Cell phone wake up call

When leaving Bridgeport a week or so ago, I was pulled over by one of Mono County Sheriff’s Department’s finest. The reason: I was driving while talking on my cell phone. I had been parked by the roadside while listening to messages, and was ending the call when I pulled back into traffic, and happened to be spotted by the deputy. In any case, I was on the phone. He got me, dead to rights.

California law prohibits using a hand-held use of a cellular phone while operating a motor vehicle. (That goes for texting as well.) It doesn’t matter if I had been at the beginning or the end of a call … as far as the deputy was concerned, I was breaking the law.

Looking back, that deputy was right, and probably did me a favor, one I hope I can pass along. He let me off with a warning, but I have to say it certainly got me thinking.

People yap away distractedly on their phones or take their eyes off the road sending text messages while zipping down the road. Is it any wonder the same types of drunk driving statistics are sadly becoming all too commonplace with cell phones and text devices?

Drivers that use cell phones are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The hefty fines alone should put you off doing it again, but worse to me could be NOT getting caught and endangering one’s own life, or worse, someone else’s.

For what … a call or text that can be returned later … if there is a later? Pull over; don’t get pulled over.