New cellular phone laws

[Constantine]

Have you heard of the new cellular phone laws that will take effect this July 1, 2008? What does it say?

[MariaJane]

Yes! I have read about it in the web. There's two laws actually. The one says " Minors under 18 years of age are prohibited from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone, including a hands-free device, and/or a mobile service device (pagers, texting devices, laptops, etc) except in emergency situations like calls to law enforcement, health care provider, fire department, etc or while operating a vehicle on private property". The other law says, "Drivers 18 years of age or older, are prohibited from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless a hands-free device is used except in emergency situations like calls to law enforcement, health care provider, fire department, etc, emergency service providers operating an authorized emergency vehicle during employment, while operating a vehicle on private property, or operating a commercial motor truck or truck tractor (excluding pickups).

[tamia]

And here are the fines for both laws

$20, first offense plus administrative fees.
$50, second or subsequent offenses plus administrative fees.

[Harry]

I wonder if this new law has enough "teeth" in such a way that consumers will be concerned enough to follow it

[Gringo]

We've had this law in the UK now for some time.....
"It is illegal to drive a vehicle or ride a motorbike and use a hand held mobile phone or similar device. It is also illegal to supervise a learner and use a hand-held phone. Hands-free phones are also a distraction and you risk prosecution for not having proper control of a vehicle if the police see you driving poorly while using one."

And to be honest, nobody adheres to it and I don't know anybody who's ever been taken to task over it.

[Harry]

Exactly. Nobody knows exactly who's doing the monitoring. I doubt everybody knows which specific arm of the government does all the work related to this law.