How to navigate rules on cellphones in cars (NZ Herald Article by Simon Hendery – 3:59AM Thursday Oct 01, 2009)

A month before a clampdown on drivers using mobile phones comes into force, Transport Minister Steven Joyce says he will rewrite the rules so motorists can continue to use the satellite navigation functions on their phones while behind the wheel.

From November 1, drivers caught talking on mobiles that are not connected to a hands-free kit, or mounted to the vehicle, face a fine of $80 and 20 demerit points.

The Land Transport (Road User) Amendment Rule 2009 also outlaws checking and sending texts and emails while driving.

A newspaper report this week suggested the rule change would also make it illegal to use the sat-nav services that are part of the capabilities in a growing number of mobiles.

The report was based on a Transport Ministry spokesman’s interpretation of the rule, which has been signed off by the minister, and which, when read literally, does appear to ban the use of in-phone sat-nav technology while driving.

Responding to the article, Joyce said it was not the Government’s intention to ban drivers from using the navigation or music functions of their phones, provided the devices are mounted on the vehicle and “are manipulated infrequently”.

He says the rule will be amended to clarify the point.

GOING HANDS-FREE

So what’s a cellphone-toting driver to do to stay legal from next month? The simplest solution (apart from turning the device off while in the car) is to buy a wireless connection device.

The Government’s ban on clutching the phone while behind the wheel has provided a business bonanza for retailers of Bluetooth wireless car kit devices as drivers look for ways to stay legal while staying connected on the road. The kits are often a cheaper and easier option than installing a cradle for mounting a phone.

I’ve been testing Sony Ericsson’s HCB-105 which, at about $115, is priced in the mid-range of Bluetooth devices. It clips to the driver’s sun visor where it is a simple matter to press a button to connect a call when the mobile rings.

Linking my two-year-old BlackBerry Pearl to the device was quick and painless, and audio quality is good through its reasonably sized speaker.

The biggest hassle with these types of devices is remembering to switch them on – with your phone’s Bluetooth connection – before embarking on your journey.

Failure to do so can create more of a driving hazard than talking on the phone, because when it rings, and you realise you’re not linked up, scrambling to grab the phone obviously defeats the purpose.

A simple answer is to leave the unit switched on and your phone’s Bluetooth connection active even when you’re not in the car, but this drains the battery on both devices. Better to embrace the Government’s drive towards safer vehicular phone use by getting into the switch-on, switch-off habit as quickly as possible.

@NZRob – What you’re saying about 7.3A is true but the Stuff article has a direct quote from the Transport Ministry and this is what has alerted everyone to the flaw in the law (I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it).

Err… not to throw cold water on the discussion here, but my reading of 7.3A seems at odds to what the Stuff article is claiming.

“(1) A drivermust not, while driving a vehicle, create, send, or read
a text message on a mobile phone or make, receive, or terminate
a telephone call on a mobile phone or use a mobile phone
in any other way. This subclause is overridden by subclauses
(2) to (6).

Reading subclause 5, there may provision for arguing infrequent manipulation:

A driver may, while driving a vehicle, use a mobile phone to
make, receive, or terminate a telephone call if—
“(a) the phone is secured in a mounting fixed to the vehicle;
and
“(b) the driver manipulates the phone infrequently and
briefly.

Of course, it *specifies* telephone call usage, but this would be the clause to update to allow for other phone functionality. These mobile devices are so converged in terms of capability, it’s simply asking for civil disobedience should the clauses pass unchanged.