Washington is to become the fourth US state to ban the use of a hand-held mobile phone while driving.
The law would go into effect Jan. 1, 2008 (same as California). The ticket would cost drivers $101 and it would not be reported to insurance companies. Using a hand-held phone while driving would be a secondary offense.
Drivers would still be allowed to use “hands-free” cell phone devices such as headphones or an earpiece.
According to the 2007 Pemco Insurance Northwest Poll, 85 percent of Washington drivers believe that talking on a cell phone while driving should be legal only if the driver has a hands-free device, or made illegal altogether.
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., all have laws prohibiting the use of hand-held phones while driving. California passed a similar law that will go into effect in 2008.
Your children maybe know what “Bluetooth” is since Christmas day. Some Lego fanatics created a Lego car controlled via Bluetooth mouse using their patented “Bluemagic Host Application Programming Interface“. The Bluetooth mouse controls the direction of the car ! Move the mouse forward and the car moves forward. Move the mouse backward and the car moves backward. Move the mouse left or right and the car turns left or right. How long before we see this system in a real car ?
Parrot anounced in a December 2006 press release the integration of Parrot hands-free car kits by the French car manufacturer Renault, directly in their cars : phone calls features, dashboard display, convenient controls …
Parrot developed an exclusive “automatic safety call hold†function, which makes it possible to put callers on hold, with a recorded message played when drivers are unable to take the call immediately.
Renault cars using a Parrot wireless hands-free system are: Clio III, Scenic II, Laguna II and Espace IV, Modus, Kangoo generation 2006, Trafic ph.2 and Master ph.3.
Watch this Renault advertising video clip showing all the features provided by the Parrot made CK4160, the OEM hands-free car kit from Parrot.
Used by the majority of car manufacturers, the ISO connectors allow the connection of Parrot hands-free kits to your car. But if your vehicle does not have an ISO connector, Parrot provides you with adaptor cables* that transform the connector of your vehicle into an ISO connector !
How will British retailers cope with the new UK law forbidding drivers to drive while using their mobile phones? Click on the image to read the answer in the comic published in March in Fone mag!
Due to consumers’ demand, the best-selling Parrot CK3100 LCD is back in full black! The same robust features, including phonebook synchronization, on screen display of caller ID, voice tags recognition… in a new black finish. The Parrot 3100 “Black Edition” is designed to fit any car’s interior and dashboard.
