Whether it’s trying to find ways to avoid being caught or just refusing to make calls, California’s new cell phone law is making people adjust their driving habits after being in effect for one month.
The law, which went into effect on July 1, prohibits drivers from talking on their cell phones without a hands-free device. However, text messaging for those 18 years and older is allowed.
“It doesn’t [affect me] because I just put my phone down if I see a cop or I put it on speaker phone,” said Doug Watkins, a junior history major. But for other students the law’s affect has been more significant.
“It has affected me a lot because like I really don’t have a Bluetooth,” said Javon Else-Cooley, a sophomore computer engineer major. “So when I’m like out driving and I need to call my parents when an accident occurs or something I won’t be able to do it because I’ll get a ticket.”
According to the website for the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the law allows drivers to make emergency calls without a hands-free device to emergency service agencies.
So far the University Police of Cal State Long Beach, which patrols the area on and around campus, has issued 13 citations for violations of the cell phone law. No grace period was given by the University Police, said Captain Solorzano, since drivers had been notified about the law since its passage in 2006.
The cell phone law does not outlaw text messaging while driving. “I don’t think it makes really good sense because I can’t take important calls and instead I have to text the person,” said Chaitva Chandrashekara, an electrical engineering grad student. “It distracts me all the more than taking calls.”
For Maribel Macias, freshman biology major, the law hasn’t made a difference in her driving and cell phone habits. “Actually, I don’t talk on the phone when I drive – even before the law,” she said. “So it hasn’t really affected me.” Drivers who get caught talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device will be fined $20 for their first offense and a $50 fine for the offenses thereafter.