Bluetooth Car Kit News

As July 1st approaches, drivers in California are being reminded to gear up to go hands free, to avoid a first time offence penalty of $20, rising to $50 for further infractions.

For those drivers under 18, the law will be even more strict, banning completely electronic communication whilst driving, both talking or texting, including hands free talking.

Whilst the option to use a cheaper corded handset is available under the law, a Bluetooth handsfree kit or earpiece, provides flexibility, and usually more features.

Other alternatives, such as a sun visor mounted Bluetooth car kit are a compromise between a fully fitted car kit, and an earpiece solution.

If the law can help to reduce accidents then the change must be a positive one, and as the California Highway Patrol reported that there were 1,232 collisions in 2006 that were attributed to handheld cell phone use, compared with 71 collisions that involved hands-free use, the statistics suggest that this will indeed be a positive change.

        

This time it is Nova Scotia that are set to ban hand held mobiles in vehicles, in a ban that is a result of a law passed in December 2007.

A first offence fine of $164.50 will be followed by a follow up fine of $222.00 for a second offence and then $337.00 for any subsequent offences.

Nova Scotia is the second province in Canada to ban drivers using cellphones and as with other areas that have passed similar laws, handsfree speakerphones are allowed, as are earpieces.

        

As the debate on handsfree mobile phone useage intensifies in America, researchers are increasingly reporting that it is not the holding of the phone that is the problem, but the call itself. But although the message about banning young drivers from making all forms of calls and prohibiting text messaging behind the wheel seems to beeing accepted there is still a groundswell of objection to extending the ban to Adults. Government studies show that 1 in 20 drivers in America are talking whilst driving. <!–more–>

But developers are working to overcome the dangers. Answering a call without having to press a button on a device can help believes Charlie Klauer, a Virginia Tech researcher who worked on a recent study with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

And systems that can dedect when a driver may have lost focus on the road are also in development.

“Technology now makes it possible to monitor the driver’s condition or state and have some remedial steps so that you can have a more refined response,”

according to Mary Stearns, acting chief of advanced vehicle safety technology at the Volpe Center, a US Department of Transportation research facility in Cambridge. This would help make handsfree devices more akin to talking to a passenger in the car, who can sense when there may be a danger ahead and stop talking, something that the person on the other end of a call can not do, at least not yet.

        

In the USA, Massachusetts have moved a step closer to going handsfree. Last month, the lower house passed legislation to ban texting whilst operating a vehicle, and also requiring drivers to use handsfree technology while making voice calls.

The bill was approved 107 votes to 47; Police would be able to stop drivers that are in violation, landing first-time adult offenders a $100 fine.

If passed, the hands-free bill would make Massachusetts the 6th American state to make handsfree compulsory, but it still has to pass through the Massachusetts Senate where there is opposition from key legislators.

        

Parrot, already an established manufacture of hands-free Bluetooth car kit`s, have announced a product suitable for motorcycles and scooters.

The innovative handlebar control connects wirelessly to the speaker and microphone attached to your helmet, and via Bluetooth to your mobile phone which you can leave in your pocket or bag.

In addition to promising crystal clear sound, and volumes that increases with your speed, the kit has an FM RDS radio (it actually speaks the name of the station when it is tuned in!) and the capability to connect to a Music player on your Bluetooth mobile, or via a cable to your MP3 player.

Full information on the SK4000 Motorcycle handsfree kit

        

Here is a frightening statistic; apparently 66% of American teens text while driving. If talking on your mobile whilst driving is dangerous then how much more so is texting?

Now this statistic comes from a company called Yap, makers of software that will allow you to dictate text messages without needing to touch your mobile, and will also read back received text messages to you - obviously both safer than holding and looking at your mobile whilst driving, something you see all too often happening in this country, And which is clearly in breach of the current law. (more…)

        

Chief Supt Kenny Scott, of Strathclyde Police, was stopped a week into the new tougher driving laws came into force, using a hand held mobile phone. He was driving a private car and was off duty, but was stopped by officers of his own force.

In line with the new penalties, he has been fined £60 and has had three points put on his driving licence.

We can confirm that a 50-year-old man was given a fixed penalty following an alleged road traffic offence on the M74 on Wednesday, 7 March.

said a police spokeswoman.

        

The RAC foundation has carrried out undercover research into ways that mobile phone retailers will try and sell phones and accessories.

Whilst reassuringly all mobile retailers advised their mystery shoppers that the law requires motorists to use a handsfree kit while driving, but just one in three explained that this is because using a hand-held phone can be distracting. One assistant went as far as recommending throwing the phone down if blue lights were spotted.

The sound advice from the RAC Foundation recommends that you

* Never use a hand-held phone whilst driving.

* Buy and fit a good hands-free system, but try not to make calls unless essential.

* Never compose or read texts or emails while driving.

* Recognise that driving requires a high level of concentration. Use the built in facilities of the phone to minimise distraction, such as voice mail for incoming calls and single number dialling of pre-programmed numbers.

* Keep calls short. Don’t chat and never argue.

* Do not take or make calls when road, traffic or weather conditions are particularly bad.

        

Maryland could be set to join Washington DC and New Jersey in banning handheld phones whilst driving. There is already a ban in place for drivers under 18 using a handheld phone, but plans, heard by a Senate committee last week, would make it a crime for all drivers talking on phones without using a handsfree accessory.

Another proposed ban, put forward by Democratic Sen. Norman Stone, would create a crime of “distracted driving,” which would include penalties for reading, writing or “performing personal grooming” whilst driving.

        

From 27 Februay 2007, if you are caught driving with a handheld mobile phone the penalty will includ 3 points on your licence as well as a doubling of the penalty fine to £60.

In an announcement on 22 January, Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander announced the changes stating that

while 92% of people agree with the law, 21% of drivers admit to breaking it.

This stacks up to nearly 74,000 penalty fines in 2004.