New Jersey cops crack down on chatty drivers

Fri Feb 29, 2008 3:00AM EST

See Comments (108)

We all know about those pesky cell-phone laws states are putting out to scare drivers into using hands-free devices while behind the wheel. If you live in New Jersey, you better start taking those laws seriously unless you want to pay a hefty fine.

Philly.com is reporting that law enforcement officers in New Jersey will be able to fine drivers for talking or texting on their cell phone while driving. New Jersey adopted its hands-free law in July 2004 as a secondary offense, which meant the police couldn't pull you over for talking on the phone alone. But starting this Saturday, March 1, the law becomes a primary offense, and chatty drivers will be subjected to huge fines for not using a hands-free device.

These fines will range from $100-$250, although the state's Division of Highway Traffic Safety says no points will be assessed.

Guess it's time you start looking at inexpensive headsets folks. If you need a headset, and would like to get one free (and who doesn't), check out FreeHeadsets.org.

This organization has been promoting safe driving since 2003 by distributing free cell phone headsets. All you have to do is pay the shipping charge, which is about $4. I wrote about these guys last year, so you can get more information about FreeHeadsets.org here.

I'd love to hear what you think about this new law.

 

Top 5 Posts

Comments on New Jersey cops crack down on chatty drivers

Post a Comment

Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.

  • 26 Posted by frmnart on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    When you get behind the wheel of a vehicle, you take on numerous responsibilities not the least of which is to be mentally and physically able to operate the car. Anything that impairs these abilities makes driving a dangerous thing to do. Police have the right to take the dangerous people off the road for the safety of those that are not impaired. Cell phones are an extreme distraction and create a situation that has proven extremely dangerous in vehicle operations. Every state should adopt this law and take it as serious as vehicle operations under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Add points to the driver's license, severe fines, even jail terms would not be out of the question for repeat offenders. I've seen too many poor drivers operating vehicles with a cell phone glued to their ear and they are oblivious to anything except the phone conversation they are having. They need to be removed from that situation. You know, that's why I have an answering service for my cell phone.

  • 27 Posted by ndnyc2003 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    "We all know about those pesky cell-phone laws states are putting out to scare drivers into using hands-free devices while behind the wheel." How pesky. Excuse us if some laws attempting to prevent narcissistic, self absorbed, inconsiderate or stupid drivers from injuring or killing innocent people are spoiling your day. We didn't realize you were God and couldn't possibly be scared by dangerous drivers.

  • 28 Posted by aaaltholz on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    Police have reported that eating while driving, legal drinking (coffee, soda, etc.), listening to the radio, changing music stations, children in the car, etc. are at least as distracting as talking on a cell phone. Where will this stop?

  • 29 Posted by rules_of_a on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    talking on your cell phone isnt much different than talking to the person in the passenger seat and driving with one hand, which i know we all do. However i think texting is a lot worse as it requires more attention than talking does, providing more of a distraction to the driver. I think it should remain a secondary offence becuase if you are pulled over for driving poorly, AND were using your phone then perhaps the cause for the bad driving was its use

  • 30 Posted by sonnystylez on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    if you cant drive and talk then don't...some people aren't as competent as others

  • 31 Posted by debra_ann40 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm a Jersey driver. I've noticed that since the law was passed, drivers are reacting quicker to light changes and generally paying more attention to the road. I'm glad they passed this.

  • 32 Posted by yummercoke on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    I definitely think that the new law is good although I don't feel most are feeling threatened by it. I also don't feel headsets are going to fix all the bad driving caused by distracted drivers on a cell phone. I wa----- by a driver talking on a headset, so the distraction is obviously still an issue. I agree with other posters that the texting is the serious offence. Especially teenagers driving and texting. That's no good!

  • 33 Posted by j_madrigal12 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:45PM EDT Report Abuse

    Talking on the phone while driving is dangerous, but eisodesign's comment is dumb. Talking on a hands-free device is just like talking to someone that is sitting in the car with you only you don't feel compelled to make eye contact every once and a while. The problem lies with each and every individual person. If you are not prepared to take a call while you are driving or you cannot multi-task then talking on the phone while driving is stupid. There are more distracting things than talking on the phone while driving. Kids screaming in the back seat, the radio, passengers moving around in the back seat, trying to open/close windows, etc. If you are capable of driving and following every law (except the cell phone law) then I say go for it.

  • 34 Posted by st_leedan on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is an issue, but more serious than the hundreds of other things that can distract a motorist from phones, to GPS, to kids, to iPods, food, newspapers, looking for a location, think about what you have to do at work or home, men shaving and women putting on make up. Where do we draw the line? Sorry folks, but driving is a calculated risk and we should all pay closer attention, but we're also human. We get bored with the monotony of traffic and our minds wander, so before whining about cell users, think about the things YOU do that take your mind off the road. This isn't going have a large impact on anything other than the sales of handsfree kits and increase in traffic violation revenue. next thing you know we'll get tickets in the mail from cameras trying to catch people using their phones...And YOU STILL won't be allowed to pump your own gas in New Jersey.

  • 35 Posted by dr_law2003 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    Pesky cell phone laws? We'll see how pesky they are when you're in a wheelchair, paralyzed from being hit by a stupid woman who was too distracted to drive because her cell phone call about pizza was more important. Fortunately my cousin found a great ambulance chaser to get him a lot of money and get her driver's license permanently revoked.

  • 36 Posted by s2kreno on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:59PM EDT Report Abuse

    Studies show that hands-free phones do nothing to cut accident risk, and that talking on a cell phone is as risky as driving drunk. Why is anyone allowed to put other drivers at risk this way? Driving drunk is illegal, cell phones while driving should be as well. All cell phone use.

  • 37 Posted by mattchappelart on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:11PM EDT Report Abuse

    In my experience driving... People on their cell phones are MORE dangerous than drunk drivers. ...and I'm not exaggerating. People get on their phones and for some reason think that it means they can go 35 miles an hour on the highway in the left lane.

  • 38 Posted by lahuari on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    It is most interesting and rather sad to read the comments by those who are so arrogant, uneducated or perhaps just plain stupid, that they are unable to accept the reality that cell phone usage distracts drivers. The fact that other behaviors that are currently legal also distract is irrelevant. Be grateful for the fact that someone / some (legislative) body cares enough about your safety on the road that they are willing to take all the flak from the ignorant and uninformed and institute the legislation regardless. For those of you with the arrogance to believe that you are able to drive as competently while holding a cell phone to your ear as you drive without the phone, I challenge you to go and take a simple reaction test and look at the evidence. The graph will give you proof. If you are so stupid as to disagree with what has been more than adequately demonstrated then you do not have the required intelligence to be in possession of a driver's license and are putting yourselves, your friends and all of us at unnecessary risk. Set your egos aside, grow up and accept reality. It is far too seldom that our lawmakers actually enact legislation that benefits the entire population. As for the comment to the effect that some drivers might have an urgent need to talk while driving %

  • 39 Posted by doris_in_chapel_hill on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    I remember hearing that the hands-free ones are not much better. The distraction might not be mainly from the use of the hands, but from the concentration the gabbers use up chatting on the phone. People using cell phones really are horrific drivers. If you ever pass someone who seems not paying attention to what is going on, often with a huge space between her/him and the car ahead, look in the window. While the person might not with 100 percent certainty, or even 50 percent certainty, be on the phone, she/he is much more likely than some normally driving person to be on the phone.

  • 40 Posted by davranran on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:38PM EDT Report Abuse

    NOT GOOD enough cell phone use when driving should be banned Nation wide.

  • 41 Posted by wearwabbit on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think it is one of the best laws ever.I recently got run off of the road because the cell phone conversation was more important than their driving was.

  • 42 Posted by lukesan08 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    Here's what will happen...NOTHING. California passed the same law and it seems even more people are talking and driving. These laws aren't enforced, although they need to be. Holding the phone and talking should be fined and penalized bigger than speeding.

  • 44 Posted by joanieclair on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:37PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have long been advicating this after watching how people view cell phones as a status symbol. They simple cannot turn off theirphone when they are walking down the street, shopping for groceries, in restaurants and even standing in line at the postoffice. Surely they can dowithouta conversation if they are driving a car and putting me in danger.

  • 45 Posted by wizman.rm on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:48PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think it's a great law. I can't wait until they pass this law in Pennsylvania. Too many of you people out there now don't know how to drive to begin with and driving and talking on your dumb cellular telephone makes it even worse!

Post a Comment

Sign In to Post a Comment

My Tech

Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.

Also on Yahoo! Tech

Computers Home Office Wi-Fi & Networking Phones & PDAs Cameras & Camcorders TV & Home Theater Portable Audio
 

Site Map | Tour | Subscribe to Yahoo! Tech

Question and Answer content at Yahoo! Tech is written by Yahoo! users at Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any Yahoo! Answers content. For more information, read the Full Disclaimer.

Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content.