“What to Expect from California's New Hands-Free Law” by the Public Policy Institute of California is our site of the day

The Public Policy Institute of California has released a 30 page report, “What to Expect from California's New Hands-Free Law”, that comes to the conclusion that the law that goes into effect in less than two months in our state—requiring California drivers to use hands-free devices while talking on their mobile phones--is likely to save 300 lives a year and reduce the number of non fatal accidents as well.

These findings comes from a sophisticated study looking at “aggregate fatality data” across states from 1997 through 2005—a large statistical sample from which conclusions can be drawn. There are some interesting wrinkles to the analysis. Based on other states’ experiences that have adopted hands free laws (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia), the law is expected to have its biggest impact in bad weather driving—something we don’t have as much of in our sunny state—in particular Southern California where much of our driving takes place. All of the research done is discussed in great detail, and I found it interesting how the author of the study, Jed Kolko, analyzes the data and discusses previous studies.

There’s an interesting discussion of the physical versus mental distractions of talking on a cell phone. There also is a discussion of how the law should be enforced and other practicalities.

But, unexpectedly, there’s a lot more here that is fascinating and beyond the interest of policy wonks who want to pour over statistics. For instance, the fact that the United States is the only G7 country that does not ban hand held mobile phones while driving. And there is an interesting history of passage of the law.

But in reading the report, I realized just what the law actually prohibits for those over 18 years of age: Talking and listening on a cell phone that is handheld—but not dialing and not texting while holding a cell phone.

There actually are two laws that go into effect on July 1—the one for adults. And another applying to drivers younger than age 18, that prohibits talking on the phone or texting while driving—regardless of whether the phone is hands-free phones or hand-held.

What caught my eye was this sentence in the report:

“CHP’s fact sheet on the hands-free law says drivers are “strongly urged” not to dial and “strongly discouraged” from texting, and it reminds drivers that they can be pulled over for appearing distracted and not operating a vehicle safely, but nonetheless the law explicitly proscribes only talking on the phone, not dialing or texting, for adult drivers. [CHP, “Wireless Telephone Laws FAQs”]

Looking at the law, section 23123 of the Vehicle Code states: “A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that manner while driving.”

So, this report should be of interest to a wider audience than one might think, and there's more here than just the grisly numbers about fatalities and accidents.

Frank D. Russo