News Room: SB 681: Hands Free Cell Phones

The lawmaker who wrote California’s hands-free cellphone laws says too many motorists are ignoring it. He’s backing legislation that will make the fines and penalties a lot tougher.

Even though the hands-free law has been around for more than three years, Californians are still breaking the law calling, texting and checking emails on their handheld device while behind the wheel.

“Probably 60 or 70 percent of Californians are complying. That means another 30 to 40 percent of folks out there could do a better job,” said California Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto).

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Ronn Owens interviews Joe about hands-free cell phone use while driving and new statistics revealing the percentage of accidents caused by mobile phone use.

Click here to listen to the interview (MP3)

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This week KLIV’s Jason Bennert is profiling people who made a significant local impact in Santa Clara County during the 2000s.

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Long before cellphones became common, industry pioneers were aware of the risks of multitasking behind the wheel. read more ...

State Sen. Joe Simitian -- the lawmaker responsible for California's "hands-free" cell phone law -- is one of about 200 people participating in a summit on distracted driving today (Sept. 30) in Washington, D.C. read more ...

Sacramento – State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) will be participating in U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s Distracted Driving Summit this week in Washington, D.C. The Department of Transportation has invited 200 participants from around the country to determine the best ways to reduce the number of crashes and deaths due to distracted driving. read more ...

Some states have overcome opposition to pass restrictions. Joe Simitian, a state senator in California, managed to get his hands-free legislation, an effort he began in 2001, passed in 2006. read more ...

Convinced that gripping a cell phone while driving would become illegal Sunday, a customer walked into Jacob Peykar’s wireless store to beat the deadline.

Peykar said Thursday that he tried to tell his persistent customer that the hands-free law was still a year away, but to no avail. The man spent $300 at the Woodland Hills shop to deck out his wife, kids and mother with blinking blue earpieces.

“He was so convinced, I almost believed him, too,” Peykar said.

But Peykar’s customer and lots of other Californians are wrong. The law will take effect July 1 — of 2008.

Full Story on LA Daily News Website

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