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Schwarzenegger: Ban Cell Phones While Driving
Californians who gab away on their hand-held cell phones while hold the steering wheel with only one hand driving will be fined for a traffic infraction if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has his way. According to the Los Angeles Times, Schwarzenegger called such driving distractions "terrible" and "inexcusable" and added "We have to see if the right way to go is through a bill or any other way, but I think we must make sure that people don't use phones, because it not only endangers them but it endangers everyone else out there." He has already threaten to impose penalties on his own daughter, telling the Times he has tailed his 16-year-old daughter, Katherine, while she was driving and warned her she would be taking the bus if he caught her using her cell phone while behind the wheel. "I told her, I have had many, many conversations with her that if I ever catch her making a phone call while she is driving — and I sometimes follow her to make sure that she doesn't make that mistake — [that] I will take the car away from her and she can drive the bus because it's inexcusable."
Story Continues Below Schwarzenegger added: "You're absolutely correct that more people get injured or die because of being on the phone or pressing all the sophisticated buttons in the car, because now every car comes with 100 buttons. So people look to the side and they miss what is going in the front or with the cell phone; it's the same thing. These are terrible things and I think we have to do everything we can to stop that." Legally prohibiting use of hand held cell phones while driving has been a tough sell. In May, a bill banning the practice barely squeezed through the state Senate, with no votes to spare, the Times reported. It will be voted on in the Assembly next month; it had approved a similar measure in 2003, and the Times writes that its prospects are considered strong, noting that one committee has already endorsed it. Democratic Sen. Joe Simitian of Palo Alto, the sponsor of the Senate bill, said he was encouraged by Schwarzenegger's comments. "Anyone who drives a Hummer probably knows how important it is to keep control of your vehicle," he told the Times.
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