Cell Phones

After the First of July, will we be safer on the roads and highways of this great, wonderful, over-motorized and wild and crazy state?

The answer, pholks, is “maybe” and “we should be.”

In case you haven't heard or read about it, or gotten a cell or text message, July 1 is when California drivers will be violating the law by talking via a hand-held cell phone.

The way I see it, on July 1, about 17, maybe 23 drivers, in California will cease and desist their cell-phone-while-driving habit, cold turkey. Another several dozen will cut their while driving cell phone calls by 37 percent. The majority of the other 23 million plus drivers probably won't miss a word or text message as they zoom down the freeways, highways, roads or, in some cases, sidewalks, alleys, trails, hills, gullies and beaches.

Of course, there will be a couple hundred thousand or maybe a million or so who will continue to be engrossed in conversation with whomever via their “Bluetooth” without a care of what is going on around them, in front of them, behind them or wherever. The law also forbids anyone under the age of 18 from talking on a cell phone, hands free or not. That will be interesting.

I admit the new California Vehicle Code law is a good thing, as far as it goes. It needs to go further. Hands free cell phoning is a start, but certainly not a cure-all. I am not, nor will I probably ever be, convinced that talking on the phone while driving is safe.

As most of you know, I have been a cell phone user for more than half a year now and I have actually talked on the phone while driving. It's happened about a half dozen times with the total elapsed time of two-and-one-half miles but never in heavy traffic.

Sure, I get very, very few cell phone calls and with few exceptions they are from family members. Almost always I wait until I pull over and call back.

It will be quite interesting to see just how much impact the enforcement of this new rule really will have on driving habits. Will roadway vigilantes bombard the 911 system to alert the cops? If so, will they abuse the law in reporting abuse of the law? Or, will they use their heads and pull over to make the call or simply jot down the license number?

I try very hard to pay attention to my driving and I plan on continuing that practice but keeping track of other drivers is going to add to that task.

It will take some time, I'm sure, for drivers to get used to the new law and we can expect to see all kinds of news stories and features and television bits about California cell phone while driving law. That stuff probably will take over the “news” as the primary election campaigning winds down.

Hopefully this new law will be a leap forward and add to the “paying attention to what you are doing” method of motoring.

SPEAKING OF LEAPING, just ask Visalian Ray Means about how he marked his birthday last week in Las Vegas.

Ray, the bar manager and night bartender at the Wagon Wheel Steak House, made his mark on Vegas soil with a comfortable landing on his first sky diving excursion.

For several months, Ray had been contemplating making his leap to celebrate one of those mini-milestone birthdays, before settling on Vegas rather that a Central Valley jump location.

Over the years, I have given occasional thought to try skydiving but something always seemed to be lacking… nerve.

So, as a compromise last week, I asked Ray if he would give me a call at my office as soon as he could after his jump. I figured that would get me as close to jumping out of an airplane as I ever will expect to get. My wing-walking experience nearly 30 years ago was as close as I expect to get to the outside of an airborne flying machine.
About 20 minutes after landing, Ray called, talking a little faster than normal and obviously still fueled by the adrenalin rush, saying he certainly would do it again. Ray jumped tandem with an instructor and said the freefall before chute opening was even better than he expected, just not long enough. He plans on doing some indoor skydiving in one of those silo-wind tunnel Vegas attractions before returning home. A solo jump is in Ray's plans.

Although my birthday comes this weekend, I will be elevated to another year of age with my feet on the ground.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com