Lawmaker gives thumbs down to weeks-old hands free texting law

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Joseph C. Cassini drives his 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria onto the winners platform after being awarded the Best of Show award at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Ben Rehm, 20, of Carmel photographs a 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Murphy Convertible Saloon at the Concours d’Elegance on Sunday. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Mitzy from Salinas takes a moment to rest in the shade of a 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis Boano coupe. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A Duesenberg with a tool kit mounted inside the driver’s door is displayed at the Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Photographer Phillippe Carre takes a picture of a vintage Alfa Romeo. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Julia Binke, 6, walks in front of a 1925 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost at the Concours d’Elegance on Sunday. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Sporting racing-flag toenail polish, Lori TenEyck of Colorado was one of nearly 10,000 people enjoying the display of about 200 collector cars at the Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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One of the nearly 200 collector cars greets the dawn as it rolls onto the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Chewing on his cigar, Rick Rawlins drives a 1908 Prince Henry Benz, owned by Ann Bothwell but originally owned by race car driver Barney Oldfield, as nearly 200 collector cars greet the dawn as they roll onto the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach to begin the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Spectators line up to see the nearly 200 collector cars at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A rumble-seat passenger in a 1933 V-12 Packard at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Wearing a variety of hats, contestants ride in their Rolls Royce. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Adele Tanaka, left, and Jo Yuan capture the moment as the first of nearly 200 collector cars greets the day to begin the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A 1957 Ferrari 250 GT 14-Louver Berlinetta is on display at the Gooding & Co. auction as part of the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A prospective buyer looks down a line of cars up for auction at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A Shelby 289 Cobra Competition Roadster from 1964 is reflected in the fender skirt of a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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At the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach, a 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix is on display. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A 1935 Avions Voisin C25 Aerodyne, featuring an early version of a sun roof, is on display at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Sports Car magazine photographer Dave Tomaro photographs prospective buyers as they spend the afternoon ogling vintage and rare automobiles on display at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A Bentley radiator ornament at the Gooding & Company auction tent at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A man uses a camera to get a closer look at the undercarriage of a 1956 Porsche 356 A 1500 GS Carrera Coupe. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Expensive cars are lined up at the Concours d’Elegance weekend at Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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A racing rim signed by Carroll Shelby, the father of the Cobra, in Lynn Park’s garage. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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“If one’s good, two’s got to be better,” Park said of the cars, chuckling. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Park stands beside the second Cobra he ever bought. One of his sons is going to race in it. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Park checks the hoses of a Cobra he will take to Pebble Beach. This particular car is worth about $2 million. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Park opens the garage door in front of one of the Cobras he plans to take to Pebble Beach. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Lynn Park with his garage full of Cobra cars. Known in classic car circles as Mr. Cobra, Park has been collecting the marque since he bought his first after getting out of the Army in 1969. The first purchase got him hooked. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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Lynn Park keeps his Cobras in his garage in La Cañada Flintridge. He and his sons plan to race race three of them at the Pebble Beach, Calif., event. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

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“You can’t have any more fun than playing with old cars,” Park said of vintage racing. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Lynn Park drives one of his vintage Shelby Cobras around his neighborhood in La Cañada Flintridge. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

By Ronald D. White

March 18, 2013 7 AM PT

It’s been only 11 weeks since an exception allowing hands-free texting while driving took effect in California, but some lawmakers are giving it a thumbs down and want the change repealed.

Assemblyman Jim Frazier (D-Oakley) has sponsored AB 313, which would disallow even hands-free texting for drivers. The bill is due to be discussed in the Assembly Transportation Committee on April 8.

Frazier is talking about the kind of Bluetooth, voice-activated system that will read your text messages out loud and and allow you to dictate a reply.

“Who needs to do texting of any kind while driving?” said Frazier. “Is a text message really worth the risk of injuring or killing someone?”

California had banned motorists from texting while driving in 2009. But in July of last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 1536, which allowed the exception of hands-free texting.

The law went into effect in January.

Frazier’s push to eliminate the exception comes as new studies say the risk of even hands-free texting could be greater than previously believed.

One such study came from a collaboration among the Australian universities of Wollongong and Victoria, the Swinburne University of Technology, the Institute for Breathing and Sleep, and the University of Barcelona.

Its results showed that there were some situations in which the distraction of texting was worse than the impairment that comes from driving while drunk.

The study said that hands-free technology did not appear to significantly reduce risks.

The study also said that advanced hands-free technology ought to be studied further to know how the practice should be regulated.

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