Ask Bostonist: Dialing While Driving

Hi Bostonist,

- Danielle Stolzenberg

No. So far as we know (and as far as the RMV is telling us), Massachusetts remains a free and easy Commonwealth when it comes to cell phone use while driving, at least at the state level: Cities and towns can theoretically regulate cell phone use while driving, although so far, only Brookline has (you must use a hands-free device in that safety-conscious town). The general rule is that the cell phone use cannot interfere with your operation of the vehicle (duh) and you must keep one hand on the wheel at all times, unless you are driving a school bus, in which case you can't use your phone except in case of emergency. Federal regulators would like all states to ban cell phone use by novice drivers, but so far that regulatory dream has not reached fruition.

Perhaps what you heard about was Connecticut's new no-cell-phones-while-driving law. There was a recent story about a guy in Connecticut who crashed into a telephone pole early Saturday morning, apparently because he was using his cell phone while driving. He received the first citation under the new law, just three hours after the ban went into effect at midnight of October 1. Of our other neighbors, New York also has a statewide ban. (This means that if you wish to maintain constant chatter without a hands-free device for many hours at a time, you must drive north (but not too far north: Newfoundland and Labrador also ban phone use while driving).)

Of course, we don't encourage you to use your celly while driving - it has been shown to increase the risk of accidents, even with a hands-free set-up. Also, the anger that we feel when you cut us off increases exponentially if we notice that your are on your phone. And you don't want to make us angry - you won't like us when we're angry.

Photo: Amazingly, we found this pimpin' Tedy Bruschi lookalike on the IRS website.