California drivers will now be able to send or receive text messages behind the wheel, as long as they are hands-free and voice-activated, under a bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law today.
Assembly Bill 1536, which will go in effect Jan. 1, 2013, gives California motorists the same rights with text-based messages as voice calls.
Existing law bans drivers from using phones to write, send or read text-based communication.
The new law will remove the ban if the device is “specifically designed and configured to allow voice-operated and hands-free operation,” according to the bill’s text. Violating the new law will result in a fine of $20 for the first offense and a $50 fine for each subsequent offense.
“AB 1536 will bring the current hands-free statute up to date with emerging technology in our new vehicles by allowing the use of a specifically designed voice-operated devices to dictate, send or listen to text-based communications,” Assemblyman Jeff Miller (R-Corona), author of the bill, stated in a press release on his website.
Other driving-related bills were also signed by Brown today, including a ban on motorcycle-only checkpoints.
Compiled by Katherine Hafner, Bruin senior staff.