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Posted
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msmash
e 05, 2025 @09:45AM
from the how-about-that dept.
California law prohibits "operating" a mobile phone while driving. And that makes it illegal for a driver to hold a cellphone in order to look at a map, a state appeals court ruled this week. From a report: In a 2016 law intended to strengthen previous restrictions, "the Legislature intended to prohibit all handheld functions of wireless telephones while driving" and "to encourage drivers to keep their eyes on the road," said the 6th District Court of Appeal.
A Superior Court panel had reversed a driver's conviction for a traffic infraction and $158 fine in San Jose, ruling that the law prohibited only "actively using or manipulating" a hand-held phone for actions such as talking or listening, browsing the internet or playing video games while driving. The appeals court reinstated the conviction and the fine, in a ruling that could set a statewide standard unless it is narrowed or overturned on appeal.
You may like to read:
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
bybugs2squash ( 1132591 ) writes:
maps are every bit as distracting as texts. put the phone in a holder
byValgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 ) writes:
maps are every bit as distracting as texts.
So is that GIANT TOUCHSCREEN right in the middle of the dashboard you need to control your AC and wipers, but somehow, this is OK.
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byjacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) writes:
It being OK is up to a perspective but it is absolutely 100% preferable to holding your phone in one hand while driving; larger screen easier to read at a glance, both hands available to drive.
bylarryjoe ( 135075 ) writes:
It being OK is up to a perspective but it is absolutely 100% preferable to holding your phone in one hand while driving; larger screen easier to read at a glance, both hands available to drive.
The main problem with the maps on the phone is the distraction to the eyes. Glancing at a fixed point (like a built-in screen or a mirror) takes less time than looking at a phone that will be in a different position each time, especially when that phone is held in a non-optimal position that requires tilting one's head and not just shifting one's eyes.
byjacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) writes:
That's my point??????
byLocal ID10T ( 790134 ) writes:
It being OK is up to a perspective but it is absolutely 100% preferable to holding your phone in one hand while driving; larger screen easier to read at a glance, both hands available to drive.
This is the part that is relevant to the law. The phone is allowed in a holder "on the dashboard, the lower windshield, or the center console, as long as it doesn't obstruct the driver's view or interfere with the vehicle's controls" and can be used "hands free" (speakerphone, voice commands, integrated controls).
Reaching out and manipulating the phone with your hand while it is in the holder can result in a "distracted or reckless driving" citation. People used to get tickets for "distracted or reckless
byJunta ( 36770 ) writes:
There's a difference between slapping a stick that is in one of a few very set positions to another of of the few very fixed positions without even looking and having to fumble around with a handheld device that also has to be looked at while you are futzing about with it.
Besides, most drivers can't handle stick, or more accurately they can't handle clutch.
bycayenne8 ( 626475 ) writes:
I guess really the only time you reallly might need to handle your phone is to change the songs playing on it with Spotify, etc....
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
I don't have to fiddle with it. The whole article is about maps. All I'm doing while holding the phone is giving myself the ability to bring the map into my eyeline as needed so I can keep my eyes on the road.
Keeping my eyes on the road should be illegal?
bygardyloo ( 512791 ) writes:
Eyeline != focus. You're not keeping your eyes on the road.
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
Neither are people who are using hands free devices to put the phone up on the dashboard.
Are you dense?
byRockDoctor ( 15477 ) writes:
Over 90% of drivers cha handle stick. Less than 10% are the gimps and cripples who go for the retard-license for automatics only.
Humans being the same everywhere on average, it's the same in America, right?
bydjinn6 ( 1868030 ) writes:
If it was legal to hold the phone, then you could hold at eye level and keep your peripheral vision on the road. However, now you have hold it below, looking down and away from traffic.
byjacks smirking reven ( 909048 ) writes:
Are we pulling out the "Jump to Conclusions Mat" because that's a stupid stretch to take from my statement. Are we incapable of dealing with anything but absolutes today?
bySmonster ( 2884001 ) writes:
I once drove a manual transmission SUV down a canyon with one hand, because I had broken the other one. I then proceeded to drive that vehicle one handed two a from work five days a week over the next six weeks. It was my right wrist that was broken too so I had to reach across my body to shift. All completely legal. The issue with phones, as I see it, is not so much that it takes your other hand. It is that it takes your attention off the road. The modern smartphone is incredibly good at distraction. I thi
byYuppieScum ( 1096 ) writes:
That giant touchscreen is attached to the car so, yeah, there's a difference.
If the driver in the case had spent five bucks on a vent-mounted phone clip, things would never have got to this point. However, he chose to behave like a bell-end, and so was rightly found guilty.
FWIW, I think touch-screen controls for things like A/C, wipers, demist and audio volume are the stupidest idea in cars since... actually, I can't think of anything stupider.
Oh, wait. This was. [lelandwest.com]
byJunta ( 36770 ) writes:
He said "put the phone in a holder". You aren't holding the giant touchscreen.
I'll agree it kind of sucks, but at least you aren't using your hands to juggle a device while you really need them to steer.
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
"you only need one hand to steer" - everyone who's ever driven a stick
bySique ( 173459 ) writes:
As someone who exclusively drives stick, I disagree. Actually, in driving school, you get told to not switch gears in confusing situations.
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
If you break an arm, should you have to stop driving?
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
No, I'm talking about an automatic.
bySvnLyrBrto ( 62138 ) writes:
Ha! You should switch at a Mazda. They got it soooo right with the current 3. The central screen is reasonably sized; big enough but not huge. And it's not a touchscreen! They put in this wheel thing that you can spin, shift from side-to-side, and press down, to control CarPlay. It's right down there where I reach to shift anyway. AND they put the volume, favorites, and other infotainment controls down there too. They actually THOUGHT ABOUT THE UI, unlike just about every other auto manufacturer out
bydrinkypoo ( 153816 ) writes:
Ha! You should switch at a Mazda. They got it soooo right with the current 3. The central screen is reasonably sized; big enough but not huge. And it's not a touchscreen! They put in this wheel thing that you can spin, shift from side-to-side, and press down, to control CarPlay.
That's great for media, but garbage for any other kind of input. Is it really not a touch screen, or does it just have an additional control method? If it's the latter that's great, if it's the former you're celebrating poor usability.
bysid crimson ( 46823 ) writes:
Just rented a Mazda 3 last weekâ¦. The screen was a touchscreen. And the CarPlay controls there were crap compared to my wifeâ(TM)s Hyundai.
bythegarbz ( 1787294 ) writes:
So is that GIANT TOUCHSCREEN right in the middle of the dashboard you need to control your AC and wipers, but somehow, this is OK.
Never seen someone drop a giant touchscreen or fumble with its cable, or squint to read it, or hold it at waist height moving your entire head so you couldn't even see the road from the corner of your eyes. So yes, indeed, this is okay.
bystabiesoft ( 733417 ) writes:
Speak for yourself. My AC controls are actual physical buttons/knobs. Muscle memory lets me adjust without looking.
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
And the easiest way to do that is to bring the phone up near the center of your vision where the road is.
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
You know what's more distracting? Trying to figure out what lane you're supposed to be in while struggling to see every sign and not knowing where you are or how to get back if you take an exit or wondering if the wrong turn will take you on a 15 minute detour or if you'll have enough gas to make it, or...
Dumb laws for dumb people. If you can't drive, get off the fucking road.
byThe-Ixian ( 168184 ) writes:
If you are going into an unknown area, look at it in a map before you start driving. Either that or just allow time to make mistakes while keeping with the flow of traffic. Don't do stupid stuff like crossing 2 lanes of traffic or stopping suddenly or cutting off a lane of traffic while you try to nose in to a line for your intended exit. Just take the next exit and learn how to do it for next time...
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
None of that allays the distraction of those things happening. You're still spending a portion of your attention on those things. And that's the type of distraction that leads to mistakes.
Having a phone in my hand is not a distraction. If it is for you, then put the phone down. If I need a hand free, I can toss my phone to the passenger side at a moments notice. I don't remember this ever happening though, because I actually pay attention when driving, so I don't tend to get surprised.
It's far more distract
byMachineShedFred ( 621896 ) writes:
Let's be real - anything that takes your hands off the wheel increases risk of loss-of-control.
Get a $20 phone mount and save yourself the ticket, or the crash. For fucks sake.
byeepok ( 545733 ) writes:
If you NEED to use your smartphone, pull over and use it. Set it to give audible driving directions. Need to change directions on the fly? No you don't. Pull over and use the phone at a safe location.
Impairment, distraction, and unsafe speed for the conditions are the biggest killers on the road. Don't be a killer.
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byMisagon ( 1135 ) writes:
Except ... Please don't pull over into the bike lane while you're doing it, like some idiot did in front of me yesterday.
byOrangeTide ( 124937 ) writes:
Oof. It's why I don't ride my bike in San Jose. It's too deadly. Drivers are not looking where they are going.
bydevslash0 ( 4203435 ) writes:
Common sense, right? But then, common sense is not that common.
byIckyban ( 2713241 ) writes:
I see far too many people in MODERN CARS EQUIPPED WITH CARPLAY AND ANDROID AUTO with the driver holding their phone, looking at the screen. Sometimes it's in their laps!
I cannot understand how Instagram or whatever became more important that looking at the road. I wish I had a EMP gun to shoot at these fools.
byantdude ( 79039 ) writes:
And how does one pull over on a grid lock freeway near the center divider?
by4im ( 181450 ) writes:
There is such a thing as a hands-free kit. Fix that phone someplace accessible with such a kit, and you're good to go. But hold it to your ear for phoning, and you'll get fined. At least, that's pretty much it for most, if not all of Europe.
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bymjwx ( 966435 ) writes:
There is such a thing as a hands-free kit. Fix that phone someplace accessible with such a kit, and you're good to go. But hold it to your ear for phoning, and you'll get fined. At least, that's pretty much it for most, if not all of Europe.
Pretty much this. It's been the law for years in every developed country that any mobile device, even when used as a navigation aid, must be secured to the vehicle in a cradle (holder). Its the same in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, I'd be very surprised if it were not very similar over on the continent or in Japan. Most countries even specify that it must be able to be used without interacting with the screen.
I've a Kenu Airframe that attaches to the AC vent because I don't like anything obscuring my w
byCubicleZombie ( 2590497 ) writes:
I guess nobody remembers what it was like to unfurl a fanfold paper map across the whole dashboard at 70 mph.
When I'm using a map app, I hold the phone so that I can see the map and the road at the same time. Putting it in a holder means I have to look away from the road. I don't get it.
byspitzak ( 4019 ) writes:
The idiocracy is real...
bydrinkypoo ( 153816 ) writes:
When I'm using a map app, I hold the phone so that I can see the map and the road at the same time. Putting it in a holder means I have to look away from the road. I don't get it.
Don't get what, that there are holders which can be mounted in your line of sight?
byPetersko ( 564140 ) writes:
You do not look at the phone and the map at the same time. It's physically fucking impossible. The focal distances are vastly different. You suffer from two major problems. Trying to juggle focus and context switching.
And I don't know anybody who unfurled a map while driving a car. That's just plain stupid. And I grew up driving on highways and using maps.
byregistrations_suck ( 1075251 ) writes:
I guess nobody remembers what it was like to unfurl a fanfold paper map across the whole dashboard at 70 mph.
No, because I'm not a moron.
bywakeboarder ( 2695839 ) writes:
good luck enforcing this. People are ridiculous with phones and driving.
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
It's far more distracting to look away from the road to see the map. Better to have it in my face.
And to those saying you need two hands to drive, obviously you have never driven a stick.
bydrinkypoo ( 153816 ) writes:
And to those saying you need two hands to drive, obviously you have never driven a stick.
That's why I need two hands to drive. My hand is not usually on the stick, except when I'm in traffic. On the highway the wheel moves around enough that it's wise to use both hands to manage it, thanks to the amazing quality of American roads. This is not difficult, especially when using both hands, but it does require constant corrections. So either I need both hands so I can have one on the wheel and one on the stick, or I need both hands so I can have them both on the wheel, in order to drive safely.
bythegarbz ( 1787294 ) writes:
Have what in your face? It's far more distracting to have to manipulate a mobile phone, read on a small screen, and very much you do *NOT* put it in your face, most people look further away from the road with their phone than they do on their car navigation (which for me is in the middle of the steering wheel ... in my face).
byreanjr ( 588767 ) writes:
If I'm actually a worse driver with my phone, then I will be responsible for any accidents. If I don't cause any accidents while using my phone then there's no reason to stop me from using it.
Just because you suck at something doesn't mean we all do. Take responsibility for your own actions.
bystabiesoft ( 733417 ) writes:
I really doubt you mean that. Hopefully your insurer does not read this as next time you are the cause of an accident, expect to go bankrupt. Your insurer will cite this post as your full acceptance of any liability from the accident.
byjsepeta ( 412566 ) writes:
the car phone cradle market is the largest benefactor from this ruling
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byrally2xs ( 1093023 ) writes:
Yeah, it's easy to pass a law at everything you thing might be a problem, or even an opportunity to write more tickets and make more money, without a thought to what might happen because of it. So they don't see a problem with a guy that is suddenly lost 'cuz the exit he was intending to use is closed with an overturned semi, he can't look at the phone to route around it, and also knows that somewhere ahead is "that neighborhood" that you're likely to get carjacked if you're driving anything more valuable
byrally2xs ( 1093023 ) writes:
Match my record: 61 years, and 1 accident 15 years ago from someone dead stopped in the travel lane of Interstate 95 at midnight. Grazed her and damaged my right outside mirror and body work after a hero swerve to avoid hitting her square at 65 mph.
bybobthesungeek76036 ( 2697689 ) writes:
Are they allowed to use the microphone while driving? What a frickin' nanny state...
byalta ( 1263 ) writes:
TN does it already. They've gone as far as saying NO electronic devices. So now I'd get hit for using my HAM radio while driving.
byZak3056 ( 69287 ) writes:
As a licensed radio operator, you are eligible for emergency tags in the state of Tennessee. While that wouldn't insulate you fully from the effects of the law, I can't imagine law enforcement pulling over someone with emergency tags talking into a handheld radio, so this could be a solution to your problem.
bygwjgwj ( 727408 ) writes:
Does it mean, that you cannot use your pacemaker?
bysunderland56 ( 621843 ) writes:
If your pacemaker is handheld, you have pretty big medical issues.
bygwjgwj ( 727408 ) writes:
"1) A person, while operating a motor vehicle on any road or highway in this state, shall not: (A) Physically hold or support, with any part of the person's body, a
(ii) Stand-alone electronic device
"
Is a pacemaker a "stand-alone electronic device"? I do not know. It is definitely supported by some parts of the person's body.
bySomePoorSchmuck ( 183775 ) writes:
If your pacemaker is handheld, you have pretty big medical issues.
Yep. And people with Bi/R/LVADs can legally drive.
Think about that - someone whose every successful heartbeat depends 100% on a cord attached to a battery-operated original-iPod type device in their pocket, is legally allowed to get out there and do 75mph in a 3500 pound chemical factory on wheels, right next to you and your family.
bySlashythenkilly ( 7027842 ) writes:
Nanny laws simply are not enforced. It might come up in court or an insurance claim but police will not pull you over for cellphone usage. California already has laws for seatbelt, cellphones, headlights, emergency vehicles, not to mention every other driving infraction and the simple fact is- nobody cares.
byMal-2 ( 675116 ) writes:
Yes, they will. It helps make quota so they don't have to invent as many "broken taillight" scenarios to pull people over.
byr0nc0 ( 566295 ) writes:
Yes they are - all the damn time. I made the mistake of picking up my phone in my car in San Francisco once and a cop spotted me and instantly pulled me over to give me a ticket. The only place that probably WONT happen is in Oakland because the police are just too busy fucking prostitutes to be bothered.
bybradley13 ( 1118935 ) writes:
When we replaced our old car, we jumped a lot of generations. While I'm no fan of the giant touchscreen, the HUD is great. Need to turn? There's an arrow in your field of vision, to go along with the audible prompt.
Before that, sure, it was a map on the phone, but guess what, you can Mount your phone near your line of sight. Holding it in your hand, probably where you have to look down to see it? Yeah, not allowable.
bysurfdaddy ( 930829 ) writes:
I guess I'll have to pull out my Thomas Guide, which is somehow ok and has been for decades, instead.
bydevslash0 ( 4203435 ) writes:
Where I live (UK) it's been illegal to use your phone since 2003, with a few revisions throughout the years. Since 2022, it's been illegal to use your phone for anything while driving, including maps or scrolling through playlists on Spotify.
We've now also got smart cameras around that can catch you on your phone and automatically issue penalties.
Yet, all this is still not enough to stop some people from keeping their hands on their phones.
That's why I started hunting them down myself.
I used a raspberry pi and 2 cameras - one front, one rear - that record video all the surroundings wherever I go, and not a day goes past where someone behind me is not on their phone while in traffic.
Did I also mention that in the UK you can submit video footage directly to the police and they will act on it?
Yep. I submit all my footage.
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bytoutankh ( 1544253 ) writes:
Thank you for saving zero lives but normalising snitching on your neighbours. I'm sure the feeling of control is inebriating. The fascists to come welcome your support. And no, I don't look at my phone while driving.
bytoutankh ( 1544253 ) writes:
Maybe fascist is the wrong term. It's about normalising tools used by all *authoritarian* regimes.
Do you also wear smart glasses that record everything around you when you walk in the street, in case someone steals something from someone else? You could report that too. In fact why don't we put cameras everywhere and trust whoever is in charge this week to use them for good?
byRevek ( 133289 ) writes:
After all what could possibly be unsafe about unfolding a huge tissue thin piece of paper to block your view.
byTJHook3r ( 4699685 ) writes:
Do people really not know they can buy a cradle for a phone for about $2? Who on earth is using a phone in their hand to navigate anyway? How do they hold their beer /s
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byRockDoctor ( 15477 ) writes:
Up to 6 penalty points, up to unlimited fine, potential loss of your license for several years, after which you have to re-pass the current driving test. If there are multiple offences in the same event (e.g. "causing death by dangerous driving" in addition to DCA) you can get a lot more.
The exact sentencing guidelines have changed every so often, but the law has been essentially the same since the 1950s. When the problem was people trying to read the newspaper while driving and changing gear with a crash g
byJThundley ( 631154 ) writes:
Why do the police get a pass on this? They have entire fucking laptops on while driving!
byCalydor ( 739835 ) writes:
Drive when you're driving. Don't have one hand occupied with a probably expensive piece of tech that you're reluctant to simply drop on the floor when you suddenly need both hands on the wheel RIGHT FUCKING NOW.
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byBeepBoopBeep ( 7930446 ) writes:
My neighbor dropped his bottle of mountain dew, leaned over to pick it up and ended up in another neighbor yard
byLocal ID10T ( 790134 ) writes:
Don't drink and drive! You might spill your ...umm ... Mountain Dew.
:)
byaccount_deleted ( 4530225 ) writes:
Comment removed based on user account deletion
bySomePoorSchmuck ( 183775 ) writes:
Drive when you're driving. Don't have one hand occupied with a probably expensive piece of tech that you're reluctant to simply drop on the floor when you suddenly need both hands on the wheel RIGHT FUCKING NOW.
Then the law should outlaw holding anything while driving, and enforce keeping both hands on the steering wheel.
Not a map.
Not a written list of directions.
Not your water bottle.
Not your morning coffee.
Not your french fries.
Not your shaver.
Not your chapstick.
Not your cosmetics.
Not your spouse's hand, or resting on their thigh.
Not your left arm draped over the open window frame.
Not on the radio/stereo controls...
bymysidia ( 191772 ) writes:
Not your morning coffee.
Don't we already have laws against drinking and driving? When I used to drive regularly our cars had AM radios with a tape slot, and they were always playing ads warning you not to drink and drive, because it was illegal.
Not your shaver.
Hopefully we will have banned human driving altogether, and it will be Self-driving cars only by the time you would need to worry about a significant rate of accidents caused by holding shavers or other random accessories.
bykarmawarrior ( 311177 ) writes:
None of those are as distracting as a cellphone because you don't fucking look at a water bottle when using it.
You want Google Maps up? Have it on a fixed position with a cellphone holder or Android Auto that means you're not holding it and you only need to take a quick glance at it when driving to look. Holding the phone and constantly looking at it is a recipe for disaster.
Literally.
As in you're going to kill people.
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byDaFallus ( 805248 ) writes:
Some people would rather do anything in the world than pay attention to the road while they're driving. And it seems like police have completely given up on enforcing any traffic laws.
bynasch ( 598556 ) writes:
That doesn't mean any of those things were actually safe.
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bymysidia ( 191772 ) writes:
You were not supposed to do that either when driving. And holding a paper map or atlas ought to have been prosecuted the same.
Drivers should wait until you find a time and place where it is safe to stop, then pull over, in case you need to study the map.
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byCalydor ( 739835 ) writes:
And before vaccines we had chicken pox parties and measles parties. Doesn't mean that was at all a good idea, it was just the ONLY thing we had.
Hands-free installations for your phone exist. Use 'em if you want to use your phone for a GPS.
byMalc ( 1751 ) writes:
Before GPS navigation, I would study my route in advance and write down a list of road numbers and towns. If I hadnâ(TM)t managed to memorise it, I had a summary that was really quick to check and refresh myself from. If I actually needed to look at the road atlas, I pulled over instead of driving dangerously. The modern equivalent of the turn by turn instructions from Google are ridiculous and way too detailed to the point of being useless. Eyes should be on the road.
byjenningsthecat ( 1525947 ) writes:
My bottle of White Pepper Salt have the Prop 65 cancer warning label on it.
Courtesy of Wikipedia, here's a list of the anti-caking agents commonly used on table salt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] . One of the agents - talcum powder - can be contaminated with asbestos. A few others are silicates, which when inhaled are carcinogenic. (One clue there is that the words 'silicates' and 'silicosis' share a common root). So maybe that's why your tasty seasoning has a warning label.
I'm glad that California is diligent, but some of their warnings seem over the top. I once rearranged t
byValgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 ) writes:
I bought a sound card once and it had that warning. I guess it's from lead in the solder, maybe? Nobody is going to get cancer from a sound card. Totally hysterical.
byMal-2 ( 675116 ) writes:
It still doesn't hurt to remind you to wash your hands after handling that sound card, and before eating. Of course this should be the norm after handling anything where you can't know where it's been, but it applies even if there's no lead in the solder (as there generally wouldn't be today) because the mask itself uses chemicals that trigger Prop 65 warnings -- even though they're probably close to evaporated away by the time you handle the board. It's that lovely "new electronics" smell.
byRockDoctor ( 15477 ) writes:
Some of the resins used to make (glass-fibre reinforced) plastic circuit boards are pretty nasty chemicals if they don't react, or if they get cooked. So if it's one of those graphics cards with a human-carrying drone worth of cooling fans, you probably do want to wash your hands after handling it.
byspitzak ( 4019 ) writes:
The problem is that trial lawyers realized they could sue for any missing prop 65 sign, no matter what. This caused the signs to be pasted on literally everything, since apparently they cannot sue for adding an unnecessary prop 65 sign.
byLordofWinterfell ( 90845 ) writes:
There are additives to prevent the salt from clumping, when you have pepper in it as well. That is what is carcinogenic.
bypauljlucas ( 529435 ) writes:
People used to manage to unfold paper maps and refer to them while driving, back in the 1970's and earlier, without wrecking into people, too.
Sure, but that doesn't mean there were zero accidents caused by it. For those that were, they fell under the umbrella law of distracted driving where the source of the distraction is irrelevant.
The anti-cellphone laws aren't really new laws. They just explicitly call out one specific source of distraction to make convictions easier, e.g., a cop can see you holding
byJunta ( 36770 ) writes:
A handheld touchscreen device is a whole other ballpark than a car stereo. The car stereo issue was enough to drive steering wheel controls, for example.
I was around for the paper maps era. We did not actively hold map in hands while also driving. Either your passenger did it or you parked and plotted your way to where you were going. It would have been utterly ridiculous to try reading a paper map while just driving.
At least around my area, the test may be more lax than it used to be, but the test *never*
bysmooth wombat ( 796938 ) writes:
The *real* problem is with people who aren't skilled enough at operating a motor vehicle
That is where your sentence should have ended. There is a large majority of people who do not know how to drive a motor vehicle. Braking at green lights, not turning right on red, braking going down the most insignificant hill rather than coasting, not accelerating when the light turns green, not yielding when entering a roadway, driving below the speed limit, making a turn from the middle of the lane rather than t
byCommunityMember ( 6662188 ) writes:
The *real* problem is with people who aren't skilled enough at operating a motor vehicle
That is where your sentence should have ended. There is a large majority of people who do not know how to drive a motor vehicle.
Expecting humans to get better is a fools errand. This is a job for self driving vehicles, as they drive more safely and can actually multitask. As Princess Leia once said: "Help me Waymo, you're my only hope."
byregistrations_suck ( 1075251 ) writes:
You are not required to turn right on red.
Sometimes I don't, simply because I am in no hurry to get where I'm going.
If the guy behind me was in such a hurry, he should have gotten there sooner.
bythegarbz ( 1787294 ) writes:
The *real* problem is with people who aren't skilled enough at operating a motor vehicle while manipulating a device or controls.
Sorry kiddo, but the real problem (without any fake exclamation marks or stars around it) is shown in the data - that using a mobile phone is hugely distracting, far more so than infotainment systems. You can whataboutism a few bad drivers all you want. I don't care about them, I care about getting rear-ended from some idiot like you who thinks that mobile phones in the hand of people using a vehicle is purely a skill issue.
People used to manage to unfold paper maps and refer to them while driving, back in the 1970's and earlier, without wrecking into people, too.
No they didn't. And reading maps while driving was very much illegal in many parts o
bydgood ( 139443 ) writes:
People used to manage...paper maps...while driving, back in the 1970's and earlier, without wrecking into people
Maybe they did, nobody noticed, news was different back then and crash stats were harder to put together.
Plus there were a lot fewer cars on the road back then.
byabulafia ( 7826 ) writes:
"I used to do my taxes and masturbate at the same time while driving to work. I'm a good driver, those nannies can't tell me no different."
I'm glad you don't drive here anymore, too.
byOrangeTide ( 124937 ) writes:
I have the God given right to endanger everyone around me with my careless antics. It says right there in the Constitution that I have a right to drive and a right to use my cellphone whenever I want. No way California should be allowed to continue with this ILLEGAL law.
California wishes it could be East Germany. Free childcare with free breakfast and lunch for the children. Plus the Socialist Union Party would gave every child a small Christmas gift through most of the 1980's. In America we give children t
bydsgrntlxmply ( 610492 ) writes:
The people who I saw shaving while crawling in commute traffic on the 405 in Los Angeles long ago, would be forced to switch from electric razors to blade razors.
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