THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, February 7, 2020 Page 3 Hands-free law for mobile phone users while driving goes into effect this month Police to allow grace period through March 31 (Editor’s Note: The Saugus Police Department issued the following info this week.) I nterim Police Chief Ronald Giorgetti and the Saugus Police Department would like to remind residents of the upcoming hands-free law for drivers. On Feb. 23, An Act requiring the hands-free use of mobile telephones while driving will go into effect – prohibiting drivers from using cell phones and other hand-held devices while operating a vehicle. There will be a grace period through March 31 in which drivers will get a warning for their first viASKS | from page 1 a civilian.” Brown is the son of George W. and Carolyn Brown of Saugus. Like many members of his family, Brown has been active in public service to his hometown. He has served on the Saugus Town Meeting and the Planning Board. He helped set up the original website for the Town of Saugus. He founded Saugus. Net in 1998 at a time when there weren’t many community sites anywhere. Highlights of this week’s interview follow. Q: Why did you sign up for a technical conference that was held in January on board a cruise ship out in the waters of Antarctica? A: It was an easy way to see one of the most remote and beautiful areas in the world. Q: How far is it from Saugus, Mass., to Antarctica? A: If you Google it, it says 9,583 miles. Q: How did you get there? A: We flew out of Boston to Atlanta, from Atlanta to Santiago, Chile. In Santiago, we picked up the ship. It is 5,242 miles from Saugus to Santiago. Q: How close did you come to the bottom of the world? A: We spent our time in the waters of the Antarctic Peninsula. Q: Why take a trip like this in the winter? A: It was the Antarctic summer. The average temperature was warmer down there than it was up here. Even though it was 42 degrees, it didn’t feel that warmer. With the sea winds blowing in at high speeds, that’s what made you feel cold. It was the time of the year when you could see baby olation rather than a fine. The law states that no motor vehicle operator may use electronic devices while driving unless the technology is being used hands-free. Operators found to be texting, dialing phone numbers or using a phone with their hands in any capacity while driving will be fined. Operators are permitted to use hands-free technology, including Bluetooth, “single tap or swipe” to activate or deactivate hands-free mode, navigation technology mounted to the car’s dash and phone use in emergency situations. Drivpenguins and baby seals. Q: So, what’s it like down there, at the bottom of the world? A: While we were in the peninsula, it didn’t get dark. Around Antarctica, the water is turquoise-colored. It’s not like a gray color. Q: So, what about life on the ship? A: We were on the Coral Princess. The ship has 2,500 people on it, which includes a crew of about 800. There were 40 people who attended the conference – half of them who were speakers. I was the only speaker from Massachusetts, and we were the only three people from Massachusetts. The crew was from all over the world. The captain was Canadian. The departure point [in Santiago, Chile] is so far removed that not everybody who was going to speak at the conference got there on time. There were lectures on the ship about the past Antarctic explorers. We had a choice of fresh food. Q: How were the living accommodations? A: The two girls had their own single beds. I had a pullout couch. It was a couch. The girls thought the beds were okay. Q: When did you decide to go on this trip? A: The process started about a year and a half ago. If you get a chance to do something like this, you do it. If you see something like this, you shouldn’t feel afraid to try it. I happened to spot this ad about the conference. I submitted several different talk proposals to the conference planner, hoping that I would get accepted. One of them was about interactive fiction, which I thought would be a light topic. As it turned out, ers may use their phones if they are stationary and not in an active traffic lane. The penalty for drivers who are found guilty of violating the hands-free law is a $100 fine for a first offense, a $250 fine for a second offense and a $500 fine for a third or subsequent offense. Operators who commit a second or subsequent offense are also required to complete an educational program focused on distracted driving prevention. A third or subsequent violation will count as a “surchargeable” incident, which can affect the driver’s inthe planner is a fan of interactive fiction. So, she was interested in my talk. As soon as I saw the ad, I wanted to run it by both my girls and see if they were willing to go. If they didn’t do it, I couldn’t do it. But they both wanted to. And from that point on, I single-mindedly planned to make it happen, so I set out to deal with the schools. About a year ago, I spoke to the School Department to get permission for my two kids to attend. I wound up meeting with the superintendent, the individual principals and the teachers. I had to set up an appointment with the school superintendent [Dr. David DeRuosi, Jr.]. He thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and would be something good for the girls to do. ASKS | SEE PAGE 7 surance rate. “Scrolling, typing, swiping and any other phone use will be prohibited under the new hands-free law,” said Giorgetti. “We encourage drivers to not use phones at all while driving, but if absolutely necessary drivers should use Bluetooth or speaker to text or call.” The Act also includes a requirement that law enforcement agencies report data on violations. The data collected by law enforcement will be available to the public. The law does not apply to first responders who are on duty and driving emergency service vehicles.
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