COURSEY: Hands-free texting, brains-free driving

Just when you thought that maybe the message was getting through about the dangers of distracted driving, this headline popped up over the weekend:

"Drivers can text, with restrictions."

R U serious?

For some reason, our state Legislature felt a need to "fix" the law that outlaws texting while driving. Members of the Assembly and the Senate, with almost no opposition, passed Corona Republican Assemblyman Jeff Miller's AB 1536 and Gov. Jerry Brown signed it into law on Friday.

The new law allows, beginning Jan. 1, drivers to dictate, send and listen to text messages — as long as they are using voice-activated, hands-free devices.

On its face, the law may seem consistent with the similar law allowing drivers to make and receive phone calls on hands-free devices. And consistency in our laws is a laudable goal.

But consistency in our message also should be considered.

Here's the message: Distracted driving is a serious — and growing — problem. It has serious consequences, as has been graphically illustrated time after time in cases where pedestrians and bicyclists have been mowed down by drivers paying attention to something besides driving while they are behind the wheel.

The Assembly's analysis of Miller's bill emphasizes the point:

" .

.

. it is important to point out that a growing body of evidence suggests that drivers lose substantial cognitive awareness when they are concentrating on phone conversations, whether or not the motorist is using a hands-free system. While the sponsor cites that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has tacitly endorsed voice communication as a safe way to keep a driver's hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, in fact, NHTSA has recently indicated that that cellphone communication while driving, whether it is hands-free or hand-held, degrades a driver's performance and NHTSA now recommends that drivers refrain from using cellphones while driving. "Despite the fact that voice-operated, hands-free text based communications are not directly addressed in NHTSA's recent findings, it stands to reason that such communications would be equally distracting to a driver."But Assemblyman Miller argued that since commuters spend an average of more than an hour behind the wheel every day, "it is unfair to require them to be out of touch" by banning texting while driving. His Assembly colleagues supported him with a 69-3 vote; the Senate passed it 36-0. All of the North Bay's representatives in the Legislature voted yes.So, what does this mean? Well, it turns out that the message about text messaging is still a little muddled. Aides at Miller's office told the San Jose Mercury News that some devices and programs — including the popular "Siri" voice-activated system on the new iPhone — cannot legally be used under the law. And the California Highway Patrol said drivers who simply turn on a cellphone, or select an application while driving can be subject to a $100 ticket.So how can a driver be sure he or she is being safe and legal behind the wheel when the urge arises to make — or receive — a phone call or text? Here's my advice: Don't even think about it.It's too much of a distraction.

"Despite the fact that voice-operated, hands-free text based communications are not directly addressed in NHTSA's recent findings, it stands to reason that such communications would be equally distracting to a driver."

But Assemblyman Miller argued that since commuters spend an average of more than an hour behind the wheel every day, "it is unfair to require them to be out of touch" by banning texting while driving. His Assembly colleagues supported him with a 69-3 vote; the Senate passed it 36-0. All of the North Bay's representatives in the Legislature voted yes.

So, what does this mean? Well, it turns out that the message about text messaging is still a little muddled. Aides at Miller's office told the San Jose Mercury News that some devices and programs — including the popular "Siri" voice-activated system on the new iPhone — cannot legally be used under the law. And the California Highway Patrol said drivers who simply turn on a cellphone, or select an application while driving can be subject to a $100 ticket.

So how can a driver be sure he or she is being safe and legal behind the wheel when the urge arises to make — or receive — a phone call or text? Here's my advice: Don't even think about it.

It's too much of a distraction.

Chris Coursey's blog offers a community commentary and forum, from issues of the day to the ingredients of life in Sonoma County.