BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. –
Distracted driving contributes to 30 percent of all traffic accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Cell phones while driving are one of the top distractions.
California's Hands Free Cell Phone Law goes into effect July 1, 2008. All drivers must use a hands-free device to use a cell phone while driving, which is an ear piece, a Bluetooth headset or speaker phone. Drivers under 18 years old are not allowed to use any portable technology while operating a motor vehicle.
Beale Air Force Base already has a hands-free while driving cell phone policy. Drivers who use a cell phone without hands-free will be ticketed, on base or off. The fine off base for a first offense is $20 and $50 for each subsequent conviction, but penalty assessments can raise the price. The law 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 agency.
A study conducted by the Transport Research Laboratory in Crowthorne, England, had several findings regarding cell phone use while driving.
"Significant differences were found in reaction time, especially in the beginning stages of the telephone conversation, and in driver situation awareness. The subjects reacted significantly slower to an unexpected event in the first two minutes of the telephone conversation and were, for a large part of the telephone conversation, unaware of traffic movements around them."
Even with a hands-free device, drivers should limit cell phone conversations to an absolute minimum while driving, and if possible, wait until arriving at a destination. Pulling over onto the side of the road to conduct a conversation is a good idea, but driving into a parking lot and not on the shoulder of the road is even better. Pulling over to the shoulder creates a traffic hazard; the car could be rear ended while parked on the side of the road.
The bottom line: cell phone use while driving makes the recognition of a threat harder and slows the driver's reaction time, and thus increases risk. Good situational awareness is the key to safe and effective operations, whether at work or on the road. All drivers should remember to use Operational Risk Management and A.C.T.
A - Assess the risk
C - Consider options to limit unnecessary risk
T - Take appropriate action
For more information on the California cell phone law, visit http://www.dmv.ca.gov/. To see more of the cell phone study, visit
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/. Or call the 940th ARW Safety Office at 530-634-1930.