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New cell phone laws hope to increase safety |
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Tuesday, 29 April 2008 |
by REBECCA GARDNER
Intern News Reporter
North Carolina is stepping up its cell phone laws and calling all citizens to listen up.
On July 1, 2008, all drivers will be prohibited from using hand-held wireless telephones while driving.
Drivers over the age of 18 may use a hands-free device while driving, according to the new law.
There is an exception to the law, which allows a driver to use a wireless telephone to make emergency calls to a law enforcement agency, a medical provider, the fire department, or other emergency services.
 New state law as of July 1, 2008 prohibits all drivers from using wireless devices while driving. Drivers over the age of 18 will be allowed to use hands-free devices. Photo by Shanel Boston
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Those
operating a commercial motor truck or trailer tractor (excluding
pick-ups), implements of husbandry, farm vehicle, or tow truck who use
a two-way radio operated by a “push to talk” feature are allowed to use
that feature.
All other drivers are not.
Other exceptions are for operators of authorized emergency vehicles
during the course of employment as well as motorists operating a
vehicle on private property.
The base fine for the first offense is $20 and $50 for subsequent convictions.
Students do not seem worried about these new laws.
“Nobody cares. Nobody is going to follow these new laws because they
are not going to be enforced,” junior history major M. Walt Brown said.
“Take the smoking laws on campus, for example, it’s like that—not
enforced.”
The violation is reportable; however, the Department of Motor Vehicles
will not issue drivers points on their driver’s license if they are
convicted for a violation of the wireless telephone.
This law only applies to the person driving a motor vehicle.
These laws do apply to people from out-of-state whose home states do not have a similar law.
As for the hands-free device, the law does not prohibit drivers from
dialing a wireless telephone while driving, but drivers are strongly
urged not to dial while driving.
It is legal to use a Blue Tooth or other earpiece; however, you cannot have both ears covered.
The hands-free law does not specifically prohibit drivers 18 and over
to text page while driving, but an officer can pull over and issue a
citation to a driver of any age if, in the officer’s opinion, the
driver was distracted and not operating the vehicle safely.
Text paging while driving is strongly discouraged, according to the law.
For drivers under the age of 18, using a hands-free device while driving is considered a secondary violation.
This means a law enforcement officer may cite him or her for using a
hands-free wireless phone if he or she were pulled over for another
violation.
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