Cell phone ban

Thank God I dont live in that socialist state

 

But you do live in a country where it is legal to have a camera on the driver all the time.
Where is the freedom in that?

 

All the laws in the world cant legislate common sense. You just can't fix stupid. We wouldn't need most of these laws at all if people were considerate and responsible
the goverment and the companies are only reacting to needs provoked by us drivers . Granted it isn't all of us but we get painted with the same brush

 

They put a device like that in, just send a complaint to the FCC. They have already attacked a couple of companies that tried to put in a cell phone jamming system on their property and it's cost upwards of 6 figures in fines.

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/jamming-cell-phones-and-gps-equipment-against-law

 

Being on company property and time doesn't give your employer access to all of your personal accounts and records for the purpsose of auditing and enforcing company policies. They can ASK for anything they want. You can tell them to go pound sand. What next? Are they going to want the remote code to your anwering machine so they can call in and check your messages to make sure you didn't call home while driving? A good attorney will clean out any company trying to get away with this.

My attorney tells me things change if you are involved in an accident in a company vehicle with regard to cell phone records. In a lawsuit the opposition will easily be able to subpoena your phone records. In most cases your company will defend themselves by defending their driver. Since the company and the driver are on the "same team" the company will not be entitled to subpoena your cell phone records. In order for the company and their lawyers to provide the best defense they will need to know "what the other side knows" with regard to your cell phone usage. If you refuse to provide your cell phone records under these circumstances your company will easily get away with terminating you for it.

 

I'll assume you mean "while driving" and not "all the time" because it isn't legal for them to have you on camera in areas were there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. Such places would be areas you would dress/undress, use toilet, shower, etc. The courts have ruled there is no reasonable expection of privacy in public. This would include the drivers seat of the company vehcile.

To answer your question; the freedom is you can quit on the spot, if you want, and go to work for someone who doesn't put a camera in your face while you work.

 

Got a question regarding this. California, yeah that state, my brother got pulled over by highway patrol in his personal vehicle while talking on cell phone. Officer said his tail light was out and that was the reason he was pulled over. Here is the twister. Once the officer saw he had a CDL, he wrote a ticket for talking on a cell phone because CDL holders have to follow the same rules in personal vehicles regarding cell phone ban. My question is there anywhere in that ban that states this or is this a California thing?

 

Just because you do not get a detailed call list with your bill doesn't mean that list does not exist. Verizon USED to send detailed call lists out with every bill...then stopped. When I called to ask why, they said they would continue sending the detailed call list, but it would cost a couple bucks extra each month to do so. I can still access the call list online for free if I have any questions about it.

They can provide the detailed call list to you if you request it...usually with an extra charge for doing so. Or, you should be able to access the detailed call list online if you have online access to your account...and even pre-paid phones have a detailed call list that the cell phone carrier can provide to you, law enforcement, or anyone else who has a legitimate need to see it.

The detailed call list still exists, whether you are sent a copy or not.

Some companies can get around this very easily. For example, some carriers offer a "discount" on their plans if you are employed by certain employers who are participating in that program. On the sign-up form, you basically give the employer the ability to access your call history in exchange for that discount. If you sign that form and take the discount, the employer now has access to your phone records and it is 100% legal for them to do so....you made the choice to sign the form giving them your consent. Don't like it? Don't sign the form to get the discount.

Most businesses have cameras these days...fuel stops, retail stores, even the copy shop I worked in back in college had cameras wired into a secure server where the owners could monitor what was going on in their store from home or wherever else they happened to be with internet access. Walk into any Wal-Mart, and you're on camera from the time you pull into the lot until the time you drive back off the property...only exception is if you go into the bathroom or changing room where you would have an expectation of privacy (meaning cameras are prohibited). Friday when I was fueling up, the manager was reviewing the night before's security footage (in fast-motion...looked like an old timey movie, but in color) trying to find out why nothing that was supposed to have been accomplished got done. In this day & age, cameras are EVERYWHERE. A property owner has every right to place whatever cameras he chooses in whatever locations he selects (to a point...) in order to monitor what goes on anywhere within or upon his property. The truck is the property of whoever owns it...so if they choose to place cameras in it to monitor their employee during working hours, it is their right to do so....just as the gas station attendant is monitored on camera, or the bank teller has a camera monitoring her, or the Wal-Mart employee.

Your freedom lies in the ability to seek out an employer who chooses NOT to stick a camera in your face while you are working.

"Jamming" and "Detecting" are two different things. As long as the company is merely detecting the use of cell phones, they are not breaking the law. It is only a violation if the cell phone signal is interfered with in order to limit its use.

 

More than likely, an improperly written ticket due to the confusion of the CDL. The ban is for when driving a commercial vehicle.

California law does restrict it on private vehicles.

 

California's hand-held cell phone ban applies to ALL drivers, not just CDL holders. http://www.chp.ca.gov/pdf/media/cell_phone_faq.pdf

The rules for CDL holders while in their personal vehicles are no different than the rules for non-CDL holders. The FMCSA has no power to control what the rules are governing the use of personal vehicles. The difference only lies in the penalty for breaking those rules, where the FMCSA DOES have the power to prohibit "masking" of offenses by CDL holders, thereby prohibiting states from allowing "court supervision" or other diversionary tactics from keeping moving violations off of the MVR of a CDL holder....in an effort to ensure that the CDL holder's MVR accurately reflects whatever moving violations that professional driver may have received. The FMCSA has also made it clear, especially where "serious" violations occur, that it does not matter what type of vehicle you happen to be driving at the time of the infraction, a conviction is a conviction and will count against your CDL.