Insurer gives CA, NV and OR drivers “Bluetooth” hands free units to reduce accidents

[xcel]

Although an inexpensive ploy of sorts, this is a great idea.

Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Mar. 2, 2009

Bluetooth Hands-free cell phone units allows us to keep both hands on the wheel when talking while driving.

Monterey, CA -- Western region auto insurer Capital Insurance Group (CIG) has launched a driver safety program promoting the use of hands-free cell phones. Drivers with CIG Auto insurance can get a CIG Bluetooth headset free by recommending a friend, or purchase one at 50 percent below retail.

The Bluetooth device, which is compatible with most cellular phones, features voice-activated dialing, background-noise reduction, easy-touch call reception, call transfer, and three-way calling capabilities.

The use of a wireless headset while driving became mandatory in California and Washington on July 1, 2008. These states and others have banned the use of handheld cellular phones when behind the wheel. The new law in California imposes a $20 fine for a first offense and a $50 fine for subsequent violations. A ban on text messaging was added to the law last September.

CIG's announcement coincides with a new report showing California's hands- free driving law has been more effective than lawmakers originally anticipated. According to the state's Department of Motor Vehicles, fatal traffic accidents were down 13 percent overall between July 1 and Dec. 31, when compared to the same six-month window from the year before. Overall, there were nearly 1.3 fewer traffic-related deaths per day during that same period than the year before. In June, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he hoped the hands-free law would save 300 lives a year.

"Drivers are safer because of the new hands-free law," CIG President and CEO Peter Cazolla said. "By giving our clients affordable access to Bluetooth headsets, we help make the roadways safer and more secure for everyone."

[mdensch@charter.net]

This program could be providing a false sense of security. Some studies have shown that hands-free cell phone conversations are only marginally less distracting than hand-held phone calls. Telephones and driving just don't mix. Period.

(And the 13 per cent decline in California fatalities occurred at the same time that unemployment was rising sharply there. It is too soon to determine whether hands-free phoning had any impact on those numbers. Besides, dead or alive, people look dang silly with those things stuck in their ears.)

[OldMan58]

It depends on how much one uses the cell phone while driving; if talking less than three minutes per trip, I would say that hands-free is a good solution. A short message from wife to buy something in your way home shouldn't be too distracting anyways.
I prefer my GPS connected to my phone via Bluetooth -- it is even less distracting than the Bluetooth Hands-free ear piece. Compared with the days I used a handheld cell phone, I feel much safer and I find receiving a call less intrusive while I'm driving (in many cases I had to ignore the call or pull over).

For other people that really talk by the hour, a cell phone in any form is a distraction and a source of danger.

[mdensch@charter.net]

What researchers have found is that it is the conversation itself that is distracting, not whether you are holding a phone in your hand.

Driving is serious business. You are controlling a potentially lethal weapon and it demands your FULL attention. Best advice: Pull over and stop when using the phone. If you can't pull over, just let it ring. You can return the call later.

[jkp1187]

I'll pass. Just waiting for the first studies to come out linking Bluetooth with brain cancer.

[mdensch@charter.net]

Originally Posted by jkp1187

I'll pass. Just waiting for the first studies to come out linking Bluetooth with brain cancer.

Don't know about brain cancer, but my observation has been that Bluetooth devices seem to turn people's brains to mush.

[Kacey Green]

Originally Posted by mdensch@charter.net

Don't know about brain cancer, but my observation has been that Bluetooth devices seem to turn people's brains to mush.

I thought that was Hulu