The downside of hands-free calling
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At first, I thought California's new hands-free calling law was a great idea. Though it's debatable whether cell phones in the car can ever be safe, I took a lot of comfort in knowing that holding your phone to your ear while driving was now illegal. True, there's no guarantee that both hands will now be on the steering wheel, but I thought my chances of being run down by a yakking driver were just a bit smaller.
But, only a few days after the law went into effect I realized that it had one unfortunate consequence: a very rapid proliferation of Bluetooth dorks. Since headset-use is now required by law, the number of people wearing their headset when they're not in the car or on the phone has exploded. The sight of these people has always made me cringe, but now it appears they're here to stay. I'm know I'm not the only one who feels this way so I encourage my fellow Californians to remember this: please remove your headset when not in use. You're not a Borg drone; it doesn't make you look important or edgy, and it's not a fashion statement. If you need a place to stash it you can always buy the LG Decoy, but otherwise your pocket or purse should suffice.
Kent German is a senior editor for cell phone reviews at CNET. When he's not testing the newest handsets on the market, he's blogging about cell phone news for Crave. In his On Call column, he answers reader questions and gives his take on the rapidly changing mobile industry. E-mail Kent.
I mean, does it affect you in any way? Seriously? Live and let live, dude.
And I whole-heartedly agree about the Bluetooth devices.
Mark
I have one. It works great. The only downside is that without the earpiece you look like you are talking to yourself.
Since Washington State also instituted a hands-free law on the same day that Cali did--except our fines are a LOT MORE that what you southerners are forced to deal with--the headset scourge has also seen some increase here as well. But I guess it doesn't strike me as being any more stupid than what it was prior to the law's enactment.
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by bkuhn7089
January 7, 2009 9:29 AM PST
- I think that the law is great. I live close to New Jersey where the law took affect on March 1, 08. I do have to travel frequently into New Jersey so I was forced to go hands-free. At first, I had a headset. I thought it was great for the first 5 minutes and then it started to drive me nuts. I ripped it off my ear and chucked it in back of my car. About a week or so later I was searching online for other hands-free options and I came across a hands-free car kit by Parrot. I settled with a MK6100. The system is great. I purchased it from a mobile installation company in the PA, NJ area. The company was EasyHandsFree. They had the best price when it came to the whole deal. The kit, the installation and they even had a car specific harness. They didn't cut or splice any wires. It was pretty much plug' n play. They even came to me to do the install. That was also included in the price. Later I found out that going to a Circut City or a Best Buy it would have cost twice as much and I'd have to drop off my car. With the kit, the phone never has to leave my pocket...I can see who's calling on the caller id screen on the kit. I think that this is the best option for going hands-free.
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