 |
 |
 |
 |
You've found the hidden movie tickets for Ghost Town!
Click here and your name will be registered at the Press Tribune to pick up your tickets!
For more details, Click Here
Click here and your name will be registered at the Press Tribune to pick up your tickets!
For more details, Click Here
Citations issued as new cell law takes effect
|
California Highway Patrol officers and local law enforcement are helping motorists adjust to the new cell phone law that took effect Tuesday.
CHP officers conducted roving and fixed patrols issuing multiple citations throughout Placer County starting at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The law requires drivers 18 and over to use hands-free cell phone devices while operating a vehi-cle. Those under 18 are now prohibited from using any cell phone while driving.
In Placer County, officers were stationed from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the intersection of Auburn-Folsom Road and Douglas Boulevard in Granite Bay. Officers also were to be posted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 80 at Highway 174 in Colfax.
Kelly Baraga, spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol, said during the patrols on Auburn Folsom conducted by CHP, Roseville and Lincoln police and the Placer County Sheriff’s Department, officers made 47 cellular phone contact stops, which resulted in eight citations and 39 verbal warn-ings.
First-time offenders face fines ranging from $20 to $75, once bail and penalty costs are factored in, according to the California Highway Patrol. Second citations can range from $150 to $190.
“We are surprised that we had as few people with cell phones up their ear,” Baraga said. “In that area you find a high percentage of people on their phone, but it seems people are heeding the warning and are aware that we are enforcing the law.”
Drivers in the Auburn area were still rushing to reach compliance at zero hour.
“I think it’s a good law, “ said Michael Johnson of Grass Valley who purchased a new Jawbone bluetooth headset for his iPhone in Auburn Tuesday. “I’ve seen drivers on Highway 49 swerving in their lane and I’m thinking they’re drunk. Then I pull up to pass and they’re actually on their cell phone.”
Baraga said motorists have been making an apparent effort to reach compliance, but a few are just unaware of the extent of the law.
“We are finding that people still have some questions,” Baraga said. “Some people were seen using Nextels and push-to-talk features. Those are still illegal unless you are a commercial driver. Everyone else has to have a hands-free device.”
The level of future patrols is also going to depend on who is abiding by the law.
“It we see a high level of compliance from the public, we probably won’t have as many check-points,” Baraga said. “But if we start to see people getting (lackadaisical) and we find that officers are issuing more citations, we may consider another joint operation like the ones we saw (Tuesday).”
Journal Photo Editor Ben Furtado contributed to this report. The Journal’s Jenna Nielsen can be reached at jennan@goldcountrymedia.com.
Click here to find out more information about the new wireless telephone laws.
Not registered? Click here
|
Share this
|
I have a big problem with this new law! How can talking on a cell phone be any more dangerous while driving than eating, combing your hair, putting on make-up, reading a book or the paper (I've seen that one many times while the driver is tearing down I-80), text-messaging, and my absolute favorite; driving with a dog on your lap! Where is all the evidence that driving and talking on a cell phone are one iota more dangerous than these other behaviors!
So, I buy an ear bud and use it while driving and talking on the phone while also, eating, putting a different CD in my car stereo, text messaging my mother, petting my dog who is also sitting on my lap........come on, does using that hands-free device really make me any more safe?! How can it??! This new law is a sham!
I don't believe for one minute that this new law will make the roads safer. Being a law-abiding citizen, I stimulated the economy by buying a Bluetooth speakerphone. If talking on the cellphone is dangerous, it is because the conversation interferes with concentrating on the road. Handsfree devices mean one can still converse. Now that I have to pay attention to another device, and take my eyes off the road to do it, I have additional distractions. I believe it is much safer for me to talk on my cellphone the standard way, and I think the new requirements will make the roads more dangerous. I am not a multitasker, but talking on the cellphone for 2 minutes 5 days a week is not much of a task. Turning the speakerphone off and on every time I enter or exit the car, so my phone will work when I am within 30 feet of the car is extremely distracting to me. It takes my mind away from the matter at hand, which is driving. God save us from the multitasking text messagers, who are free to engage in their idiocy.
I guess we will get sucked for money one way or the other, and I would prefer not to pay for traffic tickets. I have a perfect driving record (and a long one). Let's hope I can keep it that way with my new distractions and those of my fellow drivers. I must say that I would be even more distracted if I got one of those earpieces, like my husband's. You have to fiddle with the thing a lot, and that is much worse than a speakerphone.
I was on my handsfree speakerphone tonight for a 1 minute call, and I did not notice until I had hung up that there was a Placer County Sheriff at the stoplight to my left. I have never missed what is going on around me when holding my phone to my ear. I am very distressed by this new law.
Personally, I have no problems with a law against cell phone use while driving. Unless it is an emergency, do any of us really NEED to be on the phone, or is it a luxury? My only issue is with the fact that this law does not seem to apply to police officers. During my ride home yesterday, I did not see anyone using their cell phones, other than two police officers. If there is a law enacted, it should apply to all equally, not just the average citizen. I can quite honestly understand that they might truly have that need to use a cell phone while driving, but why should'nt they have to use a handsfree device like anyone else would?
Congratulations 'Big Left'. The nanny-state wins another one. Remember...THEY know how to live your life better than you do.
Big Brother is watching.