Hands-Free Law, Smands-Free Law: Distracting, Dangerous and Ridiculous Things You Can Still Do While Driving

The big day has now passed for California drivers and mobile phones are effectively banned on the road. At least not without a hands-free device…which Californians will inevitably forget to charge or lose. Other states have this law, but California is the driving-while-talking state. California is regularly ranked the worst for traffic congestion, and its 60 million residents spend more time in traffic not driving than just about anybody else. It’s a big deal, but also, this law is a joke: The fine is only US$20. The dumbest thing, however, is that there is a laundry list of far more distracting gadget and non-gadget tasks that are still perfectly legal behind the wheel of a car: