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Texting while driving officially outlawed in California

Categories: General
By: , IntoMobile
Sunday, September 28th, 2008 at 6:35 AM

Starting from January 2009, texting while driving will be considered as an illegal action. Those that do it despite the new regulation face a $20 fine the first time and a $50 for each recurring violation.

“Banning electronic text messaging while driving will keep drivers’ hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road, making our roadways a safer place for all Californians,” said Schwarzenegger.

Everything regarding SMS is prohibited while driving — including sending, reading and writing text messages. You’ll have to get yourself a Bluetooth headset/car-kit in order to do some mobile work while driving. We did suggest this even before this regulation, though.

[Via: CrunchGear]

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

  • Bruce Santa Monica

    This is a joke. The existing ban on using mobile phones isn’t enforced and I see people trying to drive (dangerously) with one hand all the time. A $20 fine the first time and $50 subsequent? How about $200 and then $500 and a point on your license? Maybe that might have more of an affect.

    Isn’t it also sad that you even have to legislate to try and stop people from doing dumb things while driving .. shouldn’t common sense and horror at the thought that you might kill someone as a consequence kick in?

    I’ve almost been hit twice by somebody using cell while driving …maybe they’ll get me the next time …