Grant's rant is causing quite a stir on the 101 Freeway between Palo Alto and Mountain View in the SF Bay Area.
"Senator Joe Simitian: Your cell phone law sucks."
Grant Paulson of Pleasanton spent $10,000 to post billboard containing his thoughts on the hands-free cell phone law that has been in place since July, which was authored by Simitian.
A story by Gary Richards of the Mercury News details Paulsons motivation.
"All I want is to have a choice," said Paulson, president of GP Fire Protection, a company that installs fire sprinklers. "When I get a call from someone on Bluetooth, it's comical. I'll say, 'I can barely hear what the hell you are saying. Are you on Bluetooth or a speaker phone?' They say yes, and that's why I hate this law so much. The clarity is awful."
Paulson is pushing for a statewide ballot measure to repeal the law because it takes away personal freedoms.
Many drivers in the area that were contacted by the Mercury News found the 75-word message a distracting nuisance. "To read it, one needs to slow to a crawl and stare hard to the left." And the The Daily Post of Palo Alto reported that Simitian thought the advertisement was "a hoot" although he was concerned someone might get "rear-ended" trying to read it.
The story mentions that the CHP has written more than 60,000 tickets to drivers using handheld phones or caught text messaging, including 9,200 in January, the most in any single month. The total fine for a first offense is around $100.
My thoughts... I still see people doing unsafe behavior behind the wheel (almost like they are tempting fate). Though I understand Grant's rant, the $10K price is a steep one. Then again, I wish I had $10K to post a billboard reminding folks to turn on their bleepin' headlights when it is raining (or anytime windshield wipers are being used). On second thought, that's a bad idea because chances are the people who should read that message are probably too focused on texting to pay attention.
