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California clamps down on in-car mobile use

But only if you're under 21

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California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has banned the use of mobile phones while driving, but only for those under the age of 21. The rest of the population is free to chat while cruising down the freeway, eating ice cream out of a bucket and reading Sports Illustrated.

The 60-year-old ex-Terminator said in a statement that today's youth are inexperienced and have a slower reaction time, so banning them from using digital devices while behind the wheel will give them less to be distracted by.

We were always under the impression that reaction time slowed with age, but hesitate to disagree with the man who played Conan - particularly as he'd presumably be a lot quicker with a sword these days.

US drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 reportedly have four times as many fatal accidents as those between 25 and 69.

About 10 people a day die on UK roads, though surprisingly that's one of the lowest road tolls in the world. We're not better drivers, we just wear seatbelts a lot. Perhaps we could send Jimmy Saville over to help out the Californians. ®

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Latest Comments

Hypocrisy!

The problem with young drivers isn't so much inexperience but peer-pressure and 'media role models' -the social pressures to drive fast and dangerously are what lead to the prangs.

Guess who set those role-models? Well, there's Mad Max, and... Oh, that other one. you know...

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Anonymous Coward

Distraction

Another reason that a phone conversation is more distracting than that with a passenger is that the person on the other end of the phone cannot see when you need to concentrate and SFTU for a minute.

Some dumb woman nearly ran up my arse today because she was trying to file her nails and drive at the same time - specific rules for specific distractions are pointless - just get more cops on the road actually busting people for the existing crimes of 'driving without due care and attention' and 'dangerous driving' - the things that cameras can't catch.

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texting while driving = insanity

Just the other day I had to swerve onto the hard shoulder because some idiot (in his 30's) was texting while driving, he was on the wrong side of the road and never even knew it.

How he made it around the bend is amazing, and the ONLY reason we didn't crash was because I ride a motorcycle, if I was in the car we would have had a head on collission -- even if I stopped!

He simply didn't even know it had happened -- didn't even lift his head when I beeped like mad!

All texters / callers should get penno points.

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