hands while driving (as though speaker phone somehow = hands-free)–and staring down at a phone in their lap at stoplights, oblivious to the world around them. This is how you miss seeing a pedestrian about to step into a crosswalk, or the driver in front of you who suddenly hits the brakes. Let’s all do better.
I do think that technology is improving and will help us in this regard. For example, in our car, you cannot type on the screen while driving–you are limited to using voice commands. More of this–along with better self-awareness/self-control–will make our streets a lot safer for everyone.
I wish the cops were more aggressive about enforcing distracted laws (and distracted driving common sense). Distracted drivers are a hazard to themselves, to other drivers, and especially to pedestrians. Pedestrian fatalities in the USA have soared over the past 10 years and it is no coincidence that Apple recently released their 10th anniversary iphone.