Michael Reynolds wrote:
I've been confused about how amateur radio will be affected by the upcoming hands-free law effective July 1st. Most people refer to this line from the FAQ page:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/cellularphonelaws/dl208_03cell_phone.pdf
Q: May I use a dedicated two-way radio while driving? A: Yes. The use of dedicated two-way radios such as walkie-talkies or Citizen Band (CB) radios is not affected by the new law.
This seems to imply that amateur radio will be exempt from the hands-free law.
However, here is a portion from section 23123 of the California vehicle code:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc23123.htm
- (a) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a
wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that manner while driving.
There is indeed some ambiguity. This came up before on the list and WA6QBT (retired LEO) indicated that a judge to whom he spoke said informally that amateur radio was not exempt and could be ticketed.
IMHO, and I'm not a lawyer, the situation hinges on the definition of "wireless telephone". If ham rigs aren't considered such, then we're safe. Making it more confusing are FCC definitions of "radiotelephone emission" to describe any form of voice.
The good news: You can still bolt a straight key to the dashboard and pound away on CW while tooling down the road at 65. The bad news is that I think they outlawed necking knobs, making it harder to steer one-handed while doing so.
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