Sunday, June 29, 2008

Sigh.

I have been very happy with California up until now. I was fine when the driving requirements changed right before I got my license. Yeah, it was lame that a bunch of stupid kids ruined it for everyone else, but I was really okay with it. (BTW, those rules look a bit more strict than when I was going through the process...does anyone remember what they had to do?)

Anyway, what I am currently upset with is that California is making us go "hands free" starting on July 1st. Right, to those that don't know that bit of ambiguous jargon, what they mean is that you aren't allowed to hold your phone to your ear while operating a motor vehicle. This means we will all have to use headsets, and I hate headsets. They are such a hassle, they are uncomfortable, and I don't feel the sound quality is all it should be. Anyway, I'm angry about it.

The thing is, I am really good at driving while talking on my cell phone, you know, the old fashioned way where you hold your phone to your ear. I was hoping the state might come up with some sort of proficiency exam, and if you pass, you won't have to be hands free. Or, you could get cute little vouchers (I'm thinking about the size of half an index card, and green) for your good driving record, and when you are pulled over for talking on your cell, you just hand them a voucher and you won't get a ticket. Then you can go on your merry way, and continue to earn vouchers when you make responsible driving decisions.

Sigh. So I might call you today, while I'm driving, just because I can. But come Tuesday, my communication will greatly decrease, I think. And if you call me, and I don't answer, it's probably because I was fumbling around with that stupid hands free headset (because why drive with that annoying thing in your ear 'just in case'?) and I accidentally hung up on you, or couldn't get it going in time. So, sorry about that. But it's really not my fault.

7 comments:

Marissa of Ris C Handmade said...

I remember those driving requirements. They were so lame, you couldn't drive with anyone else in the car. We all did anyway though.

Usandthings said...

I totally broke all of those rules. I seem to remember that you could drive siblings around, or maybe that was just part of the rule to which I totally for sure saw myself as an exception.

Kylie said...

Oh man. Man oh man. We had a discussion about this hands-free business with Mike's family. In fact Gabrielle emailed me the official hands-free rules this morning!

What I don't understand is that texting is still allowed. Yep. A driver is fully able to text their way to death, which in my opinion is much more likely than death-by-talking. At least you can look at the road while you talk!

Tara said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tara said...

I got my license before those crazy laws went into effect (I barely made it). I honestly didn't think this "hands free" thing was going to be that big of a deal for me...but turns out it's been 2 days and it is...I guess I'm going to have to get me one of those fancy head sets sometime...

Myriah Cohen said...

Today as I was driving to work, I saw this guy with a headset on, only it was HUGE!

It was like half a helmet.

The Studes said...

Myriah... why to go commenting on your own post!!
you know that if you moved to Utah again then those drive requirements wouldn't be in effect. Truth is i've seen cops talking on cells phones while they were drive and running stop signs. Wait a minute i really need to get out of this state!!!
lol
Nemiha