Talking while driving just got a little more expensive on the west coast. Legislation went into effect last month in California and Washington requiring the use a headset of some sort. California's law was passed way back in 2006, yet most would-be good citizens waited until the absolute last minute to comply, with sales of Bluetooth headsets surging to four-times the national average in the months prior according to the NPD Group. Still, 7,182 citations were handed to naughty Californians in July. Up north only 100 were nabbed, as Washingtonian drivers can't be pulled over unless they commit some other violation as well, making headset use there a little more ... optional, so long as you lay off the throttle, Speed Racer.

Banning phone use while driving is all the rage these days -- despite evidence suggesting it doesn't help -- and now California's the latest to join the bandwagon. The law, which goes into effect January 1, 2008, requires the use of a hands-free device when chatting behind the wheel, lest some Erik Estrada type pulls you over and slaps you with a $20 fine. Repeat offenders get their fine upped to $50, but apparently has no adverse effect on the driver's insurance premium; we suspect a sizable number of Californians are going to view an occasional $50 chat with a CHiP as more of a price of doing business than a deterrent (but then again, maybe that's the idea). And no, being parked in LA traffic won't count as an exemption.

[Via Autoblog]

In what seems to be a brilliant marketing maneuver, Nokia is hyping its new CK-20W Car Kit as the "first integrated hands-free solution to combine high-quality communication, music, navigation and push-to-talk in the car," when all you're really getting is a dash-mounted dock and a remote. According to Nokia, you need to supply your own GPS Bluetooth receiver if you want navigation functionality (they suggest the forthcoming Nokia LD-2 Navigation Pack), although music streaming and hands-free chatting are achievable right out of the box. The kit is compatible with most Nokia phones and even standalone MP3 players if all you want are some tunes, but adding the nav pack requires you to own a S60-powered device to run the Route 66 mapping software. Prices have not been announced yet, but both the car kit and GPS receiver are expected to be available next quarter.

[Via Wired Blogs]