While this isn't an RF story, I thought it may be of interest to readers who use laptops and PDAs in their work. Effective January 1, 2004, in California "A person may not drive a motor vehicle if a television receiver, a video monitor, or a television or video screen, or any other, similar means of visually displaying a television broadcast or video signal that produces entertainment or business applications, is operating and is located in the motor vehicle at any point forward of the back of the driver's seat, or is operating and visible to the driver while driving the motor vehicle."
This broad definition appears to cover laptop displays and PDA or cellphone screens that display e-mail, which is certainly "business applications." The new law allows use of some equipment when it is "installed in a vehicle":
* A vehicle information display
* A global positioning display
* A mapping display
* A visual display used to enhance or supplement the driver's view forward, behind, or to the sides of a motor vehicle for the purpose of maneuvering the vehicle.
TV receiver screens are allowed if they are equipped with an interlock that prevents use for anything except the four applications above when the vehicle is driven. While mobile digital terminals installed in an authorized emergency vehicle or in a motor vehicle providing emergency road service or roadside assistance are excluded from the new law, those mobile displays I've seen in taxicabs and rental car shuttle busses at Los Angeles Airport would now appear to be illegal.
Obviously it isn't a good idea to be checking e-mail and using a laptop while driving. If you drive in California and glance at e-mail messages on a Blackberry or PDA when stuck in traffic, take a look at the the amendment to Section 27602 of the Vehicle Code. Under this broadly worded law, a glance at e-mail on a wireless device could get you charged with a criminal offense!
