One Swipe or Tap – Driving with Cellphone Laws

AB (Assembly Bill) 1785, also known as the “One Swipe or One Tap – That’s All You Get!” law attempts to further regulate the use of cell phones while driving. It was signed into law on September 26, 2016. We use our phones constantly every day. Our phones are a part of our daily lives. We use it for everything from reading the news, getting on social media, talking to friends, text messaging friends, doing research, watching Youtube, watching Netflix, etc… It is so essential to our daily lives that we use it in our cars while driving. We can’t help it. Sometimes we receive an important phone call or text. We need to respond immediately. We pick up our phones and we make that text or that call. At this point, we are distracted. Auto accidents are more likely to occur when we are distracted. We aren’t giving our full attention to the road. This leads to auto accidents.

One Swipe or Tap – Driving with Cellphone Laws

You already can’t text or hold your cell phone to talk on it while driving. AB 1785 now allows you to use your cell phone as a navigation system but only under certain circumstances. A driver may use a cell phone as a GPS device so long as

(1) it is mounted on a vehicle’s windshield like a mounted GPS or is mounted or affixed to the vehicle’s dashboard or center console that does not hinder the driver’s view of the road; and

(2) the driver’s hand can be used to activate or deactivate a feature or function with a motion of a single swipe or tap of the driver’s fingers.

See that last part? Yep, you get one swipe or tap! Make it count or you might pay! First offense is $20 and $50 for each additional offense.