Keep hands on wheel and talk away

The biggest news in the transportation world is the state's new ban on handheld devices in the car. That has triggered a follow-up question on the new cellphone law. Others are still confused about pedestrian laws and rightfully so; they can be difficult to interpret. We'll kick off today with laws and how they should be interpreted.

Nathaniel wants to dock: I have a dock for my phone in my car that attaches to the windshield, similar to how a GPS unit would. Is that acceptable and within compliance of the new cell phone law?

Docks are perfectly acceptable as long as the phone remains in the dock and you use the speaker or you have a listening device. The dock is still considered hands-free, according to my law enforcement sources.

Under the new law, motorists still can talk on the phone with a Bluetooth device, and they are also permitted to activate their GPS system on their phone. Cops say they have a pretty easy time determining whether a motorist is tapping a button to activate their phone or attempting to hold it out of sight.

Joyce needs clarification on pedestrian laws: I wonder if you would be able to tell me about the law or where I could read it. I am somewhat confused about pedestrians at the curb. Is it a law that when the foot leaves the curb and into the street the cars are to stop? I know when I travel to Los Angeles, "the foot off the curb means stop immediately." But what about Nevada?

Interestingly, the laws in Los Angeles and Las Vegas are the same but are interpreted differently by law enforcement. Joyce is correct about L.A.. In Las Vegas, the pedestrian is required to give the motorists enough time to see them and stop, according to Erin Breen, spokeswoman for UNLV's Safe Partnership Community.

"The way the police interpret it is that the pedestrian has to 'take the street,' " she said. "They are not allowed to dart into the street."

The distance a pedestrian should give a motorist is about 200 feet.

Those are the rules when pedestrians are in midblock crosswalks or at an intersection. If the pedestrian is jaywalking, the motorist does not have to follow the same rules. While nobody wants to hit a pedestrian, it is up to the pedestrian to cross safely. Pedestrians can be cited if they cause a motorist to change lanes or swerve.

Along those same lines, Randy has this: It seems like the school district and Metro are teaching our school children how to jaywalk. Every day across the valley, school buses drop children off in the middle of the block to jaywalk across the street instead of using marked crosswalks. It seems like a contradiction of lessons, especially with all the pedestrian deaths in the news.

Randy has a good point, but in legal terms, the children are not jaywalking when they cross the street after exiting the bus. The buses' flashing lights are a warning to motorists, creating a safe path for children. Drivers are supposed to explain to children that they are safe because of the warning flashers, but it is otherwise inappropriate to walk across the street where there is no crosswalk.

Tom has a question : Why is Lamb Boulevard from Boulder Highway to Sahara Avenue 35 mph, when north of there the speed goes up to 45 mph?

Readers have these types of questions quite often, and it is always interesting to hear what government officials have to say. In some cases, the speed limit dips because the road turns from a three lanes to two lanes. In other cases, it depends on zoning in the area. As far as Tom's question, here is what Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin had to say: Lamb Boulevard is 35 mph between Boulder Highway and Sahara because the area is mostly residential. Also, in that area there are a few curves along Lamb and the lack of visibility also warrants a slower speed limit.

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904.