Phones Down, Heads Up!
Chances are that as of October 1st, you will hear
and see this phrase a lot. October 1st, Vermont joins fourteen other
states around the country in banning the use of handheld cellphones, laptops,
music players and other portable electronic devices while driving. Gone will be
the days of grabbing your phone to make a call while you are driving to work,
the grocery store or to pick up kids from school.
While many of us may think
that this “multitasking” is a productive use of our time and be annoyed or
downright angry about the new law, there are some hard facts that may make you
think twice.
Distracted driving by talking on a cell phone makes a driver
four times as likely to crash and texting while driving can increase that risk
even more, making a driver 23 times as likely to crash. We often forget what we
were taught in driver’s education, that driving a motor vehicle is a very big responsibility.
As drivers, we have our lives, the lives of our passengers and the lives of the
other folks driving around us on the road and pedestrians at stake when we turn
the key in the ignition.
Driving deserves our full and complete attention. It
is important that we remember that the phone call can really wait and if it can’t
pull over to the side of the road and take or make the call… and then continue
on to your destination.
The new law does not prevent you from talking on the phone
in your car while you are driving as long as you follow the requirements of the
new law. The only exception to the law is making a call in an emergency to
police or emergency personnel, such as 911.
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| Cellphone Keyboard (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
What you need to know:
1. Your phone must be secured in the vehicle as of October
1st. It can be secured in a mount which can be placed anywhere in the vehicle
with the exception of the windshield, it can be in your purse or your pocket or
in the glove compartment. It just cannot be in your hands.
2. You are allowed to use your hand to activate or
deactivate the speakerphone feature on your phone but you have to use a
hands-free method of talking – such as using speakerphone, a headset or the
Bluetooth feature of your phone, which allows your call to be taken over the
internal speakers of your vehicle.
3. You are still allowed to use the GPS feature of your
phone under the new law.
4. If your vehicle or your phone is not equipped with
Bluetooth capability, you can still talk hands-free by buying and using a
simple headset with a microphone. These are relatively inexpensive and can
range from the traditional headset that goes over your head to the earbud headsets
that are secured in your ear canal.
5. Fines for violating the new law are quite steep. A first
offense can range from $100 to $200. Fines for a second or additional violation
during any two year period ranges between $250-$500.
6. If you are caught using your cellphone in a work zone
where workers are present, in addition to the fines mentioned above, you also
face two points on your license for a first offense and five points for any
subsequent offense. There are no points for offenses that do not occur in a
work zone.
Regardless of using hands-free technology it is important to
remember that junior operators in Vermont are never allowed to use a cellphone
while driving unless they are calling the police or emergency personnel.
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