Look Ma, No Hands

By Tom McNichol
     
By now, you know that it's illegal to talk on a handheld cell phone while driving in California. Of course, a few people still haven't gotten the word. Like, for instance, that boorish lout in the sports car with vanity plates stopped in front of you at a green light, his phone cupped to his ear, yakking away. But since July 1, that person is in violation not only of common decency but also California Vehicle Code section 23123, which prohibits drivers from using a wireless telephone while operating a motor vehicle unless it is a hands-free device.
      California thus joins Washington, D.C.; New York; New Jersey; Connecticut; Washington state; and a handful of local jurisdictions in enacting a hands-free law. The idea, of course, is that a driver with both hands on the wheel is a safer driver. In a study released earlier this year, the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California estimated that 300 fewer people will die each year in traffic accidents as a result of the new law in California.
      As road infractions go, a cell-phone citation in California won't set you back very much. The base fine is $20 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent convictions. With the addition of penalty assessments, those fines can more than triple. There are a few exceptions to the law. For example, a driver can use a cell phone without a hands-free device to make an emergency call. The law specifies emergency calls as those to a law enforcement agency, medical provider, fire department, or other emergency services agency, but drivers stopped by the police will no doubt have their own idea of what constitutes an emergency. Canceling a court appearance? Talking your paralegal out of quitting (again)? Changing a tee time? This is clearly a law that awaits its Miranda decision: Exactly when do drivers have the right not to remain silent?
      In addition to the emergency exception, the California law contains several astonishing loopholes. For one, it doesn't explicitly prohibit drivers from dialing a wireless telephone, although drivers are strongly urged not to dial while driving. Never mind that dialing while driving is even more dangerous than talking while driving, because you have to take your eyes off the road to look at the keypad.
      Even more astounding, the law does not specifically prohibit text messaging while driving, although a police officer can issue a citation if he or she believes the driver is not operating a vehicle safely. No doubt scores of text jockeys are already barreling down I-5 happily thumbing their BlackBerrys--perhaps with the full text of the hands-free law saved on a hot key just in case they get pulled over. "No, Officer, see for yourself, there's no mention of texting in the statute." Hv a nic dy.
      Most drivers, however, want to do the right thing--stay safe and within the law. For these responsible drivers, there are essentially three add-on devices that let you comply with California's hands-free law (in ascending order of cost): a wired headset, a wireless "Bluetooth" earpiece, and a hands-free phone system installed in your dashboard.
     
Wired Headset
This is by far the cheapest option. Buy a wired earpiece/microphone that connects directly to your cell phone's headphone jack, and bang--you're connected--hands-free, and in full compliance with the law. But it has a major disadvantage: the wire. Having a cord dangling from your head to your cell phone within inches of the steering wheel is annoying and potentially dangerous. Once you're connected, you'll want to securely anchor your cell phone (I found jamming it in the crack in the seat most effective) and give the wire just enough slack so that it doesn't get tangled.
      The cheapest wired earpieces can be found behind the counter of any drug store and cost about $10. Avoid these. I even managed to find a used headset on Ebay for one cent--just to see how cheaply the new law could be satisfied. But the sound quality is terrible on these cheap headsets, and with the pulsing, low-frequency thrum of a car barreling down the freeway, you're guaranteed to have one of those fabled "Can you hear me now?" conversations.
      A moderately priced upgrade is the Plantronics MX250 Mobile Headset, which lists for about $30 (although it's cheaper on the Web). It's easy to use: Just plug it into your cell phone's earphone jack and you're set to go. It's got a pivoting boom microphone and a noise-canceling feature that screens out some (but not all) car noises. Plantronics also sells a slightly more advanced version, the MX505 Mobile Headset, with a list price of about $40. I found the MX505 a bit more comfortable to wear, but the sound was virtually identical to the cheaper model.
      The truth is, the sound from any wired mobile headset takes some getting used to. An ordinary cell-phone conversation with the phone pressed to your ear already has a kind of once-removed quality; using a wired headset makes the conversation twice removed--at least. Sometimes you feel like Mission Control talking to the space shuttle. And even when you read them loud and clear, you're always aware of being very, very far away.
     
Bluetooth Earpiece
A somewhat costlier but more technically elegant solution is to buy a headset that communicates wirelessly with your cell phone via Bluetooth, the wireless protocol that's become the industry standard. First, you'll have to make sure that your cell phone is Bluetooth-compatible; most cell phones bought within the past two years are, including the iPhone. (If you're not sure about yours, check phonescoop.com.) As long as your cell phone is Bluetooth-compatible, you can comply with the hands-free law by buying any of the scores of earpieces available on the market, with prices starting as low as $10 and going up into the hundreds of dollars. I've found the best values are in the $40-to-$80 range. You've no doubt seen them around: the tiny silver earpieces with the blue flashing light that instantly makes the wearer look like Spock from Star Trek. Personally, I find the look a bit too "logical" and off-putting; I await the Bluetooth earpiece that will make me look more like Captain Kirk, or even better, Scotty: Dammit, Jim I'm already at full power!
      Bluetooth's biggest advantage is simplicity--no wires, nothing to get tangled. On the downside, most Bluetooth headsets require a multistep setup process to get them to sync with your cell phone. And though the sound quality is better than a wired headset's, it still won't be mistaken for a landline. But perhaps the biggest pain of all is that Bluetooth headsets have to be recharged, just like your cell phone--as if you don't already have enough tiny blinking devices that need their nightly recharge. And maybe it's just my delicate, exquisitely proportioned ears, but almost every Bluetooth headset I tested fell out of my ear at some point while I was talking. Fumbling for a small earpiece while driving is unsafe at any speed.
     
Hands-Free Phone System in Your Dashboard
The most expensive option is to install an in-dash, hands-free phone system in your car. Many higher-end car models already come equipped with speakerphone systems, and more automakers are likely to follow suit, now that the state with the most cars on the road has a hands-free law.
      You can buy a speakerphone kit, such as the Parrot Minikit, for about $90. It's a relatively easy-to-set-up portable device, about the size of a deck of cards, that clips to your car's sun visor. Its internal microphone picks up your voice, and its mini speakers let you hear the other person.
      For those to whom the car speakerphone is as much a statement of identity as an accessory, there's the TomTom GO 720, an installed personal-navigation system that doubles as a speakerphone and sells for about $300. There's also the Kenwood Excelon ($878), which is a combination car stereo system, speakerphone, and GPS device. Many of the top-line models will even read your text messages aloud and then return a call with a voice command.
      Besides the cost, the chief drawback of a speakerphone setup is that it makes you sound like, well, you're talking through a speakerphone. Some attorneys actually like this effect, feeling it confers a Wizard of Ozlike authority to what they're saying. Here's what I say to that, Counselor: Hang up and drive.
     
     
     

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