Founder and Managing Partner
On January 1, 2017, California joined the ranks of a small group of 14 states aware of public safety issues related to cell phone use on the road, enacting a new cell phone law that bans drivers from hold and operate” their cell phones and “handheld” electronic devices while driving.
Specifically, California’s cell phone law states that “a person shall not operate a motor vehicle while holding and operating a cellular telephone or wireless electronic device.”
Even after decades of evolution in the use of mobile phones and the laws associated with their use, we are still trying to find the safest way to fit them into our lives, especially when it comes to situations where certain distractions might put us off. at risk Thinking in the specific context of being behind the wheel, what are the rules for making phone calls in public places? To answer emails during meals? And, above all, to use them while driving?
Most smartphones today offer the ability to control them using voice commands, having them read out new messages, letting users dictate their responses, and even having them dial a number for you. While it’s clearly a step toward greater safety behind the wheel (because it’s now possible to leave your phone in your car’s cup holder or dashboard without distracting you from taking your hands off the wheel or your eyes off the road), this one doesn’t seem like it. be the ultimate solution to a problem.
Recent studies have shown that, with or without manual use of the device, and even with eyes focused on the road without turning to look at a screen or on the road, mobile phone use while driving causes more accidents than vehicle abuse. alcohol or drugs. As revealed by these studies, any method of using the phone while behind the wheel is equally dangerous, since it is not the fact of holding the phone that causes accidents, but the negligence and mental distraction that involves carrying out two activities at the same time.