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Irrelevant when the OP was HOLDING the phone. I have Bluetooth enabled texting too, it is a nonissue when you're literally caught holding the phone.
That's why I said that the OP's only defense if he wants to fight it is to lie and say he wasnt and has no need to hold his cell phone as his car is connected to his vehicle via bluetooth and all communications he has is done by voice without ever needed to touch his phone. Of course it would be a long shot but other factors would come into play before the judge hands down a decision.
Included in the article is this;
New research reveals that voice-activated in-car technologies dangerously undermine driver attention
Hands-free technologies might make it easier for motorists to text, talk on the phone, or even use Facebook while they drive, but new findings from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety show dangerous mental distractions exist even when drivers keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.
The research found that as mental workload and distractions increase, reaction time slows, brain function is compromised, drivers scan the road less and miss visual cues, potentially resulting in drivers not seeing items right in front of them including stop signs and pedestrians.
New research reveals that voice-activated in-car technologies dangerously undermine driver attention Hands-free technologies might make it easier for motorists to text, talk on the phone, or even use Facebook while they drive, but new findings from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety show dangerous mental distractions exist even when drivers keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road. The research found that as mental workload and distractions increase, reaction time slows, brain function is compromised, drivers scan the road less and miss visual cues, potentially resulting in drivers not seeing items right in front of them including stop signs and pedestrians.
Even when the law was put in to place I always felt that it was the distraction of the conversation itself that was more harmful than the actual act of holding the phone. I drive with one hand for the most part anyway. What's the difference between holding a phone or holding a can of soda? None. A person talking can be so caught up in the conversation that they fail to be focused on what's going on around them while driving. Dont see how talking while driving can be outlawed though as it would be a civil rights issue.
1. I don't doubt that talking on a hands-free phone is still probably more distracting than holding a can of soda or talking to the person next to you in the car. No matter what your hands are doing, if your conversation is with someone who is not physically present with you the fact of the conversation diverts some of your attention outside of the physical space you're in and into what could be called "phone space". The reason cyberspace makes sense as a term is that the whole system of electronic connectivity functions in a lot of the same ways that being in physical space functions.
2. The law absolutely could prohibit the use of all communication devices while driving. I can't imagine a court concluding otherwise when the alternative is always to pull over and carry on the conversation when the car is stopped.
3. Still, the law is the law. Having read the law I think the OP makes a decent argument that, whatever any of us think of the wisdom of his conduct, he was not doing something that the legislature has designated as illegal.
Even when the law was put in to place I always felt that it was the distraction of the conversation itself that was more harmful than the actual act of holding the phone. I drive with one hand for the most part anyway. What's the difference between holding a phone or holding a can of soda? None. A person talking can be so caught up in the conversation that they fail to be focused on what's going on around them while driving. Dont see how talking while driving can be outlawed though as it would be a civil rights issue.
Close to 10 years ago a news magazine did an interesting piece about distracted drivers, having nothing to do with texting or smartphones. They put cameras in the various peoples vehicles, and also had them wear a device that could show the audience where the persons eyes were focused.
The first thing you noticed was how often the people looked away from the road, and the amount of time that passed before they re-focused. As a viewer, you are almost cringe at how long it took and how often they became distracted.
Anyway, they showed what happened when people looked to grab their phone, then dialed a phone number and pressed send. It may seem normal to the person doing it, but watching someone else do it and the time it took with the persons eyes off the road was startling. When they played the tapes back for the people who were being recorded, they themselves were shocked.
The focus on this piece was to show how even hands-free calling could be a distraction, so they gave people hands-free capable calling in their cars as well. I assumed it would be much better, but was shocked at how often people looked at who was calling, looked at the button to accept or reject the call, etc.
What was even more frightening was during either conversation(phone in hand or hands-free), people were moving their head/eyes around much more compared to just driving without any distractions. When a call became animated or required serious thought, the people were not able to maintain a straight line, a steady acceleration, normal car length, braking distance, etc.
On a personal note I know of several people impacted by distracted drivers, and one is no longer with us. The texting zombie that took his life was a young girl who showed little remorse for killing another human being, and she is still living life as if it never happened.
Just like people who are under the influence of drugs or booze, texting zombies always think they can safely drive despite the distractions. What is worse is many of them are kids and inexperienced drivers on top of it all. Not that driving safety instructors could text and drive safely, but at least they do not make a bunch of other mistakes like inexperienced drivers do on top of being distracted.
God forbid one of the OP's family members is ever maimed/killed by a distracted driver. However, if it happens, that may be the only thing that will ever cause him to have a second thought on this subject.
Close to 10 years ago a news magazine did an interesting piece about distracted drivers, having nothing to do with texting or smartphones. They put cameras in the various peoples vehicles, and also had them wear a device that could show the audience where the persons eyes were focused.
The first thing you noticed was how often the people looked away from the road, and the amount of time that passed before they re-focused. As a viewer, you are almost cringe at how long it took and how often they became distracted.
`
As an aside, I wonder how long it will be until this type of tech shows us how long we look away from the road to look at radios, nav units, climate controls, rearview mirrors, and gauges? If we ban any distractions, we have to ban all of them.
Billboards, pretty girls on the sidewalk, etc are all distractions, too:
let's get scared, overreact and ban them all.
I dont text and drive, But I'm really hating this culture of fear that is growing.
And when the officer says he saw you USING it, entering text, whatever, you cannot disprove that. Seriously, how are you going to disprove this simple statement " the defendent was holding the phone and texting". You can't. Seriously, go ahead and try I am sure the court will take your money, and laugh once you have left.
Btw, you keeping ignoring this part of the law "2. Read any email or text message transmitted to the device or stored within the device" again. All the officer has to say is he saw you holding the phone, and looking at it, and you are guilty of this and cannot prove otherwise.
i didn't ignore it. i addressed it earlier. you probably missed it.
The APP reads all incoming text for you. No buttons are pressed....ever.
You would have better luck if you tried to get off using the loop-hole but the problem you have is. It doesn't matter how you entered the text. There is a texting ban in VA. Texting is a 2 way visual communication. It's a severe class of distractions because your eyes is off the off when reading the messages.
False!
the law specifically says "manually" entering text is illegal. Go read the law you posted!
1. I don't doubt that talking on a hands-free phone is still probably more distracting than holding a can of soda or talking to the person next to you in the car. No matter what your hands are doing, if your conversation is with someone who is not physically present with you the fact of the conversation diverts some of your attention outside of the physical space you're in and into what could be called "phone space". The reason cyberspace makes sense as a term is that the whole system of electronic connectivity functions in a lot of the same ways that being in physical space functions.
2. The law absolutely could prohibit the use of all communication devices while driving. I can't imagine a court concluding otherwise when the alternative is always to pull over and carry on the conversation when the car is stopped.
3. Still, the law is the law. Having read the law I think the OP makes a decent argument that, whatever any of us think of the wisdom of his conduct, he was not doing something that the legislature has designated as illegal.
Thank you!
someone finally read the law....as opposed to blabber on and on like a herd of sheep!
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