What about wired headsets with one touch answer? MUST it be bluetooth?

Reading the bill, it doesn't mention anything about that.

If it is hands-free, it is OK. Does not need to be Bluetooth.

are cops allowed to use their computers while driving?
or only when their fully stopped or at a red light?
in which case ~ are we allowed to use our phone / mp3 / etc. at a right light?

^ If they are doing police work (I can't think of what else they'd be doing) then I think it's ok. I don't think we're allowed to use anything anytime while we're on the road. Tho I will admit, spending that extra second skipping through songs on my MP3 player (connected to the stereo) saved me from getting t boned by a huge pickup that blew a red light.

As far as adjusting the stereo, even when flipping through folders trying to find the right song, I can almost always find what I want without looking at the deck. I think the difference is that you can hear the first bit of a song and know you need to skip a head or flip folders again, whereas searching for a name in your phonebook you're gonna have to be looking at it a lot. Running MP3 players and such, again most of those you can work by memory but anything touch based (ie any ipod but the shuffles) you have to be staring at to see where you're going.

No.

It's kind of hard to tell at this point because they haven't published the regulations that the bill mentions.

It'd kind of irrelevant what the police are allowed to do or anything. For example, I have seen police cars turn on the flashers just to pass a red light intersection, or perform an illegal u-turn only to turn the flashers off and resume normal driving. Does that justify me doing those kinds of things? Of course not.

You can't really make a "they can do it, so why can't we?" argument.


Well I hope they allowed wired headsets. I just discovered my phone had voice activated dialing. I tried it out with my wired headset while driving yesterday. Works pretty well!

I hope so too, mine is wired with no touch answer. And I'd rather not drive around using my PS3 BT headset.

LOL the cops have a messaging system installed on their computers too... like an MSN sorta thing, i was once in the back of the car on the way to the cop shop and the cops were messaging each other about whos gonna be picking up Timmys and what thay all want... all while driving... I guess the cops can do anything nowdays, drink and drive, kill people, drive away from accident scenes, play with their computers while driving is just a minor distraction when you're doing all of the above

:drama:

clearly, you've never driven any sort of luxury vehicle or any vehicle that is equipped with anything more advanced than a cassette player.

clearly, you don't know how to work a deck.

clearly when he's changing songs, he also tunes the bass and treble to each song too.

if you've ever used anything like iDrive or COMMAND, u'd know that you can have multiple playlists on a harddisk and it can be pretty involving to find a song you want.

I can get through an MP3 CD and MP3 DVD's just fine. Anything touchscreen should not be used while driving though.

Yeah, and you don't have their flasher lights either!

Why are you driving with your eyes closed????

Hopefully this won't get mp3 players banned. I use one in my car (wired to the tape deck) and don't plan on stopping.

To be honest though, realistically we can expect these laws to be enforced as often as they do for speed limits, which is not often at all as 99% of the population breaks it on a regular basis. When's the last time since driving school you actually went 50 down a major road?

The mentality will most likely be "don't get caught", but will give police the ability to pull you over if you're weaving all over the place trying to program your GPS, which I guess they had difficulty with before from a legal standpoint.

It's too bad they don't make an exemption for when you're stopped at a light. That's when I do most of my mp3/GPS adjusting.

I think MP3 players are worse than cellphones - there's no tactile response, you can't operate an iPod without looking at it..

^ Sure, but the other 75% of mp3 players out there don't have this problem as they have real buttons. I can easily operate my Samsung without looking.

^

http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/ipod...letsrock27.jpg

Too bad 75% of mp3 players are iPods.

This is the biggest thing people overlook when they whine about not being able to text and drive.

The first thing they do is compare it to using a car radio. Fixed button locations with fixed functions makes it possible to use without taking your eyes off the road.

With an interactive device such as a phone, iPod, GPS, etc... information on the screen is constantly changing. Button locations change and you need to look at the screen, determine where the button you want is located and then press it. This takes TIME and diverts your attention and view from the road.

^ Not true. Many stock radios have "soft buttons" that shift depending on the mode. Sure it's not as extreme as that on an iPod but just making a point here. In fact, many instrument clusters are starting to do this as well, especially from the German makers.

Still doesn't change the fact that such buttons that change function depending on the system's mode require you to divert your attention from driving to fiddling.

The way I read this, using a hand-held phone (while holding it) while stopped at a red light is permitted. Correct?

I can fully operate my MP3 player without looking at because it's not a stupid ipod, and I can fully operate (read: place calls and text) without looking at either my old phone or new one. Anything with a touch screen is obviously worse for use as you have to stare at the damn thing to use it, if you're using something with real buttons often enough you end up able to use it without looking at it, the same as the radio in the cars you drive most. Yes I will admit I have texted while driving, however my eyes never left the road and driving was still my primary focus. Unfortunately of course not everyone gets used to their stuff like that, and with the wave of touchscreen junk coming out it'd never happen.