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Business up as hands-free cell law looms
Chuck Kirman / Star staff Alex Ramirez of South Coast Wireless in Camarillo installs a hands-free phone system. A new law takes effect July 1.
Chuck Kirman / Star staff A cell phone is tested after a hands-free system is installed. Some motorists are paying from $350 to $750 to have the car systems installed.
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More from Tech & ScienceBusiness is brisk for Alex Ramirez these days.
More and more people are dropping by Ramirez's South Coast Wireless shop in Camarillo as a new California law is set to take effect July 1. The law bars motorists from talking on hand-held cell phones while driving.
"My business has definitely picked up," Ramirez said as he finished installing a hands-free cell phone system in yet another car this week.
Customers pay Ramirez anywhere from $350 to $750 to have their vehicles outfitted with some of the latest hands-free cell technology. This includes a dock for cell phones along with a link to speakers. The systems also come with voice-activation dialing, allowing Ramirez's customers to keep their hands on the wheels and their eyes on the road when calling people.
While the new law does not specifically bar motorists from using their hands to dial numbers, officials are strongly encouraging drivers to avoid it.
The law allows a motorist to use an earpiece or headset, provided one ear is left free — a cheaper way to comply with the new rules.
Foot traffic has also picked up at the Radio Shack store on Arneill Road in Camarillo, which sells the earpieces and headsets. "There's definitely more interest," said store manager Pat Wright.
The store sells Bluetooth-equipped wireless earpieces from $30 to $130, she said. "People are coming in and checking out the different options," said Wright, who expects sales to pick up as July 1 approaches.
California will join New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Utah and Washington in requiring motorists to use hands-free phones.
The law comes as numerous studies show it's more dangerous to drive while using a cell phone. Several studies suggest it's as dangerous as drunken driving for some motorists.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to put motorists at ease when he signed California's new law in 2006, saying, "You don't have to stop talking on your cell phone, but use a headset or use a speaker system, and you will be fine."
Yet recent research shows the real danger does not lie with the simple act of holding a cell phone while driving. What matters is where the motorists' minds are at — whether they're concentrating on the road or the conversation.
In fact, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta drafted a letter in 2003 warning that hands-free cell phone laws would not make driving safer.
"Overwhelmingly, research worldwide indicates that both hand-held and hands-free cell phones increase the risk of a crash," Mineta wrote. He recommended that states not adopt such laws because they "may erroneously imply that hands-free phones are safe to use while driving."
Victoria Pozzi, a Camarillo woman who brought the family car to Ramirez's shop to have a hands-free system installed, agreed it is dangerous to use a cell phone while driving.
"The best thing might be to just not allow it at all," Pozzi said. But she wonders how realistic this would be, given the popularity and widespread use of cell phones.
If people are going to use cell phones while driving, then at least they should be required to use hands-free systems, she said. "It's probably the best we can hope for now."
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Posted by nitzer93 on April 18, 2008 at 6:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
good! it's about time someone did something about the morons driving around while talking on the phone!
Posted by just_a_thought on April 18, 2008 at 7:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I also agree with this new law....its about time! Now that guy in the picture just needs to remove all of the garbage hanging from his rearview mirror. Doesn't he know that is also against the law and he can be pulled over and cited for it?!?!
Posted by just_a_thought on April 18, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Clarification to above post: I was not referring to the man installing the hands-free device, my comment was in reference to the pic of the guy driving the car with the cell phone to his ear on the first page!
Posted by del on April 18, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What is really needed is a device that shuts off phone communication when all doors are shut and the engine running.
Talking on the phone, hands-free or not is just to distracting.
Posted by Optimist on April 18, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And they call us the "Free World"... They might as well be like Kumba Kenti and chop off the other foot
Posted by TimeArrow on April 18, 2008 at 9 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember one accident where a young lady was texting her boyfriend while pulling out of a parking space into a traffic lane. Both her car and another were severely damaged. I believe the CHP will do the best they can to enforce the law ... but they are severely under-staffed when one considers the size of their beats.
Posted by wdwinder1 on April 18, 2008 at 12:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Helloooo, Nitzer and Justathought, they will still be yacking on the phone. Don't you get it? This doesn't stop you from using the phone, only holding it. So now everyone will be able to eat that big mack, suck on the soda or coffee, and still talk while they drive. Some people might actually use the now free hand to signal a turn occasionally, but i'm not holding my breath. This law will merely generate new revenue for CHP, thats all.
Posted by shaver_one on April 18, 2008 at 1:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My confusion:
This law goes into effect July 1, 2008. It was signed into law in 2006. Why did it take soooo long to be enacted? How many people would have been saved from death, or serious injury, if the law had come into effect on January 1, 2007?
I see people all over this city, making unsafe turns at crosswalks, with pedestrians in those crosswalks, not paying attention because they are talking on their cells.
This law would have made better sense, had it been enacted earlier.
Oh well. Better late than never, I guess.
Posted by keepin_it_real on April 19, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
DEL--I disagree. As long as you have a headset or any kind of hands free device, it isn't any different than having a passenger in the car.
If you are driving and your kids are arguing in the back seat, that can be more distracting than talking on the phone with a hands free device. If you even have a grown up sitting in the seat next to you, and you are showing them around town, don't you think that would be destracting? How many times have you done that?
I do agree, if you are holding a phone up to one ear and you are talking and the other hand on the wheel, that is very dangerous. Texting is another thing. I don't know about any of you, but I can't even imagine texting and driving at the same time. Maybe because I hardly text at all, I am a dork when it comes to that. How any one can text and drive at the same time is beyond me, now that is dangerous!!!!!
I don't have much need to talk on my cell and drive at the same time, but I have a bluetooth for when I am traveling just in case, and see no problem with that.
Posted by Fred on April 19, 2008 at 4:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Driving? Who is driving? I am sitting in traffic and it is an efficient way to contact others, etc. We are already addicted to it and arent about to give it up. (I do agree that it is a distraction and probably results in more accidents)
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