On New Year's Day, it will become illegal to text message while driving in California. You probably have a lot of questions about what precisely that means: Can you still use your BlackBerry to get directions while driving? What about checking Major League Baseball scores? Can you text while stuck in horrible traffic on the I-5?
The very patient Jaime Coffee, an information officer with the California Highway Patrol, has responded to our Twenty-plus Questions concerning just about every possible way the new law may be put to the test. Turns out you can't browse the Web while driving or text while sitting at a red light. But checking Major League Baseball scores or texting while riding a bicycle seem to be OK. Here's an edited transcript of our e-mail conversation with Coffee.
Q: Is it illegal to send an e-mail from your mobile device while driving?
A: Yes. Please refer to VC 23123.5 (b) (PDF download). As used in this section "write, send, or read a text-based communication" means using an electronic wireless communications device to manually communicate with any person using a text-based communication, including, but not limited to, communications referred to as a text message, instant message or electronic mail.
Q: Is it illegal to browse the Web while driving?
A: Yes. Refer to VC 27602 (a). A person may not drive a motor vehicle if a television receiver, a video monitor or a television or video screen, or any other similar means of visually displaying a television broadcast or video signal that produces entertainment or business applications, is operating and is located in the motor vehicle at any point forward of the back of the driver's seat, or is operating and visible to the driver while driving the motor vehicle.
Q: Is it illegal to type directions into a digital map or GPS program on your phone while driving?
A: No. The law does not say you can't type directions into a map or GPS program on your phone.
Q: If you are texting a company or website, such as MLB.com, as opposed to a person, is it still illegal to text while driving?
A: Technically speaking ... if the text-based communication is not going to another "person" you're not in violation. The new law addresses two-way communication. However, we don't encourage or condone any activity that could place you in jeopardy or harm's way. If sending this message causes the driver to become distracted, and affects the safe operation of the vehicle, an officer can pull the driver over and cite for unsafe operation of a motor vehicle, etc.
Q: If you are stopped at a red light, can you text while sitting at the red light?
A: No, it's against the law. If you are stopped at a light or a stop sign, you are still in control of that vehicle and need to be able to react.
Q: If you are sitting in a traffic jam and your car is not moving, is it illegal to text while driving?
A: Yes, it is still illegal. Again, you are still in control of the vehicle and should focus 100% of your attention to its safe operation.
More questions and answers, including whether it's legal to text while parked, after the jump.
Q: If you have parked your car in a parking space, but the car is still running, are you allowed to text while driving?
A: Since you are legally parked, you can send your text.
Q: What about if the car is off?
A: If the engine is off, you are no longer operating the vehicle. Hopefully you have pulled over and parked in a safe location.
Q: If you have pulled over to the side of the road but are not in a parking space, and the car is still running, is it illegal to text while driving?
A: Technically, if you were pull over to the side of the road you're not driving. As long as the vehicle is stopped in an area that is not prohibited. We recommend that you pick a safe place to stop -- for example, a parking lot -- and remember to never stop on the freeway.
Q: Is it illegal to read directions from your map or GPS program on your phone while driving?
A: No. However, we do not recommend that you do this.
Q: Is it illegal to type directions into a GPS device that is separate from a phone while driving?
A: No. Again, however, we do not encourage or recommend that you do this.
Q: Is it illegal to read texts that you receive while driving?
A: Yes. Texting (composing, sending or reading) while operating a vehicle on public roadways is illegal.
Q: Is it illegal to read e-mails that you receive while driving?
A: Yes.
Q: Is it illegal to type in a phone number that you then call with your hands-free device?
A: No. You can still dial, and the new law doesn't prohibit you from dialing. However, as soon as you hit send, you must be hands-free. If you've got voice-activated dialing, it's even better.
Q: Is it illegal to text while driving a motorcycle or a bicycle?
A: A motorcycle has a motor, so it would be illegal to text while driving a motorcycle. A bike doesn't have a motor, therefore it is not illegal. But if you're riding a bicycle, you should be paying attention to your surroundings.
Q: If you have a service that allows you to recite text messages that are typed onto the phone by voice recognition software, is that illegal to use?
A: If you are using a hands-free device, that is using voice-recognition software ... technically you're hands-free, so you'd be OK.
Q: What if you have already composed the text messages but you just need to press send?
A: Yes, it is still illegal to "send" the text regardless of when it was composed. So send it before you head out in your vehicle.
Q: Is is illegal to type a text message into a touch-screen device such as an iPhone?
A: Yes. Texting (composing, sending or reading) while operating a vehicle on public roadways is illegal, no matter what type of device you're using.
Q: Does the law pertain to devices with a QWERTY keyboard, rather than just a number screen?
A: Yes. It applies to any electronic wireless communications device used to write, send or read a text-based communication. It's the distraction [of texting] the law is attempting to eliminate while you're driving.
Q: What are the penalties for texting while driving?
A: They are similar to the cellphone law that went into effect July 1, 2008. The base fine for a first violation is $20; subsequent violations are $50. However, the total cost of the citation will be significantly higher than the base fine with the addition of local court costs and program fees. The exact penalty varies from county to county.
Q: If you get in an accident while texting while driving, are the penalties harsher?
A: The penalty for violating that law remains the same. However, if your texting contributed to the collision, the officer could charge you with a host of other violations including reckless driving, unsafe speed for conditions, etc. If the collision should involve bodily injury or great bodily injury, you could also be charged with violation of VC 21070, which includes an additional base fine of $70-$95 (plus penalties and assessments).
WASHINGTON – Skittish employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession.
The new figures, released by the Labor Department Friday, showed the crucial employment market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid clip, and handed Americans some more grim news right before the holidays.
As companies throttled back hiring, the unemployment rate bolted from 6.5 percent in October to 6.7 percent last month, a 15-year high.
"These numbers are shocking," said economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economics Advisors. "Companies are sharply reacting to the economy's problems and slashing costs. They are not trying to ride it out."
The unemployment rate would have moved even higher if not for the exodus of 422,000 people from the work force. Economists thought many of those people probably abandoned their job searches out of sheer frustration. In November 2007, the jobless rate was at 4.7 percent.
The U.S. tipped into recession last December, a panel of experts declared earlier this week, confirming what many Americans already thought.
Since the start of the recession, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs, the number of unemployed people increased by 2.7 million and the jobless rate rose by 1.7 percentage points.
President-elect Barack Obama said the dismal job news underscored the need for forceful action, even as he warned that the pain could not be quickly relieved.
"There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis ... and it's likely to get worse before it gets better," Obama said. "At the same time, this ... provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come."
To provide relief, the Bush administration will continue to concentrate on ways to bust through a credit jam that is feeding prominently into the economy's problems, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told The Associated Press in an interview. "We're going to stay focused on that like a laser," he said.
On Wall Street, stocks slid. The Dow Jones industrials were down more than 180 points in morning trading.
Job losses last month were widespread, hitting factories, construction companies, financial firms, retailers, leisure and hospitality, and others industries. The few places where gains were logged included the government, education and health services.
The loss of 533,000 payroll jobs was much deeper than the 320,000 job cuts economists were forecasting. The rise in the unemployment rate, however, wasn't as steep as the 6.8 percent rate they were expecting. Taken together, though, the employment picture clearly darkening.
The job reductions were the most since a whopping 602,000 positions were slashed in December 1974, when the country was in a severe recession.
All told, 10.3 million people were left unemployed as of November, while the number of employed was 144.3 million.
Job losses in September and October also turned out to be much worse. Employers cut 403,000 jobs in September, versus 284,000 previously estimated. Another 320,000 were chopped in October, compared with an initial estimate of 240,000.
Employers are slashing costs to the bone as they try to cope with sagging appetites from customers in the U.S. and in other countries, which are struggling with their own economic troubles.
The carnage — including the worst financial crisis since the 1930s — is hitting a wide range of companies.
In recent days, household names like General Motors Corp., AT&T Inc., DuPont, JPMorgan Chase & Co., as well as jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., and mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. announced layoffs.
Fighting for their survival, the chiefs of Chrysler LLC, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. returned to Capitol Hill Friday to again ask lawmakers for as much as $34 billion in emergency aid.
Workers with jobs saw modest wage gains. Average hourly earnings rose to $18.30 in November, a 0.4 percent increase from the previous month. Over the year, wages have grown 3.7 percent, but paychecks haven't stretched that far because of high prices for energy, food and other items.
Worn-out consumers battered by the job losses, shrinking nest eggs and tanking home values have retrenched, throwing the economy into a tailspin. As the unemployment rate continues to move higher, consumers will burrow further, dragging the economy down even more, a vicious cycle that Washington policymakers are trying to break.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected ratchet down a key interest rate — now near a historic low of 1 percent — by as much as a half-percentage point on Dec. 16 in a bid to breathe life into the moribund economy. Bernanke is exploring other economic revival options and wants the government to step up efforts to curb home foreclosures.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, whose department oversees the $700 billion financial bailout program, also is weighing new initiatives, even as his remaining days in office are numbered.
Obama, who takes office on Jan. 20, has called for a massive economic recovery bill to generate 2.5 million jobs over his first two years in office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has vowed to have a package ready on Inauguration Day for Obama's signature.
The measure, which could total $500 billion, would bankroll big public works projects to create jobs, provide aid to states to help with Medicaid costs, and provide money toward renewable energy development.
At 12 months and counting, the recession is longer than the 10-month average length of recessions since World War II. The record for the longest recession in the postwar period is 16 months, which was reached in the 1973-75 and 1981-82 downturns. The current recession might end up matching that or setting a record in terms of duration, analysts say.
The 1981-82 recession was the worst in terms of unemployment since the Great Depression. The jobless rate rose as high as 10.8 percent in late 1982, just as the recession ended, before inching down.
Given the current woes, the jobless rate could rise as high as 8.5 percent by the end of next year, some analysts predict. Projections, however, have to be taken with a grain of salt because of all the uncertainties plaguing the economy. Still, the unemployment rate often peaks after a recession has ended. That's because companies are reluctant to ramp up hiring until they feel certain the recovery has staying power.
