SAMANTHA TROUP | senior staff writer

In recent years, cell phones have been the number one cause identified in distracted driving accidents, a statistic that many hope is about to go down. Starting July 1, California driving laws will be much more restrictive, at least for anyone who considers their car a good place to make a phone call.

The newly instated laws sponsored by Senator Joe Simitian of the 11th district of California, say that all Class A and B drivers with noncommercial licenses, are prohibited from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless phone, unless a hands-free device is used.

“Accidents by drivers using hand- held cell phones outnumber those driving hands-free by a ratio of 25 to one,” Senator Simitian said in a May 2006 press release. “The difference between hands-free and hand-held is life and death.”

Any driver over 18 that does not use a hands- free device will be pulled over and given a twenty dollar ticket plus administrative fees for the first offense, and a fifty dollar ticket plus administrative fees for every subsequent offense.

“I thought it would be more expensive then that,” junior communication studies major Jenn Noble said. “I don’t think that the price of the ticket is going to stop anyone, at least until they get caught the first time, but I’ve always used my hands-free when I drive. I think no matter what, it’s still dangerous to talk on your phone while you drive.”

The law, however, is different for minors, making it illegal for all drivers under 18 to use any kind of wireless phone while driving except in emergency situations or while on private property.

“You definitely see a lot of people talking on their cell phones so I’m thinking that more people will pay attention to driving and not multi-task so much,” sophomore theater arts major Matthew Olmstead said. “I’ve seen a lot more people over the age of 18 talking on their cell phones while driving than underage drivers doing it, though. I think this will make people more aware of what’s going on around them.”

The law determines that no driver under 18 can be pulled over specifically using a wireless phone, but can be administered a ticket if pulled over for a different reason.

“I haven’t really gotten any positive or negative reactions to the law,” spokesperson for the Department of Motor Vehicles Jan Mendoza said.

That could be because the law does not have a penalty, besides the eventual fifty dollar fine, for repeat offenders, no matter their age, and no driver will ever receive a point on their license for breaking the law, although a conviction will appear on a driving record.

“There’s no limit on how many violations you can get, as long as you pay your ticket you can keep driving,” Corporal Dean Brewer of the Azusa Police Department said.

This new law will also restrict all texting whether it is from a phone or a PDA. Drivers will not be allowed to use speaker phone features either, although cars that have built in hands-free devices are acceptable.

All drivers over 18 will need to use a hands- free device except in emergency situations, and then only to call a law enforcement agency, health care provider, fire department, or various other emergency service agencies.

“I am somewhat in favor of the law because I think it will make driving safer but I don’t know how they’ll fully enforce it,” sophomore economics major Shane Cullen said. “I think it’ll encourage more people not to text, but it will be really hard to enforce because so many people use their cell phones.”

Corporal Dean Brewer of the Azusa Police Department always asks motorists if they were using a cell phone during a traffic collision. He believes many drivers just tell him what they think they need to say.

According to Brewer, the law will only be enforced on a needed basis and no special lengths will be taken to catch offenders.

“I introduced the bill for one simple reason,” Simitian said in the May 2006 press release. “It will save lives. No one would argue that just because we can’t eliminate all the distractions affecting driver safety, we shouldn’t eliminate the ones we can. We have a readily available technology that costs next to nothing and saves lives. Why on earth wouldn’t we use it?”