Results tagged “cellphone”

TMZ caught pop-singer Brandy yesterday illegally using her cell phone while driving. And then they called it pulling a Shriver, thanks to Califonia's First Lady who last week was caught a number of times breaking the law her hubby signed into law.

After being caught not once, not twice, but thrice, California's First Lady Maria Shriver apologized today for breaking the cell phone while driving law. Her brief statement:

Her husband may have signed the no driving while holding a cell phone law, but the message apparently hasn't hit home for California's First Lady Maria Shriver.

It's been one year now since a California law went into effect making it illegal to drive while using a hand-held cellphone. The Automobile Club of Southern California has released the findings of "observational roadside surveys of drivers on Orange County roads," and have determined that the "use of hand-held cell phones by drivers declined sharply from pre-law levels."

It seems these days you can't swing a dead cat without hitting someone whose glassy eyes are fixated on the tantalizing business card-sized screen of their beloved iPhone. Techies, Apple enthusiasts, and gadget junkies alike, take heed: There are rumors swirling around that hint that a new iPhone could hit stores come summertime, based on some clever 'decoding' by techies of iPhone software update numbering.

Lawyers for victims of the deadly Chatsworth Metrolink train crash in September say that engineer Robert Sanchez regularly used his cell phone while on the job. An "employee complained to the company about the use of a cell phone by engineer Robert Sanchez, but the company ignored the complaint," the lawyers said. Veolia, the company contracted by Metrolink to supply engineers, apparently had "busted" Sanchez a few months before the accident during a routine field test, the laywers also said. Sanchez, who died, sent a text message 22 seconds before the commuter train crashed head on with a freight train killing 24 other people on September 12. Veolia says they have a strict cell phone ban policy, but are not discussing the crash as the federal investigation is still ongoing and due to litigation.

Drinking and driving is beyond stupid, and we all know that making phone calls while intoxicated can also lead to disastrous results. And of course, drivers who lead cops on chases are just foolishly delaying the inevitable. Well, one smart fella did all of the above last night on the freeways of Southern California, and added in a bonus police chase for good measure.

A tipster sent this missive to our inbox last night: "no ones cellphones are working on the west side. i know for a fact att and sprint are down and have been for hours now." But the West Side wasn't the only part of town feeling cut off from the world; it seems AT&T had zero to minimal phone or network service from about 7 p.m. until at least 1:00 a.m. last night elsewhere in Los Angeles--we know this because our own beloved iPhone was of no use to us from the Valley to Glendale to Dodger Stadium and back to the Valley again. Luckily, it seems to be all systems go this morning. Did your AT&T (or Sprint, as our reader suggests) network disappear last night? Anyone know why this happened?

That is, if you take public transit between Santa Clarita and Los Angeles on Santa Clarita Transit's commuter express routes. Officials in Santa Clarita acted fast to solve a problem they could forsee happening again. A protest a couple months ago in Westwood caused major traffic delays and bus stop changes. With little communication to riders except for e-mail (because not everyone has a Blackberry they check obsessively), that afternoon became a bit hectic for commuters who didn't know what to do.

Now a common feature on college campuses exemplified by USC this semester after a series of violent crimes and a virus outbreak, cities may be the next to go high tech with emergency text message alerts. Yesterday, Santa Clarita announced a new e-Alert system that allows residents to subscribe and receive text messages in the event of a local emergency (of course, if cell towers are down...). Also: LA Times looks into their beautification programs today.

Veolia, the firm hired by Metrolink to supply train engineers has had no comment since the September train crash in Chatsworth that killed 25 people until now. While the investigators have has asked them not to comment on specifics about engineer Robert Sanchez or the crash, they did talk about their cell phone policy.

The LAPD is gearing up for January 1st, 2009 when texting while driving will be added to this year's earlier cell phone ban. "Nationwide studies have linked cell phone use, including texting, to driver distraction resulting in traffic collisions,” Chief William Bratton said in a statement. “Drivers can lose substantial cognitive awareness with the situation on the road when they divert their attention away, for any reason, including cell phone texting. In fact, there were two recent fatal traffic collisions which occurred in the City of Los Angeles where it was determined that cell phone texting was a significant causal factor in both collisions." The law imposes identical fines to those associated with failing to use a hands-free device when using a cell phone while driving: $20 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses (but don't forget to add in court fees, etc, making the fines actually much higher).

National Transportation Safety Board investigators released information this afternoon regarding Metrolink Engineer Robert Sanchez' cell phone records. He sent 29 text messages while on duty the day of the crash with the last one sent at 4:22:01 p.m. The However, the NTSB says precise timing of cell phone activity and how it correlates with the crash is still under investigation. According to preliminary estimates, the crash occurred at 4:22:23 pm.

Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill today banning texting while driving in California. It will go into effect on January 1st, 2009.

After the National Transportation Safety Board heard that teenagers were claiming Metrolink Engineer Robert Sanchez was texting with them moments before the crash, they subpoenaed his cell phone records but were wary saying a similar claim in a Boston crash was made and ended up being false. But these claims were true the NTSB announced on Wednesday night.

Sitting at a bus stop in West Hollywood yesterday with an opened button up shirt, his posture, his energy, his style all stood out. More fashion STYLEist photos from yesterday can be found here.

It took less than 48 hours for a friend of LAist to bring the first V.C. 23123 infraction ticket into LAist HQ. And yes, 23123 is the much-vaunted "Hand-Held Wireless Telephone: Prohibited Use. "The phone rang and I naturally picked it up," said our friend. "My client said it'll be real quick. But it wasn't quick enough." The ticket doesn't indicate a dollar amount (and according to the driver, the phone was actually in his left hand) but according to code, the first 23123 infraction is a $20 fine (subsequent infractions are $50). Are Ofc. Lockett and others out staked out purely to pin the headsetless?

It's been all the rage and everyone is talking about it -- today is day one of the new cell phone law. No more putting that phone to your ear unless it's an emergency. Otherwise, it's all about ear pieces or in-car systems (for more info on help buying the system for you, check out this post from LAist).

Tomorrow talking on your mobile phone pressed up against your ear while driving will be just as illegal as running a red light, speeding or driving under the influence. In today’s LA Times a spokesman for the CHP, Tom Marshall, said the CHP would enforce the law "fairly and aggressively."

If you plan on breaking the hands-free cellphone law tomorrow and in the future, your chances of being pulled over will be determined by where you are the LA Times finds.

Nope. A recent case that went to the US Court of Appeals 9th Circuit found that employers searching employee's text messages on their personal phone is illegal (.pdf). The case stems out of Ontario in San Bernardino County where the local police department gained access to four of its officers' personal phone account texting records by asking their phone company. The officers in turn sued and have won so far. The city and the phone company plan to appeal.

New Rules:

Using your cell phone after July 1st could get you a $20 ticket (up to $100 in LA County after fees and the such). But if you cause an accident that ends in someone's death, a misdemeanor manslaughter charge could come with that, resulting with a year in jail for each death, reports the LA Times. That's because driving while talking on a cell phone (except for when using a hands-free device) can more easily be proved as negligence because of the law. Before, lawyers had to prove that the cell phone use was negligent.

When it comes to the cost of a gallon of gas these days, it certainly doesn't seem to be the case that "it can't get any worse." We grumbled when it got to $3, winced when it hit $3.40, cringed when it hovered at the $4 mark, and now we're seeing prices in the $4.40 range at pumps all over SoCal. And, in true trend-setting fashion, our high gas prices have finally inspired the rest of the country to catch up; the national average is now over $4 a gallon.

On July 1st, after a two year warning, driving while talking on your cell phone, unless it is with a hands free device, will be illegal. There's some confusion, however, on how it all plays out and it depends on whether you are a teen or adult.

You may or may not be aware of a new state law that went into effect on January 1, 2008. We were reminded of this a couple days ago, driving west on Santa Monica Blvd. in Beverly Hills.

Effective Jan 2008 / No smoking allowed / Inside a vehicle / When a Minor is with you

Bob Saget will perform at 4th & B in San Diego on March 7, The Grove of Anaheim on March 8 and The Joint at The Hard Rock in Vegas on March 21 as part of his national theater tour and we're lucky to have another chance at him.

Update 7:00 p.m.: Sepulveda is still shut down and now crews expect to open it around 9 p.m. tonight.

The Los Angeles Fire Department is responding to a call regarding a possible jumper onto the 110 Freeway Northbound at Stadium Way. A week ago today, someone committed suicide by jumping onto the 101 Freeway at Wilton Place.