Skip to main content

New California law makes using a phone while driving a bigger no-no than it already is

self driving technology smartphones danger texting while
victorpr/123RF
Texting while driving is already frowned upon in California, but a recently passed state bill makes it much tougher to use your phone for any reason while driving, reports the Sacramento Bee.

Officially dubbed Assembly Bill 1785 and introduced by Assemblyman Bill Quick, the new legislation aims to “prevent distracted driving” by forbidding phone use, regardless of the reason, while operating a vehicle. The bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, does include an exception for use cases that only require “the motion of a single swipe or tap of the driver’s finger,” so long as the phone is mounted either on the windshield or dashboard.

Recommended Videos

Assembly Bill 1785 appears to be a response to an Office of Traffic Safety study conducted in April, which revealed that more drivers were seen talking, texting, and using their phones while driving during a single day than in previous years. More specifically, almost 13 percent of California drivers were seen using their phones while driving, compared to 9 percent in 2015 and the previous high of 11 percent in 2013.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

There has also been a slight, yet steady, increase in the number of drivers either injured or killed due to distracted driving, from 10,162 in 2013, to 10,548 in 2014, to 11,090 in 2015. Adding to the statistics are the 13,496 citations for distracted driving issued in April by the California Highway Patrol.

As of September 2016, 46 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving, with 14 states and the District of Columbia banning talking while driving. As for California, it already bans texting while driving, making Assembly Bill 1785 an augmentation of legislation already in place.

Assembly Bill 1785 will go into effect on January 1, 2017. Under the law, drivers face anywhere from a $20 fine for a first-time offense to a $50 fine for every subsequent offense.

Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
Is your Apple Watch 10 quieter than it used to be? You aren’t alone
The speaker grille on the Apple Watch Series 10.

The Apple Watch Series 10 has a bit of a speaker problem. A quick look at the Apple Support Community or the Apple Watch subreddit will show a lot of posts from users, some as far back as four months ago, stating that the speaker is too quiet. Affected users can hear neither phone calls nor music from the speaker after repeated use.

Apple hasn't given an official statement regarding the problem, and it's not clear how many people are affected. There are dozens of posts on forums about the problem, however, so it clearly isn't limited to just a handful of people. Several posters reported buying a new Apple Watch 10, only for the same staticky, muffled sound to return within a week.

Read more
Google’s Circle to Search update enhances long-press activation & vibration feedback
Circle to Search on an Android phone.

Circle to Search is one of the best new features released for Android devices in recent years. This feature is receiving a noteworthy software update that should make it easier for users to be aware of the tool.

As 9to5Google notes, a new software update rolling out adds a more prominent vibration pattern when Circle to Search is activated.

Read more
Can an AI chatbot help you quit smoking? It can, with lots of caution
Representation of an AI chatbot giving smoking advice on a phone.

Earlier today, I gave a live demo of ChatGPT as it served enlightening words on a lifestyle without nicotine vices. Two of my heavy-smoker friends saw the chatbot in action and looked impressed. Less than an hour later, I saw them sharing a cigarette from across the glass window.

"It lacks coercion," one of them sheepishly told me. I don't think the AI failed its duty. I believe human cravings prevailed this time. Now, you may, or may not, buy into the whole AI chatbot hype, but there is one segment where the AI advancements have made a fantastic impact.

Read more