Cellphone law consequences

While many in the public were lucky enough to only get a warning in the first days of California’s new hands-free cellphone law, Don Nguyen was not one of them.

Nguyen, a 28-year-old Costa Mesa resident, was among the first to get a ticket Tuesday for driving and using his hand-held cellphone.

Tuesday morning Nguyen was on his way to work, merging onto the southbound 405 Freeway at Bristol Street when he thumbed to his phone book then lifted it up to speak into it. He wasn’t talking to anyone though he was giving the voice command to dial his work.

In the lane to his left, traveling alongside at 65 mph, was a California Highway Patrol officer who soon pulled him over and cited him.

“What are the odds of a police officer being right next to me while I’m making my one call on the speaker phone?” Nguyen said with a chuckle. He said he had the phone in his hands for only a few seconds before setting it down to talk.

He routinely uses voice commands to place calls so he doesn’t have to take his eyes off the road and dial, he said.

“It’s one of those funny things in your life. It’s so stupid you just have to laugh about it,” he said. “Even before the law went into effect, I was training myself to use the speaker phone to make a call and receive a call.

“I knew about the law. I knew I was doing the right thing by voice-dialing my phone, putting it on speaker and putting it down ... unfortunately the officer made a mistake.”

Nguyen said he’s not sure if fighting a $20 ticket is worth half a day in court.

Regardless, he thinks cases like his don’t fall under the law’s true intention and he doesn’t plan on changing any habits.

“I think the law is so vaguely written it can lead to mistakes, like in my case. It’s lacking a lot of common sense, especially because it prohibits you from talking and listening on your cellphone but doesn’t say anything about texting,” Nguyen said.

“They should repeal the law in its entirety or include more restrictions in order to achieve the purpose of the law.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].