A New Reason to Monitor Your Child´s Cell Phone Usage
Greg Wilson
July 15, 2008
It is a monthly ritual for many parents to sit their children down to discuss their cell phone usage, and some may have reason to use services like reverse phone lookup to find out who their children are calling. Some may be calling outside of their network. Some may be talking or text messaging too much. Now, California parents have another aspect of cell phone usage to worry about with their kids. That aspect is talking on a cell phone while driving.
As of July 1, 2008, it is a driving violation for California minors to drive while operating a phone. It is a primary violation for drivers under 18 to use a phone as originally intended (handheld), meaning that they can be pulled over by a police officer and given a ticket ranging from $20 to $50, depending on how many previous violations the driver has. However, even if a driver under the age of 18 is using a hands-free device to talk on the phone (legal for drivers over 18), it is a secondary violation, which means they can be written a ticket, but only when pulled over for another offense.
Parents should take time out to regularly remind their children of the risks of driving while talking on their cell phones. Parents should also be careful to point out that even though text messaging while driving is not included in the law, police officers may issue a ticket to any driver they believe is using a cell phone in a way that is unsafe to the driver or to others. Parents can check on their children by checking their billing statement to see if they are calling during times that they are certainly driving. Of course, it is always good to use a reverse phone lookup first to make sure that they were not using their phone for a legitimate purpose, such as to call emergency personnel about the drunk driver in front of them.
Before talking with their kids, it is important that parents have all the information, which means using cell phone bills and reverse phone lookups as a cell phone tracer to determine when and who their children are calling.
As of July 1, 2008, it is a driving violation for California minors to drive while operating a phone. It is a primary violation for drivers under 18 to use a phone as originally intended (handheld), meaning that they can be pulled over by a police officer and given a ticket ranging from $20 to $50, depending on how many previous violations the driver has. However, even if a driver under the age of 18 is using a hands-free device to talk on the phone (legal for drivers over 18), it is a secondary violation, which means they can be written a ticket, but only when pulled over for another offense.
Parents should take time out to regularly remind their children of the risks of driving while talking on their cell phones. Parents should also be careful to point out that even though text messaging while driving is not included in the law, police officers may issue a ticket to any driver they believe is using a cell phone in a way that is unsafe to the driver or to others. Parents can check on their children by checking their billing statement to see if they are calling during times that they are certainly driving. Of course, it is always good to use a reverse phone lookup first to make sure that they were not using their phone for a legitimate purpose, such as to call emergency personnel about the drunk driver in front of them.
Before talking with their kids, it is important that parents have all the information, which means using cell phone bills and reverse phone lookups as a cell phone tracer to determine when and who their children are calling.
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