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A billboard on the Peninsula, financed by a Pleasanton man, criticizes state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, for authoring the law requiring California drivers to be hands-free with their cell phones while driving.
The billboard message, from Pleasanton resident Grant Paulson, reportedly cost $10,000.
“Let’s overturn this law in the next election and protect what rights we still have left,” part of the billboard message reads, and includes a phone number to call.
Paulson, who runs a Pleasanton fire protection company, said he would like people to be free to choose to be hands-free while driving.
“You’ll have the same accident by the same idiot if he can’t drive,” Paulson said of the hands-free law. He also thinks it’s a distraction to “have something beeping in your ear” while driving.
Paulson said that the billboard, located off University Avenue and Highway 101 in Palo Alto, has generated both pro and con caller responses. He said he’s exploring doing a petition drive to qualify a ballot measure to attempt to overturn the hands-free cell-phone law.
Simitian said the billboard gave him “a passing smile.”
“The only worry I have is someone will be rear-ended while slowing down trying to read it, because of the small type,” Simitian said.
The hands-free cell-phone law was passed to increase driver safety.
By by Don Kazak
By by Don Kazak
Old news! This was reported in SJ Mercury News, last Monday
OMG alert the President! It’s news to me and I’m sure plenty others.
No one pays any attention to the law anyway.
There’s a trade-off. The law is an attempt by the State to protect the public interest from those who would make poor choices and distract themselves while driving, thus putting other drivers at great risk. They should also ban shaving while driving and a whole host of other distractions drivers engage in.
You can be issued a citation for shaving, reading, putting on makeup, etc. under CVC section 22350 – Unsafe speed for conditions.
The officer only needs to articulate what the condition was at the time of the violation.
I was issuing speed citations for people who were talking on their cell phones years before the cell phone law came out. I never lost one in court. It’s all about articulation.
The law is a joke. I see people every day doing the following. Cell phone chat, texting, reading a book, eating breakfeast (yes from a bowl). Talking and waving there arms around, reading documents.
I ride a motocycle to work and I have to focus and concentrate on the road and look for these people at the same time.
This law cannot be enforced because every one is doing it at some time and not enough officers are around.
This politician got hold of a popular idea and implemented a law that is virtually impossible to police. Look at the number of tickets for this vs the # of drivers. He did this for his career. It would have been better spent working on other traffic safety idea’s.
It doesn’t matter if it’s hands-free or hand held, driving while talking on a cell phone greatly increases a drivers chances of crashing. Ask around, you’d be surprised at the number of people who have been rear-ended by a person on a cell phone. I was, and when I started telling people, the majority of them had had the same experience.
“The law is an attempt by the State to protect the public interest from those who would make poor choices”
It’s too bad Obama didn’t start his political career in our state. Otherwise, people who make poor choices would not be getting protection from the FEDS today.
Everyone I speak with says they are worse drivers as a result of the law, including me. Now we have another gadget to fumble with – earpiece, whether wireless or not. And, most of the time it either doesn’t work, there’s a long voice delay or drops the call. This is way more distracting than a quick speed dial phone call.
I have had a clean driving record for years – no tickets and no accidents, and I have used my cell on the road in order to be productive and responsive for my work. I just had a car accident – and it was caused by my earpiece falling out of my ear, distracting me. I swerved for a split second and that’s all it takes.
It amazes me that my PTown neighbor spent 10K to tell the world that he is an arrogant jerk who has no concern for anyone but himself. I could have told him that for free.
In fact, I just did.
I agree…what a tool to spend that cash for something that stupid. First off, the law is a good one if it’s enforced, which it should be. There are a lot of morons out there who get distracted because of their phone.
Originally, I swore I would never use a bluetooth, but now that I am used to it, it does make it easier to talk and drive at the same time. But here’s the kicker — I always leave my bluetooth in the car, so as to not be one of thise self-absored losers walking around in stores talking to themselves!!
The law is not working, sporadic enforcement, and worse as ever. Its not bad enough that they talk, but cross-chest grip on the phone, I commute 35 miles to work, and once last week, the car ahead of me and on both sides of me were active cell phone users. If each officer cited six cell phone violators a shift, the State would have thousands in revenue
Simply another do-gooder’s attempt to legislate behavior. Since I don’t have a spare $10K around, kudos to Grant for at least putting his money where his his principles are. We can’t protect ourselves from every single possible threat that exists in the world & in some cases, Darwin was right. The heard needs a little thinning sometimes.
What do blue tooth headset and fire protection companies have in common? Government regs that created their market.