If you live in CA beware

[Quicksilver]

You mean Bazerkeley police???

[admranger]

Cell phone use in California now requires hands free, right? So if I don't have a fancy star trek-ish bluetooth piece, can I use one earbud or is that some other violation? I know you should use two earbuds while driving, but I can't see how one would be any different than a wireless headpiece.

Now, if this new to me X5 has bluetooth installed, then I'm golden and have no worries...

Bad timing for a quick run from Santa Clara to Vegas tomorrow.

[generx]

Originally Posted by JCL

......I think that any significant window tint ahead of the B pillar is a safety issue, and should be ticketed. If you can not make eye contact with the other driver, how do you know that he can see you?

Are you serious?

[JCL]

Originally Posted by generx

Are you serious?

Absolutely serious. But then, I also work for a company that bans all portable communication device use when driving, whether or not the device is hands free. Statistics show that hands free isn't safer than hand held, both are contributors to driver distraction. Driving should be about driving, not entertainment, and those that don't get that should lose the privilege of driving.

[PersonaNonGrata]

Originally Posted by JCL

Absolutely serious. But then, I also work for a company that bans all portable communication device use when driving, whether or not the device is hands free. Statistics show that hands free isn't safer than hand held, both are contributors to driver distraction. Driving should be about driving, not entertainment, and those that don't get that should lose the privilege of driving.

I absolutely agree with you but am a hypocrite because I tint my front side windows due to the extreme heat we get where I live. BUT, I do not and never have done "limo tint" and always keep my front side window tint to a transparency that allows other drivers to still see me.

While I think dark tint all around looks good, it is a safety issue to other drivers and police who stop vehicles they can't see into.

[E61Silver]

Originally Posted by JCL

Absolutely serious. But then, I also work for a company that bans all portable communication device use when driving, whether or not the device is hands free. Statistics show that hands free isn't safer than hand held, both are contributors to driver distraction. Driving should be about driving, not entertainment, and those that don't get that should lose the privilege of driving.

I think you can use a hand free device and drive safe, you just need to make driving the first priority.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by E61Silver

I think you can use a hand free device and drive safe, you just need to make driving the first priority.

Yes, that is a commonly held belief. Do you have any statistics to support your opinion that it is safe? There are lots of statistics available to show that it isn't. Perhaps if accidents caused by cellphone-related inattention were treated the same as DUI, we would start to see a shift in thinking.

I just look forward to the day when this is debated on the Chevy Impala or Toyota Corolla forums, not on a BMW forum. We are driving what is supposed to be the Ultimate Driving Machine, not the Ultimate Mobile Phonebooth. I fully realize that attitude change may take a long time.

[E61Silver]

We multitask all the time, normally you don't change the station on the radio or adjusted the HVAC when in a heavy traffic condition, the same goes for a phone or talking to a passenger.

It all requires common scene, not saying that a phone is not a distraction but its not the same DWI.

[Quicksilver]

Oh I'm not sure I agree with you one this one. If I'm going to make the
5 hour drive to LA in my ride aint no way I'm gonna travel without my tunes
and a way to communicate with family on the way down. I can understand it if
a person can't drive and chew gum at the same time, however a reasonable,
prudent, logical driver ought to know how to handle oneself behind the wheel.

Although we might want to, we just can't punish everyone by taking away their
privilege of driving based on the inability of others who don't know what their doing on the road.

Originally Posted by JCL

Driving should be about driving, not entertainment, and those that don't get that should lose the privilege of driving.

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by E61Silver

We multitask all the time, normally you don't change the station on the radio or adjusted the HVAC when in a heavy traffic condition, the same goes for a phone or talking to a passenger.

It all requires common scene, not saying that a phone is not a distraction but its not the same DWI.