California: Cell phone laws, legislation
Last updated: February 19, 2010 · Print this report
Current prohibitions:
Adult drivers (18 and older) banned from using cell phones unless they employ hands-free devices.
Drivers may not use wireless devices to “to write, send, or read a text-based communication” — as in text messaging.
Minors are prohibited from using wireless phones while driving — with or without hands-free accessories
School bus operators and transit bus drivers prohibited from using cell phones while driving.
Cell phone and text-messaging fines: First offense $20. Other convictions, $50. “With court costs and penalties, the true costs of those tickets are $76 and $190, respectively,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
2010 cell phone, texting legislation:
None
2010 notes:
State Sen. Joe Simitian says his law banning drivers’ use of handheld cell phones has resulted in “at least 700 fewer fatalities and 75,000 to 100,000 fewer collisions each year.” He said Feb. 17 that California Highway Patrol data show “an immediate drop” of 40 percent to 50 percent in accidents linked to cell phone use.
“We’ve been able to reduce the number of deaths and crashes even as we’ve seen more drivers and more cell phones out on the highway,” said Simitian, D-Palo Alto.
Simitian reportedly is considering submitting legislation that would triple distracted driving fines and add points against a violator’s license. He has not yet submitted that legislation for the 2010 session.
The California Highway Patrol says it has issued more than 231,000 tickets for use of handheld cell phones (as of January 2010). The cell phone law went into effect July 1, 2008, and enforcement of the texting ban began Jan. 1, 2009.
Previous cell phone legislation notes:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 33, the hands-free cell phone bill, into law in September 2006.
State Sen. Joe Simitian had been trying to pass the bill for six years. He was resisted by all of the major cell phone providers except Verizon, although in the end only Sprint protested the action. After SB 33 passed, the senator later succeeded with SB 1613, which places the cell phone and texting limits on teen drivers.
Then Simitian added the ban on text-messaging while driving to the state’s lawbooks in late September 2008, when Schwarzenegger signed the legislation. SB 28 was approved and sent to the governor on Aug. 21, 2008. It took effect Jan. 1, 2009.
View the posts:
Simitian defends California cell phone ban
California spikes drivers’ text messaging
California’s hands-free law now in effect
Is there a web site or call in number where a citizen can report cell phone use while driving, something like the 1-800-EXHAUST for cell phones????
Stanley … Haven’t heard of one, and I doubt the cops would have the time or inclination to chase after tips. In a perfect world, there would be a service that would send a letter to the violators once someone reports them, like the smog line. Thanks for the question.
Well, with the way things are going here in San Francisco, anything is possible… MUNI, our City transit service, is apparently now fitted with a couple different cameras in strategic positions on the exterior of some vehicles and is snapping pictures of cars – and their license plates – that are parked in red-zoned bus stops when a bus pulls up and is unable to pull into the zone because a car is parked in it. People are shocked to receive their photo and a citation later in the mail – the citations run about $300 I believe. A little offtopic, but just demonstration of that anything is possible.