Hang it up!: A public service message from LA BLOGitude

California as well as a few other states, as you can see in the map below, have banned driving while on a cell phone (but, if it's hands-free you can still drive while technically on a cell phone.) They're trying to keep you from driving with one hand and all those 16 year olds and/or novice drivers need to watch out too. So I don’t even know if this law has any effect but, I hope it keeps at least one accident from happening which is enough in my book.



Unfortunately many Californians still drive and talk on their cell phones with one hand. Which isn’t surprising considering that stop signs mean go and the state motto is “Eureka” and translates to: “I was taking a bath and totally figured something out that has nothing to do with cleaning my genitals or maybe it does?” A very fitting motto for most Californians I know, myself included.

So how do people get away with breaking such a clandestine law? The popular thing to do is have your phone on speaker so that you can hold it in one hand close to the steering wheel so if you see a cop you can immediately hide it. The other thing to do is have your hand plastered to the side of your head and elbow propped up on the door so it looks like you’re bored and trying to keep from dozing off like you did in a 10th grade biology class. . .

Everyday on my commute I see drivers on cell phones. Mostly the one handers, failing to singal a turn, rolling a stop sign, and trying to parallel park. It really bums me out. It just shows that even with a law against something that is trying to make the world a tiny bit safer, people would rather do something in their own interest. It might have to do with the penalty for using a cell phone being $25-$50 bucks and NO points on your driving record. That’ll teach them. So the cops aren’t even going to waste their time to pull you over. And the police are a majority of the people I see on their cell phones.

I decided to discuss this today because, sure enough on my way to work while I was riding my bike down a residential back street a driver in a SUV rolled up to a stop sign didn’t stop completely and proceeded to pull in front of me because, I didn’t have a stop sign. He stopped. I rode in front of him very slowly because; I’d already skidded to a stop. Stared at him while he was staring straight ahead avoiding my gaze with a cell phone in hand. I gave him the “hang it up sign” which is making the universal hand signal for phone or surfing and then hanging it up. He wasn’t fazed and continued on his cell phone SUV green house gas emitting way.



So please my good bloggy citizens don’t talk on your cell phones while driving. Just wait until you're in line at Starbucks to yammer away. Don’t even get one of those Bluetooth things that people can’t seem to take off their ears when they’re not driving, you're not on Star Trek and you look like an anti social idiot.



Have a safe and lovely weekend. As usual it’s gonna be gorgeous in Los Angeles. ..