Beginning January 1, 2013, California drivers will once again be able to send text messages while behind the wheel. The catch, however, is that the text message must be dictated through a voice-activated device or application. Drivers may also listen to (but not read) text messages received while behind the wheel.
The change in the law comes three years after use of a hand-held cell phone while driving was banned completely in California, successfully limiting the number of car accidents caused by distracted drivers. A study by the University of California, Berkley's Safe Transportation Research and Education Center found that the distracted driving ban helped save lives. Fatal car accidents blamed on distracted drivers using a hand-held cell phone decreased by almost 50 percent two years after the ban took effect.
Assemblyman Jeff Miller, who sponsored the hands-free texting bill, says the new legislation will allow Californian's to take advantage of new technology that the current anti-texting law prohibits. But, there is some confusion as to what qualifies as legal use of a mobile phone for texting.
"Hands-Free Is The Key"
Drivers can still be ticketed if they are caught actually handling their phone - as in trying to turn on a mobile device, reading a text, selecting an app that allows for hands-free texting while behind the wheel or even using the Apple iPhone's Siri, which requires a button to be depressed to function.
"Hands-free is the key," chimed California Highway Patrol (CHP) spokesperson Jaime Coffee.
Some argue that even hands-free texting dangerously diverts a driver's attention from the task at hand - navigating a vehicle safely from point A to point B. Whether the new law will lead to a rise in distracted driving-related injuries and fatalities remains to be seen in the coming year.
Source: Insurance Journal, "Calif. Drivers Will Be Allowed To Text, With Restrictions," July 16, 2012
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