A traffic court in Haifa recently acquitted drivers charged
with speaking by cell phone without a hands-free set, ruling
that drivers may use standard cell phones while driving as
long as both hands stay on the steering wheel.
The judge said that according to the wording of the law,
drivers must hold onto the steering wheel or the gearshift to
insure the proper operation of the vehicle or to maintain
traffic regulations. The violation is taking both hands off
the wheel.
The legislator added a regulation saying phone use does not
justify taking a hand off the wheel and he who wants to use a
phone while the vehicle is in motion must use a hands-free
set.
The judge noted that the penalty for removing the hands from
the wheel to hold a phone is five times higher than the
penalty for taking one's hands off the wheel for any other
purpose.
The judge said since the indictments did not state the
drivers had both hands off the wheel there was no proof of a
violation and noted today cell phones are available that do
not require a hands-free unit. "The driver can place it on
the passenger seat or rest it on the control panel and speak
inside the car and his voice will be picked up by the
internal microphone installed in the phone. The voice of the
person on the other end of the line is heard via a built-in
speaker." The judge also said today there are phones that can
dial by voice commands and can be programmed to answer
automatically.
The judge's conversance with modern cellular technology made
the driver's acquittal possible.
According to a survey conducted in Britain, half of all
vehicle owners — both men and women — speak with
the car itself while driving. They spill out their hearts to
the car, sharing their problems, confident the listener won't
divulge their secrets. Some talk to their car only
occasionally, throwing out a word of encouragement or anger
when it does not run properly. More than one-third of those
asked believe their car has feelings.
