Living in Oregon: New laws for the New Year
PORTLAND, Ore. - Sorry, Oregon: Come 2010, there'll be no more dialing seven digits, holding your cell phone while driving, off-road recreation for children without a seatbelt, or dropping your old TV at the dump.
A slew of new laws take effect in January, requiring Oregonians and anyone visiting the state to abide by a few new rules.
The days of holding a cell phone to your ear while you drive are limited. Oregon's new hands-free mobile phone law takes effect Jan. 1, 2010. It's designed to help drivers focus on the road and keep both hands on the wheel. Meanwhile, check out the KATU story "Oregon cell phone ban has loopholes." | Mobile phone laws nationwide
For a good time, all calls in Oregon will require 10-digits -- the number, preceded by the area code. Oregon was running out of 541 numbers, requiring the state to add a second 458 area code for much of Oregon. Ten-digit dialing was already the norm in the Portland metropolitan area and for anyone dialing from a cellular telephone.
IF YOU KILL YOUR TELEVISION, RECYCLE THE BODY
A new law bans "covered electronic devices" from landfills. This law covers television sets, monitors, computers and laptops. Sanitation companies can face steep fines if any of these electronic items are traced back to their trucks, so they will no longer pick electronics up. Instead, Oregonians must take the units to qualified e-cycling locations. | More
Those seatbelts need to stay on kids even after you shift the Jeep into 4-Low and hit the "trail less traveled."
"Basically, laws governing the use of safety restraints by anyone 16 years of age or under in vehicles on roads and highways will now apply to off-road vehicle riding," said John Lane, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department's ATV safety education coordinator.
Riders in class I quads and three-wheelers, which are ATVs weighing less than 800 pounds, are exempt from the law. Anyone with questions can call the state ATV toll-free hotline at 877-7SAFELY (877-772-3359) or e-mail atv.info@state.or.us.