There is always a little bit of a gap between the time that a new form of technology emerges and the time that the law catches up to deal with problems that are caused by that new technology. We’ve definitely seen this in terms of mobile phones particularly as they relate to driving. Laws surrounding being allowed to drive while talking on the phone started emerging about a decade ago in both the U.S. and the UK but there have been several distinct changes that have occurred during that time. These changes mark the evolution of the mobile phone and make us wonder what will be next in terms of the legalities of using mobile phones in the car.

No holding a phone to talk while driving – The first laws that emerged around mobile phones and driving were very specific. They prohibited people from holding their mobile phones up to their ears in order to talk on the device while driving. This law came about because so many accidents were being caused by people talking on their mobile phones and trying to drive at the same time. There have been several variations on this law. For example, most areas that have this enforced will allow officers to pull you over if they see you holding a phone up to your ear and talking. However there are some areas where you can’t be pulled over for talking on the phone but you can be fined for careless driving if you get in an accident or commit another illegal driving act while on a mobile. Notably, there is still a wide range of differences between various areas regarding even this basic law. Some places do not yet have specific laws about talking on the phone while driving. Others are getting so strict that they may require jail time for people who are caught driving while talking on the phone (or people who get in accidents while talking on their mobile phones).

There is no clear consensus about what even this simplest of mobile phone driving laws should look like in spite of the fact that the first laws around this were started over ten years ago. For the most part, however, the laws around this specific aspect of the issue tend to allow people to talk on hands-free mobile devices. One of the main reasons that Bluetooth became so popular is because people wanted to be able to talk on the phone while driving and they needed a Bluetooth headset to have a hands-free conversation.

No texting while driving – In recent years, many of the areas that have laws which allow hands-free driving have started to realise that these laws aren’t sufficient to keeping people’s hands off of their phones. As soon as SMS messaging became something that was widely used, a new driving problem emerged. People would get around the laws by not talking on their phones while driving but instead would send text messages while driving. Doing this is potentially even more dangerous than talking on the phone while driving given the fact that you not only have your hands on the device but you often have to take your eyes off of the road to read or complete your text message. Many areas began to recognize that this was becoming a widespread problem. As a result, some mobile phone driving laws were updated and other areas created new laws to make it illegal to text while driving. This is another type of law that has been popping up in many different places but there is not yet a single rule to follow across the board. Whether or not you’re allowed to text while driving depends a lot on where you are at the time.

You can’t even hold a mobile phone while driving – These days texting is hardly the only thing that you can do on your mobile phone besides talking. Most people use their phones to surf the web, play videos, etc. The technology has changed once again and the laws need to change again to catch up. Too many people are starting to get around the no texting while driving law by sending IMs instead of texting. Technically, this isn’t illegal in most places. As a result, many areas are starting to consider amending their laws to actually make it completely illegal to even hold a mobile phone while driving.

What will happen next with mobile phone driving laws? – Mobile phones are going to continue to change. As a result, the laws surrounding them will keep changing. But what’s going to happen with the laws related to mobile phones and driving? Although there may be some changes in the years to come, we might finally be reaching a place where the laws are catching up to the technology. A couple of things that might happen include:

Streamlining of laws. As the situation becomes clearer around the globe, there is likely to emerge a standard set of laws related to driving while using a mobile phone. The variations from one region to another will likely diminish with time.

Debate will continue. There will always be more that the law could do to prevent problems related to this issue. For example, it has been found that even talking on a hands-free device is very distracting for drivers. There could be a push to disallow even this. However the backlash argument would be that we’d have to outlaw listening to the radio, talking to your kids or doing anything else in the car as well. Most likely, debate will continue but very few major changes will occur in this area anymore.

What do you think will change in terms of mobile phone driving laws?