The CotoBuzz Journal, Community Journalism

July 2008 ISSUE

We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and CID/HOA board of directors and report the facts!

In Search of D-WOP Loopholes

July 1, 2008

As of July 1, 2008, California drivers must use hands-free technology when talking on a mobile phone, and drivers under age 18 may not use a mobile phone at all while driving. Given that Coto Board of Directors’ love affair with Loopholes, we decided to look at possible D-WOP (driving while on the phone) loopholes.

Text messaging is not specifically addressed in the new law, so it must be legal. A good loophole, but does it make sense to use this loophole? – For an idea as to what the consequences might be of making the choice to use this loophole, you may want to visit Los Angeles Attorney Lowell Steiger’s Blog – click here

Some may consider using the freeway shoulder as a loophole - to chat- with high speed traffic around, this option is too dangerous for everyone

Of course, there is the Bart Simpson Loophole: I was not talking on the phone while driving, nobody saw me do it, you cannot prove I did it! – in other words, your word against the officer’s, or simply hoping the officer will not show up for the court date.

Look Ma – no hands! - Cheek-and-shoulder move is not hands free.

I have a hands-free set, I am just going to dial a number – is not hands free

For additional information, The Public Policy Institute of California writes about a study conducted to support the new law in their recent press release:

The findings indicate that mobile phone ownership is associated with higher traffic fatality rates in bad weather, on wet roads, and in rush-hour traffic. California’s new law should lead to some 300 fewer traffic fatalities a year. However, to gain the full benefit of the law, California should concentrate its enforcement efforts during adverse driving conditions, and public education about the law ─ and about the distraction and danger of using a mobile phone in the first place ─ should be an important component in implementing the law, which could help change behavior that enforcement alone might not achieve. Read the entire press release here

If you find any new loophole in the D-WOP law, let us know so we can forward it to interested parties.

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