You can find phone holders for cars for less than $20, making it a very cheap investment compared to paying fines. In California, using your cell phone while driving isn`t just dangerous, it`s often illegal. And a new law passed in 2020 (which came into effect on July 1, 2021) makes the penalties even harsher than in previous laws. California`s cell phone law now cracks down on this common distraction for drivers, and if you use a cell phone while driving in the Golden State, you risk getting a ticket. We said goodbye to President Obama. We`re waiting to find out what (something crazy?) might come out of the White House (or the new president`s Twitter feed) next, and as mid-January approaches, it`s time to see the fruits of our voices and laws that went into effect last year. The reason California has cell phone laws is that cell phones pose a significant danger to anyone on the street. There are three types of distractions: visual, manual, and cognitive. Using a mobile phone while driving involves all three types of distractions. You use your eyes to see the screen. You use your hands to dial the number or send a message. After all, you use your brain to read a message. Therefore, the use of mobile phones is extremely dangerous when you are sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Because distracting behaviors with a phone like dialing, talking, or texting are so dangerous (it increases the risk of crashing three times), the California Office of Traffic Safety launched the “Put down your phone. Just Drive public awareness and awareness campaign. Like the “Silence the Distraction” campaign launched in 2015, it aims to appeal to smartphone culture and a younger audience, especially between the ages of 16 and 24. The youngest and most inexperienced drivers are most at risk when driving distracted. The campaign points out that all the features of a phone can be distracting: with an app, shuffle music or play videos, look at social media, maps or photos. They are all dangerous and illegal when you`re driving, and the safest thing drivers can do is put away the phone and drive. Previous versions of California`s cell phone law only prohibited “textual” communications, but the new version of the law bans all features of wireless devices, so it`s illegal to use social media, program your GPS, use a web browser, or other cell phone feature that can`t be done hands-free without having to take your eyes off the road. All of these statistics have played an important role in getting states like California to pass hands-free cell phone laws. Currently, no state bans the full use of cell phones while driving, but states such as California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Washington DC, and Virginia do not allow drivers to use cell phones while driving. If you`re a younger or newer driver, 36 states prohibit you from using your phone. A complete list of states where prohibitions and other laws are in place can be found on this Wikipedia page. There is also evidence that the laws of Oregon and Washington have led to greater enforcement.
In these states, the basic penalties are much higher ($136 in Washington for first offenses and $265 in Oregon, compared to $20 in California) and they are increasing rapidly. In Oregon, a third offense could result in a $2,000 discovery, a criminal complaint and jail time. If this happens to you, you will have to go to court, where a lawyer will try to prove that your negligence was the cause of the accident. Negligence in a personal injury lawsuit is sometimes difficult to prove in California, but a cell phone ticket helps build a case against you. You can only use it hands-free, like hands-free or voice commands, but never hold it down. Any driver under the age of 18 is not allowed to use a mobile phone for any reason. In the age of smartphones, people are more connected than ever, but they`re also trying to stay connected when they shouldn`t: behind the wheel. And it`s not just mobile phones. Distracted driving is anything that distracts your eyes or thoughts from the road or takes your hands off the wheel, especially if you`re texting or using your phone. California`s law is less clear than the Laws of Washington and Oregon on exactly when it`s illegal to send text messages while driving. In the other two states, it is illegal to “hold and use” a mobile phone, even if a car is temporarily stopped, for example at a traffic light.
While it`s illegal in California to text your phone while it`s temporarily stopped, the law only states that it`s illegal to use it. “Detention” is not explicitly prohibited – thanks for that, mobile phone and car companies. This makes it easier for a driver to argue than he has not used it. Add to that how hard it is to see what people are actually doing in their cars – thank you, illegally tinted windows everywhere. The statistics are also staggering. According to the Center for Disease Control, more than eight people are killed every day by distracted driving in the United States and nearly 1200 people are injured. At the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, they say that in 2014 (the latest year for statistics), more than 3,100 people were killed and 431,000 people were injured in accidents directly attributable to distracted driving. The statistics for young people aged 15 to 19 are even more frightening. According to NHTSA, ten percent of all drivers in these age groups reported being distracted at the time of an accident. This group has the highest proportion of drivers who were distracted at the time of an accident. Both organizations define distracted driving as anything that diverts your attention from the road in front of you. This includes things like setting the temperature, changing the radio station, eating or using a mobile phone.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) today released a report highlighting the futility of California`s laws on the use of mobile phones while driving. Texting while driving is illegal in most places, but California law has not resulted in a significant drop in crash rates, while similar laws have made a difference in Oregon and Washington. On top of that, mobile phones are more common today than they were five or ten years ago, and you have a perfect storm of problems. According to the NHTSA, the percentage of drivers who contacted or falsified a mobile device via SMS increased from 1.7% in 2013 to 2.2% in 2014. This means that at any given time in the U.S., about 660,000 drivers are doing something on their phones while driving. This number has remained the same since 2010. Almost every state has some sort of ban on cell phones. California prohibits the use of SMS at any time. It also prohibits the use of handheld devices. This means that drivers cannot make phone calls, hold their phones or send text messages at any time when driving a motor vehicle.
Drivers under the age of 18 can`t use a cell phone while driving for any reason – not even hands-free. What happens if you get a cell phone ticket in California? What are the consequences and can you fight the ticket? Read on to learn everything you need to know about these and other issues related to California`s cell phone laws. Currently, mobile phone tickets cost nothing against the driving record.
