New California Law Aggressively Curbs Smartphone Use While Driving

In response to the increasing incidence of car accidents involving the use of mobile devices, California governor Jerry Brown has enacted a law that severely curbs phone use while driving. The ordinance, Assembly Bill 1785, bans drivers from “holding and operating” a mobile device while driving and only permits the use of hands-free devices.

The first such curtailments on phone use while driving in California were passed in 2006, according to The Los Angeles Times, when cellphones were relatively unsophisticated. The latest legislation broadens and updates existing regulation to cover newer innovations in mobile phones, such as streaming video and taking photos, in addition to texting and calling.

The notable exception to the law is use of a mobile device mounted on the windshield or the dashboard of a car, as Uber drivers are accustomed to doing. In such cases, a driver is limited to using functions that only require “the motion of a single swipe or tap of the driver’s finger,” according to Phone Arena.

The bill, which was authored by Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) is meant to prevent “distracted driving”, instances of which have increased as new phone functions and applications emerge. The law will become effective at the very beginning year, on January 1st, 2017.

First-time offenders will be slapped with a $20 fine, which will increase by $50 with each successive infraction thereafter.