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Drive Now, Talk Later: States Crack Down on Cell Phone Use
Hands off that cell phone if you're driving in California and Washington! New laws in both states have gone into effect making it illegal to talk on a hand-held device while driving. The states join Connecticut, New York and New Jersey that already have similar laws on the books.
What's up with putting down phones? Safety. According to the Federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "driver inattention" is a factor in a quarter of car accidents--and yakking on a hand-held phone is a big reason for inattention. A study done by the University of Utah revealed that people using cell phones drove as badly as drunk drivers--and that included hands-free devices such as headsets.
The new laws are part of a nationwide patchwork of legislation. In states that ban hand-held phones, it'll still be OK to use a hands-free device--but if you're under a certain age in 17 states, it's illegal to use any phone while driving. In four states, police can pull over a driver using a hand-held, but in Washington, drivers can only be ticketed for phone use after they've been pulled over for another reason.
What's next? Text! Four states ban text-messaging while driving, and other states are working to ban it. The goal is to keep drivers' minds on traffic, hands on the wheel--and eyes on the road.
I'm Isaac and that's what happened in technology this week.
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