Howdy webriders! Dr. VW here. Today’s Auto Adventure is going to be a little different. I’m going to rant a little about the newest automotive law to the hit the streets in sunny California. So fasten your seat belts (it’s the law too ya know) and hang on, ’cause todays rant is going to be a little bumpy.

Cell Phones and Driving.

Most of us do it, and we see it everyday. It’s a pretty common occurrence in everyday traffic; we’ve all shouted and laid down on the horn because Einstein is jabbering away on his razr. As you may or may not be aware, starting July 1st, 2008, it will be illegal for someone, regardless of age, to use their cell phone while driving unless they’re a trucker, emergency personnel, or you’re calling the police or another emergency service. The law states that a police officer can pull you over if he sees you talking on a phone without a hands-free device, and that he can issue you a ticket for the violation.

On the surface, this law actually seems to be pretty good. It doesn’t make talking on the phone while in the car illegal, it just makes it illegal to physically hold the phone to your ear while you’re driving. Hands free devices, like bluetooth and speaker phone, are totally legitimate alternatives. Is it a little annoying to have to go out an buy one of these devices? Yeah, but in most cases phones come with a wired hands free set, and most are equipped with speaker phone anyway. The real issue I, and many other drivers, have with this law, is the unfair differences that are applied to minors.

According to the law, minors (under age 18, emancipated or not), are not allowed to use ANY phones, hands-free devices, etc, while driving. Firstly, I’m one of those people that disagrees on principle with laws that affect certain people differently than others. What makes an 18 year old driver, who’s been driving since 16, any more distracted than an 82 year old elderly driver, who can barely see the road? What about adult drivers that are getting their licenses for the first time? Are they any better experienced to deal with the distraction? What about loud stereo’s? What makes them any more or less distracting? Why not outlaw the elderly, ban stereo’s for new drivers, and extend the limitation laws to ALL new drivers, and not just minors?

Furthermore, I’m also one of those people that believes that the law screws over minors; they expect them to be fully responsible for the laws and their actions, the same as any adult driver, and yet they make harsher, special laws that apply only to them! The number of times an officer has condescendingly pointed out that I have the same responsibilities as an adult while driving is balance by my question, “Oh yeah? Then how come I have to follow laws they don’t?” If their privilege to drive is supposed to mean that they are being treated as adults, then they should have the same rights and laws as adults. They can’t have it both ways.

Aside from those personal issues, whoever wrote up this law was living in a dream world. How, exactly, is an officer supposed to catch a minor talking on a hands free device? Excluding the possibility that an eagle eye officer will see the tiny bluetooth ear piece, there are a TON of new cars, like the Nissan Altima for example, that utilize a bluetooth connection through the stereo and speaker system. How exactly does an officer go about catching and proving that the minor was using this technology? For all he knows, it could be music the minor was listening to, and he was singing in the car, not talking! Common sense is not one of this laws’ strong suits. While the law says an officer cannot pull anyone over on the suspicion of using a hands-free device, everyone knows that this will be one of the things officers try to “get you” for.

Even more ludicrous is the assumption that kids and parents are going to abide by this law. How often has a parent gotten a cell phone for their child on the assumption that they can “check up” on them whenever? Parents aren’t going to like being ignored with the old “I was driving” excuse for very long before wising up. Real life situations, like picking up a sibling left somewhere, or getting groceries on the way home, all go out the window under this law, which makes you wonder whether anyone is really going to follow it. What about a sick adult relative? Making a call to another adult isn’t technically an “emergency number” but who’s going to argue that it’s urgent enough to make a freakin phone call? There are plenty of us who manage to drive and talk without wrapping our car around a pole.

While I could continue on in this vein for a quite a while, I think the law, the wording, and the facts speak for themselves. Silly as it may be, it shall come to pass on July 1st, so this is Dr. VW, reminding you all to obey the law and avoid a silly ticket. -Out.