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In One Ear, Out the Other for D.C. Drivers
A man talks on a hand-held cell phone while driving in the District, where drivers can be fined $100 for using such devices.
(By Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)
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Some people who have those hands-free devices in their vehicles say they don't always use them. Michael Dillon, a Capitol Hill real estate agent, often does business in his car and acknowledges violating the cell phone law "all the time." But he doesn't mean to.
"It just happens," said Dillon, who has a speakerphone in his car. "The first thing I'll say is, 'Hold on one second,' and then I try to pull over. But that first initial pickup, I usually do it. I mean, I eat in my car, too. I even have my laptop in there."
But more people talk about other drivers seen yakking on their phones. Herbert Best, president of Diamond Cab, said he can always tell whether drivers ahead are engrossed in phone conversations. They drive as if they are drunk, he said.
"I see a lot of ladies driving down the street with phones to their ears," he said. " I guess they think they're superwomen."
Howard Gasaway Sr., a tow truck driver, said he doesn't have a cell phone, and he doesn't miss the aggravation.
Maybe that is why he did not show much sympathy when his son, Howard Jr., recently received a $100 ticket for talking on a hand-held phone while driving through Fort Dupont.
"He was upset about it -- that's $100," Gasaway said. "But I told him, the law's the law."
Staff writer Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.
