Look ma no hands!

With the Aug. 1 deadline to hands free driving approaching what kind of Bluetooth devices are you using for phone calls? I’m a target, best buy, local shop kind of guy if possible.

Just buy a new truck with it built in, duh! But seriously I’m not familiar with what options are out there, I used to use an aux cable on my old truck and that worked fine (assuming you have an aux input)

I am planning to alternate between my car bluetooth and “catch me if you can.”
Even with my bluetooth buttons need to be pushed. Same as with radio, climate controls, etc.

it’s a pretty hefty fine of…$50! Should treat it like a DWI.

ClownColor wrote:

it’s a pretty hefty fine of…$50! Should treat it like a DWI.

With the law library fee it will be over $100 total.
DT

Second offense is 275

Like Driving without insurance – Until they have a fine that causes some pain, they will have no luck making it effective. To answer the original ? – Both of our cars now have it built in.

My truck is a 2001. I needed a hands free Bluetooth device also.
I went with the VicTsing bluetooth fm transmitter.
It was recommended on Don Lindich’s sound advice column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
He also has a website that has a good write up of this device.
Picked mine up off of Amazon for around $15.00. Not sure about buying this locally though.
I’ve used it a few times and it works very well. I can even play music (Pandora) from my phone thru the trucks speakers.

I don’t care for built in Bluetooth, mainly because I use Google Maps everywhere I go.

If I’m not on “auxiliary” with the truck radio, the voice instructions are muted (if they’re broadcasting over BT).

Instead I just dial and talk over the speaker phone.

With my Google phone everything is voice activated.

An example: I say, “Hey Google, call so-and-so on speaker phone.”

I can even make a call to a place that’s not in my contacts. For example, “Hey Google, call Menards in Forest Lake on speaker.”

It automatically calls and places it on speaker.

Doesn’t get any easier than that.

No problem. I hate talking on the phone anyways. I wish we could go back to pre internet & cell phone times.

Will not be using the phone no loss or worries about not calling while driving.

Now my excuse of I didnt answer your call or text because I was driving has Law behind it now to back it up! Sorry wife!!

my issues are my work car is bluetooth ready. my personal vehicles of the cash for clunkers variety so no bluetooth. the bluetooth is like 10 years old or older and now, i just got a new phone so i havent a clue how this is going to all pan out.:???:

When I am driving the phone rests on the carpeted floor of the van. The ringer is always off so the vibrating goes un-noticed. Basically I hate phones unless I need to make a call. When I get to where I am going I look at what I’ve missed. Ma is with me as a rule so if I need to talk, I talk to her. If she needs to talk I open the other ear and nod a lot.

Honestly I think if all cell phone coverage was zapped for a month there’d be a spike in suicides because there are a lot of people who can not begin to function in the most basic of ways unless they have the damned phone in the hands. I think they should be banned from kids having the things until they have graduated high school either that or no driver’s license. I know people who have gone into an absolute panic because their phone didn’t work. I know people who have re-trailered the boat and gone back home because a battery for the electronics was dead. I know a fella that went home from his bow stand because he could not get his sight to light up.

All this dependence on electronics is be becoming a form of mental illness, no different than an alcoholic or an addict.

Here is a helpful page with info:
https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ots/hands-free/Pages/default.aspx
It addresses hands-free options near the bottom of the article.

In short, the new law allows a driver to use their cell phone to make calls, text, listen to music or podcasts and get directions, but ONLY by voice commands or single-touch activation without holding the phone. Technically speaking, this means you can still answer a phone call if your one-touch swipe answers via speakerphone automatically. Sorry KP!

You can’t win them all Sharon!

In all seriouness, I’m glad this law is going into effect. Every day you see someone on their phone texting and driving while not paying attention.

I don’t mean to be negative, but I don’t think the new law will change many people’s habits. The fines are too low and people will likely continue to risk it, just like they do with drunk driving and speeding. The odds of being caught and ticketed are relatively slim.

It’s a personal choice to avoid speeding, drunk driving, or using your cell phone while driving, and I hope that education and awareness will help people realize that avoiding these bad habits is the best choice for everyone, regardless if there is a specific law or not.

As a project manager and estimator, I spend some time behind the windshield. And I get a lot of phone calls so it’s an irritating law in my opinion. The reasoning for the law is there are so many people texting and driving and once the cop sees them, they put their phone to their ear like they were dialing it. So A few ruined it for the rest of us. Now I’ll need to install a new radio with Bluetooth built into my personal truck.

KP wrote:
Every day you see someone on their phone texting and driving while not paying attention.

My reply is we already have and have had it for a long time a law that said no texting and driving. Not even while stopped at a stop light. It has never been enforced. I feel if they would have enforced that law, we would have no need for the new law starting next week.

Just my 2 cents.

rjthehunter wrote:

few ruined it for the rest of us. Now I’ll need to install a new radio with Bluetooth built into my personal truck.

It’s not just a few, it’s many!

Work related expenses are a write-off, but I’m sure you know that Might be cheaper going with a headset device like I’m inquiring about here.

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Lets see if this is a strong enough argument to pass a new truck through the admiral…..

waldo9190 wrote:

Lets see if this is a strong enough argument to pass a new truck through the admiral…..

I like the way you think. My stepdad bought a new 1675 impact this spring. It was to protect the grandkids ya know, bigger lake, need bigger boat. Told my mom of this importance and he got upgraded to the 1775

rwilliam wrote:

My truck is a 2001. I needed a hands free Bluetooth device also.
I went with the VicTsing bluetooth fm transmitter.
It was recommended on Don Lindich’s sound advice column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
He also has a website that has a good write up of this device.
Picked mine up off of Amazon for around $15.00. Not sure about buying this locally though.
I’ve used it a few times and it works very well. I can even play music (Pandora) from my phone thru the trucks speakers.

This will be the cheapest and easiest solution, the vast majority of them will come in under $25. I’m ordering an Anker model today from Amazon, been happy with that brand on a number of speakers/cables/chargers over the years.

I thought my boss was talking to herself the other day, then I realized she has a bluetooth earpiece hooked up to her phone. I think it’s similar to this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-Voyager-Wireless-Bluetooth-Headset/dp/B00DQ5NU76/ref=sr_1_4?crid=32WL1K1JSEMZD&keywords=bluetooth+headphones+for+cell+phones&qid=1564084578&s=gateway&sprefix=blue+tooth+%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-4
She said she can pair it with her iPhone and then use it for hands-free talking while driving if needed. The device can be paired with Apple or Andriod, then for hands-free calling you’d simply say, “Hey Siri/Okay Google, call Joe Johnson cell” or something like that I guess.

my daily driver is a 2004 camry so it doesn’t have fancy technology. using a tape with with auxiliary cable attached i can talk through the speakers on my car and it works very well. the product cost me $6. Although i will say it hasn’t been working the last week or so. There isn’t much to the tape technology so i am blaming my phone but i haven’t cared enough to troubleshoot.

In New York they have had this law for decades now and i will probably end up doing what people i know out there would do, which is to place the phone in your lap and talk via the speakerphone.

I’m going off how I hear other people’s speaker phones and it doesn’t sound that good. I have an 05 Yukon with the 6.2 and snow tires so it’s not the quietest ride to begin with, looking for something similar to some have posted on those lil ear bud things.

Deleted wrote:

No problem. I hate talking on the phone anyways. I wish we could go back to pre internet & cell phone times.

me also.

KP wrote:

Now my excuse of I didnt answer your call or text because I was driving has Law behind it now to back it up! Sorry wife!!

It also works for the boss. Man, it really gets under his skin. Doesn’t help matters when I leave the phone in lunch box. I would rather enjoy driving without distractions just like I want to do my job without being micro managed.

Deuces wrote:

I’m going off how I hear other people’s speaker phones and it doesn’t sound that good. I have an 05 Yukon with the 6.2 and snow tires so it’s not the quietest ride to begin with, looking for something similar to some have posted on those lil ear bud things.

I’d just walk into Best Buy/Target/Walmart to see what they have in stock then. I know you can get a non-fancy model for at or under $40. Plantronics is usually a good brand and this one is $23.

crappie55369 wrote:

my daily driver is a 2004 camry so it doesn’t have fancy technology. using a tape with with auxiliary cable attached i can talk through the speakers on my car and it works very well. the product cost me $6

That’s a steal of a deal, you can prolly hook up your discman up to that beauty too! That made many a road trip a lot sweeter until all vehicles had CD players, and now the new vehicles don’t even have CD players!

BigWerm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>crappie55369 wrote:</div>
my daily driver is a 2004 camry so it doesn’t have fancy technology. using a tape with with auxiliary cable attached i can talk through the speakers on my car and it works very well. the product cost me $6

That’s a steal of a deal, you can prolly hook up your discman up to that beauty too! That made many a road trip a lot sweeter until all vehicles had CD players, and now the new vehicles don’t even have CD players!

I miss my old tape player hookup. They worked great! Had one in the ’93 rear-wheel Ranger 5 speed. Now I drive an ’07 with CD — too new for a tape player but too old for an AUX hookup. The good ol’ reverse Goldilocks…